So Hot We'll Melt Your Popsicle

When I ran to the grocery store the other morning to get stuff for scones, I remembered a recipe I had seen in Southern Living the night before. I pulled it up on my phone, and grabbed the stuff I needed for them because I was there at the store anyway. They're a version of a popsicle, but muchhhh better for you than everything you can buy thats loaded with sugar. Perfect for coming home after a long day at the lake!

Recipe: Berry-Banana Freezer Pops

Makes: ~ 4 pops

Recipe originated from: Southern Living, August 2010 issue ( http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=2003446 )

Compliments: Hot sun and cool water

Ingredients:
- 3 cups fresh or frozen berries
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
- 1 banana
- 10 (2-oz.) pop molds
- Craft sticks


Directions:
1.Bring berries and honey to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Strain mixture into a bowl, using a spoon to squeeze out juice and pulp. Discard solids. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
2. Process yogurt and banana in a blender until smooth.
3. Pour into pop molds, alternating with berry mixture. Top with lid, and insert craft sticks. Freeze.

So I used frozen fruit, and I didn't have pop molds, so I bought small plastic punch cups, and used plastic spoons as the stick. To get them to stand up I put the end of the spoon through a piece of plastic wrap first, then stuck the spoon in the mixture and put the plastic wrap around the cup. I think it worked pretty well. I also didn't dirty the blender and just mashed the bananas into the yogurt by hand. They were good, but they melted fairly quickly.. which is why the disposable cup was nice. You could drip into it. They were tart-ish, and the berry part tended to melt faster than the yogurt, but it was good! I think if you need to get rid of frozen berries this is the way to do it. Also, if you are looking for an ice cream like dessert but don't want all the calories, this is a good alternative. I don't know if I'd make them berry again... I would probably do all strawberry or all peach or something so maybe they wouldn't be as tart. But they are pretty! Very summery and cool.

Abby xx

Spoom Spoom Pow

So this is an unusual recipe that we made at school. It has many parts and can take a while, but it is really delicious. You need to make Italian meringue to fold into it, but the end result is a really impressive frozen treat that is sweet and tastes like champagne.

Recipe: Champagne Spoom

Makes: 2 1/2 qt

Recipe originated from: School, more specifically 'On Baking' ( http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Textbook-Pastry-Fundamentals-2nd/dp/0131579231/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279478272&sr=8-1 )

Compliments: Fresh fruit, like peaches or raspberries would be delicious.

Ingredients:
- 14 oz sugar
- 14 fl oz water
- 2 oz corn syrup
- 8 fl oz whole milk
- vanilla bean, split
- 24 fl oz champagne or sparkling wine
- 12 oz Italian meringue

Directions:
1. Combine the sugar, water, glucose, milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Boil 1 minute, then chill.
2. Combine the champagne with the chilled base syrup. Remove the vanilla bean.
3. Pour the mixture into the container of an ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's directions.
4. Fold the Italian Meringue into the sherbet as soon as it's churned, but still soft enough to stir. Pack it in a storage container and freeze until firm.

A little labor intensive, but the end result is so impressive and delicious that it's worth it after all is said and done. The hardest part of all of this is the Italian meringue.. which is a challenging recipe, but a really useful trick to know. Here is the recipe:

Recipe: Italian Meringue

Makes: 1 lb 7 oz

Recipe originated from: School, more specifically 'On Baking' ( http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Textbook-Pastry-Fundamentals-2nd/dp/0131579231/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279478272&sr=8-1 )

Compliments: Butter! It may sound crazy, but if you make Italian meringue first, and beat butter in it makes the most amazing buttercreme icing. It's sweet and fluffy and light and perfect.

Ingredients:
- 13 oz sugar
- 2 oz corn syrup
- 3 fl oz water
- 8 oz (about 8 whites) egg whites, room temp

Directions:
1. Place 12 oz of the sugar in a heavy saucepan with the corn syrup and water. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan and bring the sugar to a boil over high heat.
2. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whip (whisk) attachment. As the temperature of the boiling sugar approaches 220 degrees, begin whipping the egg whites. When the whites form soft peaks, gradually add the remaining 1 oz of sugar. Reduce the mixer speed and continue whipping.
3. When the sugar reaches the soft ball stage (240 degrees), remove it from the heat. Pour it into the whites, with the mixer running at a high speed. Pour in a steady stream between the side of the bowl and the beater. Once all the sugar is incorporated, whip 1 more minute at high speed, then reduce to medium speed and whip until the meringue is cool.

The secret to this recipe is TIMING TIMING TIMING! You need the egg whites to be at the right place when the sugar on the stove is at the right temp. It's hard. I've made this recipe around 12 times, and I still have trouble sometimes. I have found it's better to wait until the temperature gets closer to 230 degrees to start the egg whites. Remember- it's easier to hold the sugar at the right temp than it is to hold the egg whites! If you need to hold the sugar then just turn the heat down when it gets close to 235 degrees. I'll warn you- it takes FOREVER to get it all the way to 240 degrees. And by forever I mean like 15 minutes. However, once you get this recipe right, you'll use it all the time. I can't even tell you how amazing the icing is. Plus, it's great as meringue because it doesn't weep as easily as French meringue (whipping egg whites and browning them in the oven) because it is actually cooked. And since it's cooked it's safe for pregnant women too. It also can be folded into custards and sorbets to make a nice "still-frozen" (not churned in an ice cream maker)dessert.

So try both recipes when you really want to impress! People will be amazed when their mouths start watering just from the sight!

Abby xx