cheesecake ice cream with peach & passionfruit swirl

cheesecake ice cream with peach & passionfruit swirl

250 g cream cheese
5 egg yolks
400 ml full-fat milk
250 g sugar

make custard: mix the yolks with sugar until pale and fluffy
bring milk to boil, pour over the eggs, stirring constantly, put back on the stove and cook until it starts to thicken
put the pan into a cold water to stop the cooking process and stir for a few moments
cool down
beat the cream cheese with a mixer for 1-2 minutes until nice and creamy, add the custard 2-3 tablespoons at time, making sure it’s well mixed after each addition & there are no lumps
chill in a fridge


swirl:
1 peach
2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup water
1 tsp cornstarch
passionfruit juice (I used 1 tbsp concentrated Sunquick , 1-2 fresh fruits should do)

get rid of the skin & stone, cube the peach, put it into boiling water & cook for 5-8 minutes, until completely soft, then blend
add the sugar & wait until it dissolves
add cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp of water, mix energetically (to prevent lumps) until thick
add passionfruit juice & cool down
pour with a spoon over the chilled ice cream base & make a swirl running a toothpick in through the ice cream
put in freezer for 6-8 hours

the ice cream is soft enough to scoop after freezing, just put your scoop into hot water for a moment before using it

chocolate pizza

This post was brought here by my curious readers who were interested in learning what exactly that chocolate pizza I mentioned was :) It is indeed one of the best remedies for all problems and bad mood, eating a chocolate pizza makes you feel as if you were in one of those tales you used to read when you were a kid, innocent and peaceful and filled with sweets. While most adults eat "normal" things for dinner and don't feel like their life depends on comfort food, I never stop myself from such a simple indulgence. If it makes me happy, and it does. The crust isn't very sweet so it balances the chocolate's flavor perfectly, and adding fruit instead of more candy helps, too, if you're not feeling too much like a kid :)

chocolate pizza

250 g flour

2 tbsp sugar

25 g fresh yeast / ½ packet dry yeast

1 tbsp oil 150 ml lukewarm water

mix the yeast with sugar and 2 tbsp of water, wait until yeast is dissolved

add the rest of the water and flour, mix until it forms a loose ball, dump onto a floured surface

knead for 5 minutes (add flour if needed, during summer & in warmer and more humid climate you might need a bit more flour)

let the dough rise for about an hour

dump onto a floured surface again, punch it and then form a ball and roll to ½ cm/1/4” thickness, if you want a perfect round shape you might consider cutting out the dough with a big (27 cm/11”) round baking pan 

bake in an oven preheated to 190C for 15 minutes

chocolate icing

100 g chocolate

50 g butter

50 g sugar

1 tbsp water

melt the butter in a small pan, add water and sugar and boil, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved

take off the stove and add roughly chopped chocolate, mix until the glaze is smooth

use while hot/warm

you can either decorate while the crust is warm or cooled down

top with some kind of a chocolate spread (just chocolate, nutella, I used chocolate icing) and your favorite sweet toppings (chocolate chips, m&m's, crushed oreos, fruit slices - babanas & strawberries would be perfect - etc.)

for toasted marshmallows, put them onto the pizza and put it into an oven, top shelf, preferably with top heat/grill, and set the highest temperature, while the oven heats up, the marshmallows will get toasted in 1-2 minutes – be careful not to burn them!

chocolate baked donuts

If you haven't had a chocolate donut yet, this is the time. And let's forget about chocolate glazed and chocolate filed ones, these have lots of cocoa in the dough and they taste exceptional. They appear less sweet than normal donuts, more elegant and unusual, and they will certainly surprise the unsuspecting. There is a variety of ways to serve them, of which I show you three this time and leave a few more ideas for another time :)  The donuts were a big success with everyone who tried them and I can only encourage you to see for yourself!

chocolate baked donuts

3/4 cup full-fat milk
2 tbsp butter
7 g dry yeast / 50 g fresh yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
salt

heat the milk with butter and mix until the butter is dissolved
put the sugar and yeast in a small bowl, add 2 tbsp of lukewarm milk/butter mixture and let the yeast start working for 5 min
beat the egg
mix flour with cocoa and salt in a bowl, then add the yeast mixture, rest of the milk and the egg
mix the dough until it comes together , put it on a flour-dusted counter and knead for 5 minutes
let the dough rise in a warm place for an hour
knead it again and roll into about 1,5 cm/1/2” thick, cut out the donuts
let he dough rise for half an hour
bake about 10 minutes into 180C

cool down

rich chocolate glaze

100 g chocolate

50 g butter

50 g sugar

1 tbsp water

melt the butter in a small pan, add water and sugar and boil, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved

take off the stove and add roughly chopped chocolate, mix until the glaze is smooth

use immediately - dip the top of the donuts it in (watch out not to burn yourself!)

chai glaze

3 tbsp strong chai tea (I brewed 1 teabag of the tea in just 1/5 cup water)

powderes sugar

add enough powdered sugar to the chai tea so that the glaze is rather thick (about 3/4 cup), the way it covers the donut you dip in it and doesn't all drip, adjust the amonut of sugar/tea it it's too or not enough thick

pastry cream

300 ml full-fat milk

3 egg yolks

80 g sugar

1 tbsp flour/cornstarch

2 tsp vanilla extract (or to taste, depends on its strength)'

50 g butter

bring the milk to boil

mix the eggs, sugar and flour in a pan, pour the boiling milk over it and mix constantly

put it back on the stove and cook until the pastry cream has thick pudding-like consistency (if you're using cornstarch it might be more runny than using flour but it will settle as it cools)

mix in vanilla extract

add cubed butter and mix thoroughly 

cool down placing the pan in cold water, sprinkle powdered sugar on the top to prevent skin from appearing

my variations: 

donut holes with chocolate glaze & chocolate puffed rice

donut (ring) in chai glaze

donut filled with vanilla pastry cream & glazed with chocolate glaze

pag, croatia

{the next 7 photos are form one time me & sis woke up at 6 and went into the town to capture the soft light and dusty sunrise pinks & beiges}