Blueberry Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Freckles

My friend Christine and I have been making a day trip to Portland, ME every summer for the last couple of years and basically spend the day stuffing ourselves.  We always go to Eventide Oysters for my favorite lobster rolls, The Holy Donut for potato donuts, Duckfat for their fries, and Gelato Fiasco for ice cream (the honeycomb ice cream sundae from Honeypaw has made it onto our itinerary for the last 2 years as well).  My favorite flavor is the Maine Wild Blueberry Caramel Sea Salt Stracciatella gelato, but they didn't have it this year so I had to settle for the Blueberry Milk and Cookies flavor which was still really good.

So when Boston Organics contacted me and offered to send me a 5 lb. box of their wild Maine blueberries, I knew the first thing I wanted to make with them.  I consulted with my favorite ice cream cookbook, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, and realized I could make something similar using her salty caramel ice cream recipe, adding some blueberry compote, and then swirling in some chocolate freckles when the ice cream was almost done churning.

I also wanted to share some more information about these wonderful blueberries because they're so different from the ones you usually find in the grocery store.  These are from Burke Hill Farm in Cherryfield, ME and come in a compact wax box that will fit perfectly in most freezers.  Known as lowbush blueberries, these wild blueberries grow in northern New England’s naturally acidic soil and are resilient enough to withstand the region's icy winters.  They're smaller and sweeter than the highbush berries you're probably used to, and perfect for freezing, baking, and just snacking on!  You can find more information here on the Boston Organics website.

I wish the ice cream could be as brilliantly colored as the blueberry milk and cookies gelato above, but I was worried that adding too much blueberry compote to the ice cream base might make it too icy.  Regardless, the flavor is incredible; the sweetness of the caramel is tempered by the tartness of the blueberries, and the crackly dark chocolate freckles adds a fun textural component.

Blueberry Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Freckles
makes about 1 quart

1 cup wild Maine blueberries (frozen is fine)*
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 oz. dark chocolate, chopped

Heat the blueberries and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small saucepan until it comes to a boil.  Gently mash the blueberries and remove from heat.

Mix a couple tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry and set aside.  Whisk the cream cheese and kosher salt in a large bowl and set aside.  Mix the heavy cream and corn syrup in a measuring cup with a spout.

Add the remaining 2/3 cup of sugar to a 4-quart saucepan and heat over medium heat.  Wait until a layer of sugar has melted and turned amber before stirring with a heatproof spatula.  Once all the sugar has melted and is a dark amber remove from heat and add about 1/4 cup of the heavy cream mixture while stirring.  It will violently erupt with steam so be careful!  Continue to stir and add more and more of the cream until it is all incorporated.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the rest of the milk.  Bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes.  Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and bring back to a boil.  Continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened, about one minute.

Add a little of the hot cream mixture to the cream cheese and whisk until the cream cheese is dissolved.  Add the rest of the cream mixture, vanilla, and blueberry compote and mix.  Chill the mixture, then churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

While the ice cream is churning, place the chopped chocolate in a plastic sandwich bag, seal it shut, and then place in some very hot water.  Occasionally squeeze the chocolate around until it is all melted.  Remove the bag from the water and dry the outside.  Keep the chocolate melted but not hot.

Once the ice cream is almost done churning, snip a corner off of the sandwich bag and squeeze a steady stream of the melted chocolate into the ice cream while it continues to churn.  Pack the churned ice cream into a storage container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

*If you can't get your hands on wild Maine blueberries, you can use regular blueberries to make the compote, but you may want to boil it longer to reduce it further and add some more sugar as needed.

Next:  Crane Rangoons
Previously:  Greyscale Cream Puffs
Last Year:  Macau-Style Portuguese Chicken Rice
Three Years Ago:  Taiwanese Taro Swirl Mooncakes
Four Years Ago:  Ramen Lobster Rolls
Five Years Ago:  Caramelized Onion and Swiss Chard Quiche

3-28 Slab Pie

Where were you when the Patriots came from behind and won Superbowl 51?  I was at my church, watching the game on the big screen.  By the time halftime rolled around, I knew the Patriots were in big trouble, and I called my mom, who has the gift of prayer (I have the gift of faith) to pray for them to win.  She didn't believe they could, but after I begged her to, she relented and agreed to pray for them.  So I guess you could say that what happened next was all because of me and my mom.

The idea for this pie had been brewing in my mind for a long time, but I wanted to wait until strawberries and blueberries were in season to make it.  I usually brush an egg wash on top of my pie dough before baking, but I decided I wanted to keep crust as pale as possible to make it look more similar to the infamous chyron.  If I had had more time, I might have made some royal icing to make the numbers and letters stand out even more, but I think it looks pretty good as is.  =)

3-28 Slab Pie
makes one 10" x 15" slab pie

For the pie crust:
3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup ice water, plus more as needed

For the filling:
3 cups fresh blueberries
3 cups fresh sliced strawberries
1 cup sugar, divided
3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided

Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter has been cut into pea-sized pieces. Add the water and pulse to combine. Add more water if needed, a tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together. Divide the dough into two pieces, one twice the size of the other, and wrap both with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least an hour or as long as overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Roll out the larger piece of dough to about a 13" x 18" rectangle.  Press into a 10" x 15" baking sheet and fold the excess dough underneath.  Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork and crimp the edges.  Chill while assembling the rest of the pie.

Roll out the smaller piece of dough and cut out the letters and numbers.  You'll also want to cut out a thin strip of dough about 10" long to use as a divider between the two fillings.  You should end up with a lot of leftover dough, which you can use to make a tart or galette.  Chill while you fix up the filling.

In a small mixing bowl, toss the blueberries with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.  Toss the sliced strawberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in another bowl.

Place the dividing strip of dough down the middle of the pie.  Fill the left side with the blueberries and the right side with the strawberries.  Carefully arrange the letters and numbers on top. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

Next:  Greyscale Cream Puffs
Previously:  Rhubarb Strawberry Coconut Cream Tart
Last Year:  My Mom's Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Two Years Ago:  Pasta con le Sarde
Three Years Ago:  Cleveland Cassata Cake
Four Years Ago:  Zuni Cafe's Fried Eggs in Bread Crumbs
Seven Years Ago:  Coconut Lime Sorbet
Eight Years Ago:  Homemade Bulgogi Dumplings

How to Make an American Flag Cake

I've been wanting to make an American flag cake for the 4th of July and had pinned several possible versions including this one from Food52 and this ice cream cake version from the Food Network.  But the problem with those round layer cakes though is that I only had one round cake pan and no way to transport the finished product.  I wasn't too keen on having to pull out my piping bag to make Ina Garten's (or as Brit + Co called it, Taylor Swift's) version either, so when I came across Smitten Kitchen's version from four years ago, I was truly smitten.  Not only was it a single layer rectangular cake, but all you needed was some powdered sugar to make the "stars" and stripes!

In her post, she includes a recipe for the cake and frosting, but I cheated by making the cake with a box mix and using store bought frosting.  After baking the cake, allow it to cool completely before frosting.  If it's domed on top, you can level it with a serrated knife or just do as I did and "spackle" in the sides with frosting so the top is level.

While the cake is baking, wash and dry the berries.  While the cake is cooling, you can start arranging the berries to make sure you have enough.  I used a piece of paper towel that was the same size as the cake to plot out the berries on.  The blue part takes up about half the short side of the flag and extends about a third of the way across.  There are 13 stripes (one for each of the original colonies; yay AP American History!) but you probably won't be able to fit that many on the cake.  If you can, try to make an odd number of stripes so that the top and bottom stripe will be red.

After frosting the cake, start putting the berries that you want to appear white on the cake, leaving room for the other berries.

Dust these with powdered sugar, then arrange the rest of the berries into the spaces left for them. 

In reality, it took a lot longer to make than I thought.  The first batch of raspberries I bought were overripe and broke apart when I was washing them, so I had to go back to the store to buy another pint.  Then I made the mistake of not completely drying the raspberries before decorating the cake, so the powdered sugar started to melt before I could even take any pictures.  But if you learn from my mistakes, it's actually not that hard to make and totally worth it!  Not only is it super impressive to bring to a party, the fresh fruit on top of the cake is really, really delicious!

Fun fact:  if you can someone figure out how to make the starburst design, you can also use this template to make the Taiwanese (or more accurately, the R.O.C.) flag!

Next:  My Mom's Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Previously:  Maine Blueberry Gateau
Last Year:  Pasta con le Sarde
Two Years Ago:  Papaya Milk and Papaya Milk Popsicles
Three Years Ago:  Bubble Tea Popsicles
Six Years Ago:  Coconut Lime Sorbet

Maine Blueberry Gateau

I first had this cake at my friend Evie's Epiphany Party last year, and it was truly an epiphany.  I never knew homemade cake could taste so good--so buttery and moist and bursting with blueberries!  I e-mailed Evie immediately after the party to ask for her friend's recipe, and it turns out it's from a bed & breakfast in Maine.

The first time I made this cake I made it in a pie pan (because I didn't have a 9" pan) and used frozen wild blueberries.  It was quite tasty but not as pretty so I dusted it with powdered sugar as instructed in the original recipe.  When I made it this time I used a 10" springform pan and fresh blueberries, and it looked nice enough to forgo the powdered sugar dusting.

Don't worry if you think the cake batter to fruit ratio is off.  You will be spooning a lot of blueberries on top of the batter, but while the cake bakes in the oven the blueberries sink while the cake rises so it's perfect by the end.

Maine Blueberry Gateau (lightly adapted from the Benjamin F. Packard House via The Washington Post)
serves 6

1 cup and 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained (may substitute frozen wild blueberries)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease a 9- or 10-inch springform pan and dust with flour.

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the baking powder and salt and set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium-high to high speed, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating until well blended. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries with the remaining teaspoon of flour and the lemon juice. Spoon the berry mixture over the batter.

Bake for 50-55 min, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Slide a thin knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan before you release and remove the springform.

Dust the cake with confectioners' sugar before serving, if you want.

Next:  How to Make an American Flag Cake
Previously:  Tortilla Española (Spanish Potato Omelet)
Last Year:  Garlic Naan
Two Years Ago:  Speculoos (Cookie Butter) Ice Cream and Mini Stroopwafel Ice Cream Sandwiches 
Three Years Ago:  Homemade Cronuts
Six Years Ago:  Elote (Mexican Grilled Corn)
Seven Years Ago:  Bulgogi Dumplings

Overnight Oats in a Jar

I recently started a new job where I no longer work from home but have to go into an office every day when I'm not traveling.  Unfortunately, the office is too small to have a great cafeteria so I've had to figure out how to bring breakfast and lunch to work for pretty much the first time in my life.  (I know, I've been spoiled.)

Now that I'm not able to make myself candied bacon chocolate chip pancakes every morning (just kidding!), I was kind of lost with what to do until I remembered the wonder that is overnight oats.  Basically, you just soak dry oats in any kind of liquid overnight in the refrigerator.  For regular rolled oats, you can use a 1:1 ratio of oats to liquid.  For something thicker like steel cut oats, the ratio should be closer to 1:2 oats to liquid.  In the morning, the oats have softened enough to eat as is.  It sounds kind of boring, but the fun comes in customizing your oats!

To make what I call New England Morning Overnight Oats, I added real maple syrup and freeze-dried blueberries (available from Trader Joe's) to 1/3 cup of steel cut oats in a small Mason jar and filled it up to the top with vanilla soy milk.  Put the lid on, shake it up to make sure everything is mixed, and let it sit overnight in the fridge.  That's it!  The next morning, I just grab the jar on the way to work and eat the oats straight from the jar at my desk.

I've also made Almond Joy Overnight Oats (not pictured) by adding cocoa powder, sliced almonds, and shredded coconut to the oatmeal.  Other ideas for toppings include raisins, dried cranberries, sliced bananas, fruit purees or preserves, yogurt, other nuts, cinnamon, honey, and nut butters.  I prefer to use either soy, almond, or coconut milk for the liquid.

My current favorite combination is to use Trader Joe's Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats and add freeze-dried strawberries (also available from Trader Joe's), sliced almonds, shredded coconut, and chia seeds.  The quick cook steel cut oats are not as chewy as regular steel cut oats (sometimes my jaw would hurt from having to chew so much!) but not as mushy as regular rolled oats.  And the chia seeds give the overnight oats a thicker, more pudding-like consistency (they're also packed with omega-3s!).

It doesn't look very photogenic, but it's super yummy and only takes a minute to make the night before.  I've pretty much been packing this every day for breakfast whenever I have to go into the office, along with a travel mug full of magical cold brew coffee, which I also prepare the night before.  Just two less things to think about every morning!

Next:  Vegan Almond Joy Ice Cream and Bon Bons
Previously:  Homemade Ginger Beer
Last Year:  Rosemary Honey and Lemon Frozen Yogurt

Blueberry Buttermilk Mini Pies

Last year I ate the best pie I've ever had at this popular, local restaurant.  Luckily, I was friends with someone who worked there, so I begged her for the recipe.  She was able to get it from the pastry chef, but I don't want anyone to get in trouble (myself included!) so I'm going to refrain from saying which restaurant it is.

I will say, however, that this is a damn fine pie.  The sweet blueberry filling pairs nicely with the tart buttermilk pastry cream.  And the crust.  OMG, the crust....  I mean, I really like the vodka pie crust recipe from America's Test Kitchen, but this all-butter crust is simply amazing.  The texture is unlike any other pie crust I've ever tasted; it's practically crispy!  I'm guessing one of the main reasons it doesn't get all soggy like a lot of other pie crusts is because you blind bake the pie crust before filling it.

I decided to make these into mini pies so that I could more easily share them with friends, and also so I wouldn't be getting into as much trouble for sharing a secret recipe word for word.  I hope.  O_o  I did have to adapt the recipe a bit since the one I got was for 10 pies, if that helps. 

To blind bake the mini pie crusts in a muffin tin, I used aluminum cupcake liners to line the top of the pie crusts before weighing it down with pearl barley.  You can also use dried beans, rice, or of course, pie weights.  If you don't want to go through the trouble, you can try docking the pie crusts by poking the bottom several times with a fork, but I haven't tested that method, so I can't guarantee it'll work.

Blueberry Buttermilk Mini Pies
makes 12 mini pies

For the pie crust
160 g all-purpose flour
25 g sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
120 g cold butter, cubed
Ice water
Cooking spray

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together in a food processor.  Add the butter and pulse until the butter has been cut into pea-sized pieces.  Transfer to a small bowl.

Add ice water (just the water, not the ice) to the butter flour mixture by hand; only add enough water for the dough to come together but not be sticky.  Cover and allow dough to relax in refrigerator overnight.

The next day, roll out the dough to about 1/8".  (If you added a little too much water, like I did, make sure to flour the surface and top of the dough well before rolling.)  Use a flattened cupcake liner as a stencil, cut out 12 circles (you will probably need to re-roll out leftover scraps to get the last 2 circles).  Set aside any leftover scraps in the fridge for now.

Generously grease the wells of a muffin tin with cooking spray.  Press the pie crust circles into each well.  Place a cupcake liner on top of each pie crust.  Transfer the pie crusts to the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

Once the pie crusts have frozen, fill the cupcake liners with you pie weight of choice (see above).  Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges of the pie crusts just start to brown.  Remove the cupcake liners and pie weights.  If there are any holes in the crusts, use the leftover scraps to carefully patch them (which, as you can see below, I failed to do). Return the crusts to the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes until the bottom of the pie crust is cooked through.  Allow to cool completely.  Carefully twist the pie crusts in the muffin tins to release.

For the buttermilk pastry cream
100 g buttermilk
32 g sugar, divided
8 g cornstarch
1 egg
10 g butter, melted and cooled
1 g salt

Whisk together 12 g (about 1 tablespoon) of sugar and the cornstarch.  Add the egg and whisk until mixed.

In a small saucepan, bring the buttermilk and remaining sugar to a simmer.  Temper the hot buttermilk mixture into the egg mixture and return to the saucepan.  Cook over medium-low heat, scraping constantly, until it boils and thickens and no starch is detected on tongue.

Pour into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap directly on the custard, and place in the refrigerator until the surface is at room temperature.  Mix in the soft butter and salt, and return to the refrigerator to chill again.

For the blueberry filling
500 g blueberries, divided
100 g sugar
1 teaspoon salt
20 g cornstarch
15 g fresh lemon juice

Toss 350 g of the blueberries with the sugar, salt, and cornstarch and transfer to a small saucepan.

Cook on medium heat, scraping throughout until blueberries break down, thicken, and no starch is detectable on tongue (should be a chunky jam consistency).

Turn off the heat and add the remaining fresh blueberries and lemon juice.  Allow to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to release the heat.

Divide the buttermilk pastry cream among the 12 pie crusts.  Top with the blueberry filling.  Keep mini pies chilled until serving. 

Next:  Homemade Ginger Beer
Previously:  Corn and Black Bean Tortilla Soup

Five Years Ago:  Butter Mochi Cupcakes

The Best Scones in the World

For Easter this year, my church wanted to serve scones for Soul Cafe. Two thousand scones, to be exact. And thanks to everyone's help, we made two thousand one hundred and twelve!

Thankfully, one of my good friend, James, has the best scone recipe in the world, which we used to make sweet blueberry scones and savory candied bacon, cheese, corn, and scallion scones. Guess which ones were more popular....

The Best Scones in the World (courtesy of James W. Cheng)
makes ~100 scones

8 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cup sugar
4 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup chopped candied bacon*
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup chopped scallions
1 quart heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375°F.

*To make candied bacon, sprinkle brown sugar over bacon slices and bake at 375°F until crisp.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Cut the cold butter into small pieces and then press into the dry mixture until the texture is like corn meal. Mix in the bacon, corn, cheese, and scallions.

Add heavy cream and mix just enough to form a dough. If you have the time, stick this back in the fridge to chill.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop rounded tablespoons of the dough onto the sheet, leaving at least 1" between scones. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the blueberry scones, just substitute 3 cups of frozen blueberries for the bacon, corn, cheese, and scallions. Ideally, we'd have glazed the blueberry scones with a lemon glaze, but there wasn't enough time. According to one Family Ministry pastor, however, they were still super delicious. =)

We made the scones pretty small because we wanted to be able to feed everyone, but you could definitely double the size of these if you wanted larger scones. Just make sure you increase the baking time appropriately.

Next:  Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Fried Rice
Previously:  Apple Tarte Tatin