Cool Desserts

With warmer weather just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about cool desserts. Check out the Coffee-Praline Crunch Ice Cream Cake, the Frozen Cranberry-Cream Pie, and the rest of today's offerings. Enjoy!

APRICOT SEMIFREDDO WITH BLACKBERRY SAUCE

This comes from Vegetarian Times (July/August 2005 issue, page 62), and begins, "Semifreddo' means partially frozen—and that makes this the perfect treat for a hot-weather day." Serves 12

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/apricot-semifreddo-with-blackberry-sauce-recipe/.

Ingredients

Apricot Semifreddo

2 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 cups low-fat milk

1/2 cup dried apricots

1-1/2 cups sliced fresh apricots

1/3 cup low-fat sour cream

1/8 tsp. almond extract

1 pint fresh blackberries

Blackberry sauce

1/2 pint fresh blackberries

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

Preparation

To make Apricot Semifreddo: Line 4-cup loaf pan with plastic wrap. Whisk egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in medium bowl until thick and light yellow, about 1 minute. Bring milk to a boil in saucepan. Slowly pour hot milk over egg mixture, whisking constantly. Return to saucepan; cook over medium-low heat (do not boil), stirring often, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Strain, and cool.

Meanwhile, place dried apricots in heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water, and let stand 15 minutes, or until softened. Drain, and cool. Put in food processor with fresh apricots, and purée until smooth. Transfer to large bowl. Add custard, sour cream and almond extract.

Put egg whites in large bowl; beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue beating until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into apricot mixture. Pour half of mixture into prepared pan. Place 3 rows of blackberries on their sides down the center of loaf pan; top with remaining mixture. Cover; freeze at least 4 hours.

To make Blackberry Sauce: Press blackberries through fine-meshed sieve into bowl. Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Set aside.

Remove Apricot Semifreddo from freezer; let stand 10 minutes. Unmold onto plate, and cut into 10 slices. Drizzle with Blackberry Sauce; serve.

HEAVENLY ICE CREAM CAKE WITH RASPBERRY COULIS

This comes from the January 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “Prepared angel food cakes from the supermarket bakery section are good items to have on hand for desserts. Before preparing this elaborate-looking recipe, freeze the cake completely. It slices easily with a serrated knife.” Serves 12.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 16-oz. angel food cake, frozen

1 10-oz. jar raspberry preserves

1/4 cup raspberry liqueur or orange juice

2 pints low-fat vanilla ice cream, softened, divided

1 10-oz. pkg. frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

Directions

Cut cake into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cover bottom of 9-inch springform pan with slices, cutting one or two slices as necessary to fill in gaps.

Combine raspberry preserves and liqueur in small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes. Brush half of raspberry mixture over cake in pan. Spread 1 pint ice cream over cake, and smooth top. Arrange more cake slices over ice cream to cover completely. Spread remaining raspberry mixture over cake. Smooth remaining pint of ice cream over cake. Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze overnight. (Can be prepared up to 3 days in advance up to this point.)

Purée thawed raspberries and syrup in food processor until smooth. Strain into bowl.

Run knife around sides of springform pan. Release sides from cake. Slice into wedges, and top with raspberry coulis.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 273; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 60 g; Cholesterol: 3 mg; Sodium: 319 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 31 g

COFFEE-PRALINE CRUNCH ICE CREAM CAKE

This is from Samantha Seneviratne in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Samantha wrote, "Inspired by butter-pecan ice cream, this cake combines crunchy praline with graham crackers, coffee ice cream and fudge sauce to make an impressive, but easy to assemble dessert. Store-bought pralines are perfect here, but if you can’t find them, you can make them from scratch with pantry staples. While they can be a little tricky, even a failed praline tastes great nestled in an ice cream cake, but toffee brickle or even just plain chopped nuts could stand in for the praline, too. While you could certainly buy fudge sauce, it’s the one component that is definitely better homemade, just sweet enough and deeply chocolatey. Make a double batch for future sundaes."

Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 25 minutes, plus at least 5 hours' cooling and freezing

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022469-coffee-praline-crunch-ice-cream-cake.

Ingredients

For the Fudge Sauce:

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup light or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup Dutch-process or natural cocoa, sifted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For assembly:

Nonstick cooking spray

1-1/2 quarts coffee ice cream (about 3 pints)

10 graham crackers (about 6 ounces)

2 cups chopped store-bought or homemade praline, plus more for serving

3/4 cup cold heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks just before serving

Preparation

Prepare the fudge sauce: Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, sugar, butter and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the cocoa powder and cook for another minute or two, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is thick and glossy. Run the sauce through the sieve into the bowl, working out any lumps directly in the sieve. Stir in vanilla. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. (You should have about 2 cups.) About 30 minutes before you assemble the cake, remove the ice cream from the refrigerator to soften.

To assemble the cake, spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. (This is just to help keep the plastic in place.) Press plastic wrap into the pan, making it as smooth as possible against the bottom and sides of the pan, leaving a 3-inch overhang on each of the two long sides.

Spread one third of the softened ice cream (about 2 cups) evenly over the bottom of the pan. (If your ice cream is still too firm to spread, cut it into slices, arrange them in a layer and smooth using an offset spatula.) Lay 3 crackers over the top, breaking them to fit as needed. Top with 1/3 of the fudge sauce (about 2/3 cup), using an offset spatula to spread evenly, and half of the praline, patting into an even layer. Top with another 1/3 of the ice cream, 3 more crackers, 1/3 more fudge sauce and the remaining praline. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of ice cream and 4 more crackers. Use the plastic overhang to wrap the cake up tightly and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.

To serve, unwrap the plastic wrap, then quickly rub the outside of the pan with a warm, moistened kitchen towel to loosen. Flip out onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Top with whipped cream and more chopped praline. Cut slices with a knife dipped in hot water. (If too hard to slice, let sit for a few minutes to soften.) Serve with the remaining fudge sauce, warmed, if desired.

SMOOTH & CREAMY VANILLA ICE CREAM

This was in the July/August 2010 issue of Vegetarian Time (page 48). It begins, "This vanilla bean–flecked ice cream is delicious on its own, and makes the perfect base for fresh fruit add-ins. Simply stir 1-1/4 cups puréed summer fruit (berries, peaches, etc.) into the mixture along with the yogurt, or fold in sliced peaches, strawberries, apricots, or nectarines once you’ve made the ice cream. Sweetened condensed milk and Greek yogurt keep the mixture creamy without using eggs or heavy cream."

While the Vegetarian Time site says it makes 1 servings, the magazine stated that it makes 1 quart. (This can be viewed online at https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/smooth-creamy-vanilla-ice-cream/.).

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups 1% milk

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

3 Tbs. sugar

1/2 vanilla bean

1-1/2 cups low-fat Greek yogurt

Preparation

Combine milk, condensed milk, and sugar in medium saucepan. Split vanilla bean, scrape seeds into mixture, and add bean pod. Bring mixture just to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, and cool 30 minutes. Whisk in yogurt, transfer to covered container, and refrigerate overnight.

Remove bean pod. Pour ice cream base into ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

DARK CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL SORBET

This was in the July/August 2010 issue of Vegetarian Time (page 51). It begins, "You won’t find anything like this rich, decadent-tasting sorbet in the ice cream case at the grocery store! Dark chocolate and a caramelized sugar syrup base give it a creamy texture—without any cream or dairy."

While the website says that this makes one (1) serving, the magazine stated that it makes 1 quart.

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-caramel-sorbet-recipe/..

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. salt

7 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped

Preparation

Place sugar in large saucepan, and heat over medium-low heat. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, or until sugar has melted and caramelized to rich amber color, stirring occasionally.

Stir in lemon juice (mixture will boil violently for several minutes). Slowly add 2-1/2 cups boiling water, and stir until hardened caramel is dissolved. Stir in cocoa powder and salt, and bring mixture to just under a simmer. Remove from heat, and stir in chocolate. Let stand 1 minute, then blend smooth with immersion blender. Transfer to covered container, and refrigerate overnight.

Pour sorbet base into ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

FROZEN CRANBERRY-CREAM PIE

This was in the November 2013 issue of Vegetarian Times (page 40). It begins, "Sweet-tart cranberry sauce is swirled together with Greek frozen yogurt for an easy holiday dessert. If you’re not a fan of allspice, try ground cloves or cinnamon instead. For a sweeter, creamier pie, double the amount of frozen yogurt." Makes 8 servings. Great for holiday table

To view this online, go to https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/frozen-cranberry-cream-pie/.

Ingredients

1 12-oz. bag fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

1 cup vanilla Greek frozen yogurt, softened 10 to 15 minutes

1 9-inch prepared graham cracker crust

Preparation

Bring cranberries, light brown sugar, 1/2 cup water, allspice, and a dash of salt, if desired, to a simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes, or until mixture is thickened. Mash with potato masher to break up any remaining whole cranberries. Transfer to large bowl, and cool.

Fold frozen yogurt into cooled cranberry sauce. Spread in prepared crust. Freeze 2 hours, or until firm.

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