Dulce de Leche Ice Cream with Sea Salt

I've made this before, and it's ridiculously easy- you don't even need a custard because the dulce de leche is already so thick! With a pinch of sea salt on top, it was so good I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch after my dinner guests went home!

Lime Yogurt Sorbet with Toasted Almond Topping

I've been trying to come up with new ways to use all the limes from my father's tree. This recipe came from Martha Stewart and was deliciously tart! I used about four times the amount of lime zest, and only half the yogurt, which may have had something to do with that. The topping is just leftover chopped almonds with sugar and butter that form the crust for the truffle cake from River Cafe.

Tarte Tatin with Creme Fraiche Ice Cream

I wanted to make something using my dad's current crop of extra tart apples, and as it happens, apple pie is a favorite of the dinner guest I was having over this week. Instead of an American apple pie, I decided to try my hand at the classic French version- tarte tatin. I've made banana tarte tatin, and tomato tarte tatin, but never the traditional apple. I followed Jamie Oliver's recipe, which was very simple, but I got impatient waiting for the liquid from the apples to reduce before adding the puff pastry, and it got a little soggy. When I reheated the tarte for this photo, it got a little close to the broiler, so my apologies for the unsightly burnt edge. Either way (soggy or burnt) it still tasted great, and the ice cream (for which I used David Lebovitz's recipe) was fabulous and the perfect tangy accompaniment to this sweet dessert.

Cherry Sorbet

Cherry Ice Cream

Erik and I went cherry picking before I left town, and decided to make both ice cream and sorbet, as well as clafouti. We had leftover custard from the rhubarb, so we used that for an ice cream base, and then just added chopped cherries.

Logan and Olallieberry Sorbet

I picked these berries last summer and they've been sitting in my freezer waiting for the perfect moment. Today when my mother called asked me to bring dessert to dinner, I wanted to make something simple and easy, so I decided to make the berries into a sorbet. If you've never made sorbet before, it is incredibly simple: you just puree fruit, or use fruit juice, and churn it in an ice cream maker. That's it! I added a bit of sugar to these berries (which I pureed and strained to get the seeds out) as well as a splash of cherry liqueur to keep the sorbet from getting icy, churned the mixture and then stuck it in the freezer to harden for a few hours. The result was delicious and so pretty! I can't wait to go berry picking this summer so I can make more.

Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches!

It's almost strawberry season here and I thought I better use up the last of the berries I froze last summer. We used the basic vanilla ice cream recipe that came with my Kitchenaid attachment, and added chopped strawberries and a little strawberry puree to it as it was churning. For the cookies, we used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. YUM!

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

This is based on a recipe from Deb at Smitten Kitchen. If you can find pre-made dulce de leche, you can simply combine it with the hot milk mixture, chill, and freeze. If you prefer to make the dulce de leche from scratch, you can do that, too- here's a recipe on Apartment Therapy. But if you're like me and would rather not spend the time, condensed milk makes an easy shortcut.

1 2/3 C sweetened condensed milk
1 C cream
2 C whole milk
Vanilla (1 bean or 1 tsp extract)

Cook the condensed milk over low heat, stirring constantly to keep it from burning. In a second pot, bring the milk and cream to a boil with the vanilla. When the condensed milk has caramelized to a golden brown and is very thick, whisk it together with the milk mixture. If you used a vanilla bean, remove it from the milk now. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in an ice bath in the refrigerator until cold. Follow the instructions on your ice cream maker to freeze.

Cherry Ice Cream

Every year, my friend Jane and I go cherry picking, so I was really excited to see this recipe on Simply Recipes just days before our planned date! Unlike most ice cream recipes, this one does not call for eggs, so it's not quite as rich. If you have an ice cream maker (or an attachment for your mixer, like I do) I highly recommend it. Unfortunately we were so busy eating the ice cream that by the time I managed to take a picture, it had softened considerably... don't worry, none was wasted!


1 1/2 cups pitted ripe sweet cherries (from about 3/4 lb cherries)
3/4 cup milk
1 3/4 cups cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tbsp crème de cassis, kirsch, cherry liqueur, or rum (optional)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine, keep in freezer until use


Put cherries, milk, one cup of the cream, sugar, and salt into a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat until the mixture is steamy, then lower the heat to warm and just let sit for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into a blender, or use an immersion blender, and carefully purée. (Careful because you are dealing with a hot liquid. Make sure you hold the cap down on the top of the blender while puréeing.)

Put mixture into a large bowl. Stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of cream. Chill for several hours in the refrigerator until completely cold. (Can also place bowl over an ice bath, to speed up the cooling process.)

Before putting the mixture into your ice cream maker, stir in the lemon juice and the crème de cassis or other liqueur (or rum) if you are using. Note that you can skip the alcohol if you want, but the addition of it will help the ice cream from getting too icy, and the flavored liqueurs such as kirsch or crème de cassis can add a nice flavor boost to the ice cream. Churn the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Once the ice cream has completed churning, the ice cream should be pretty soft. Gently fold in the finely chopped chocolate. Put in an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours.

Makes about one quart.

Chocolate Amaretto Semifreddo

A semifreddo is a sort of quick ice cream- it has a softer consistancy but is no less of a treat! This recipe was inspired by a dessert I had at a restaurant a while ago, and based on Jamie Oliver's basic semifreddo recipe.


2 C heavy cream, plus 2 Tbs
4 eggs, separated
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C good, unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 C amaretto
1 vanilla bean
Italian Amaretto cookies

You will need three bowls to start. In one bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and the inside of the vanilla bean. In the second bowl, wisk the cream with the cocoa powder and amaretto until soft peaks form. In the third bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold the cream and the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Transfer to a shallow container, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 6-8 hours, or overnight. Serve with the cookies on top.