Nutella Ice Cream

Could there be anything better? I doubt I have to sell this one to you - if you like Nutella and ice cream, well, there isn't much else to say, is there?


Nutella is God's way of letting you know there is a heaven! It's a chocolate hazelnut spread (for breads, or just about anything else) that is truly divine. Go, run, to the store and buy some if you haven't tried it.

When I saw the recipe on Sugarlaws, I knew I absolutely had to make it. I'm a Nutella-holic.


Nutella Ice Cream with Roasted Almonds
(inspired from Sugarlaws' Nutella Ice Cream)

1/3 cup Nutella
1/2 cup Cream (I used regular cream, but use heavy cream if you have it)
1/3 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk
1 tbsp Vodka (alcohol keeps ice cream soft. You could leave it out if you want)
1/2 cup Toasted and Slivered Almonds

Mix together all the ingredients except for the almonds. Beat well. Pour into a plastic container (use a shallow container if making by hand). Add the almonds and mix to combine. Close and put it in the freezer. If you have an ice cream machine, follow the instructions.

If not, remove the container every 1 1/2 - 2 hours and churn the ice cream completely. Make sure you get all the frozen parts on the sides of the container. Initially a hand blender would work very well. Repeat the churning about 3-4 times, until ice cream is completely set.

Enjoy. This is truly one of the best ice creams I've ever had.


Similar posts on this blog: Vanilla Ice Cream, Nutella Brownies.

Bakewell Cake

So this month's Sweet and Simple Bakes' recipe was a Cherry Bakewell Cake. Maria and Rosie really do their homework and give us the most tried and tested easy bake recipes. And every single time, the recipe is a winner.

This time, though, it just didn't work for me and I have no idea why! Maybe one of you could tell me where I went wrong. I'm still posting it here because everyone loved the flavor of the cake - it just didn't look all that hot. See the S+SB website to see how this cake is supposed to look!

And another thing - I'm not a huge cherry person, actually I dislike cherries. So I went with the raspberry option that Rosie had given us. So I'm just going to call it a Bakewell Cake!


Bakewell Cake
(recipe from Sweet and Simple Bakes)

For the Cake:
8 oz Butter, well softened, + extra for greasing
8 oz Caster Sugar
4 oz ground Almonds
4 oz self-raising Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp almond extract or essence
4 large eggs
Pinch of salt

For The Filling & Top:
12 oz Cherry Jam/ Conserve (I used Raspberry Jam)
6 oz Icing Sugar
5-6 tsp Water or Lemon Juice (I used Lemon Juice)
1 tbsp flaked Almonds, lightly toasted

Mix all the ingredients for the cake together. Pour it into two 8 inch round sandwich tins.

Bake at 180 deg C for 30 minutes. It's done when a skewer comes out clean. Spread the jam on top of one of the cakes and sandwich them together.

Stir together the lemon juice and icing sugar until thick and creamy and pour over the cake. Top with the toasted almonds.


So everyone loved the cake, but I'll tell you what went wrong for me. The height of the cake was half what it was supposed to be. But the quantity of batter was so little that I realized that the two cakes would be really small.

And the icing just didn't become white and translucent - it kinda just blended into the cake. You could taste the icing but couldn't see it.


Thanks, Rosie and Maria!

Almonds

Every once in a while, I crave the honey roasted nuts found on the street carts in New York City. I remember every time you pass by one of these carts and the smell of the roasting nuts comes wafting by, making you want to stop, close your eyes and breathe it in. If you've never had them, I absolutely recommend them on your next visit there.

Meanwhile, you can try my New York street-cart-style roasted nuts. They came out pretty well, but the nice part was that my entire kitchen and home were left with that great smell! Mmm...


New York Style Roasted Almonds
(original recipe from World on a Plate)

2 cups almonds, blanched, skinned
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used Demerara sugar)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp Oil

Preheat oven to 175 deg C.

Heat a pan with the oil, add the almonds, honey, chilli and cumin powders and sugar.


Stir to coat and continue roasting until the sugar melts and caramelizes.


Spread the almonds on a baking tray.


and pop into the oven for 5-10 minutes until browned and dry.


Take out the tray and let it cool.


Store in an airtight container (if there's any left after "tasting" it!)


This is off to Sia at Monsoon Spice for MBP - Street Food. A great idea and theme, Sia. MBP gets you to try out all those recipes you've bookmarked from other bloggers and discover new ones. MBP is the brainchild of Coffee at the Spice Cafe. This round-up is definitely going to be great!