July is Ice Cream Month! And that means I will be churning a lot of ice creams for sure! I love making homemade ice creams and working on different flavor combinations. That has always been my number 1 thing to do, pairing flavors together to make a blend that is delightful to the palate! I have so many flavor combinations in my mind, I might as well open an ice cream shop, LOL. Just kidding! 😉
I wanted to make an ice cream that signifies the colors of the American Flag, and declaration of Independence Day on July 4th. July 4th is celebrated as the birth of American independence, and it commemorates the day of July 2nd 1776, when the Congress voted in favor of Independence and 13 colonies to form the United States of America, adopting the Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson. Every year on this day, there are barbecues, fireworks, parades, concerts and so much more! The fireworks in San Francisco are so fun to watch, and they have them over the Bay Bridge and is a spectacular sight!
I came to this country 19 years ago, for the freedom of speech and expression, plethora of opportunities, and the feeling of independence. I came here to the land of opportunities to do my Masters in Computer Science, and met wonderful people who are not judgmental, who are willing to help, who are willing to impart their advice and willing to provide mentorship. The fact that you have to learn to be independent in this country, has made me a stronger person and a very independent woman. I never learnt to say no to anyone, but being by myself here has taught me that it is ok to say no. Having the freedom of speech has been the biggest eye opener, and I am still learning new things everyday, and I hope my kids can assimilate all that has been a lesson learnt for me. Happy Independence Day, America! 🙂
Keeping this day in mind, and also July being ice cream month, I created this delicious Mixed Berry and Banana Pound Cake Ice cream, with a berry compote drizzle, and a mixed berry pizzelle to accompany the ice cream! I made a mixed berry compote with 4 different berries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. I make extra, so that I can use the remaining for waffles or plain vanilla ice cream, or as a jam for toast! My recipe calls for about 3 cups of the mixture, out of which I use 2 cups of the compote for the ice cream. I love having extras of toppings, compotes etc. I made a simple banana pound cake that is super delicious and super moist. I make a simple ice cream custard base, and add the compote and the banana pound cake 5 minutes before the churning in the ice cream machine stops. The pizzelle is made from freeze dried blueberries and freeze dried raspberries. I divide the dough into 3 bowls, and mix one bowl with the blueberries and one bowl with the raspberries. I take a spoonful of a mix combination of 3 doughs and make the pizzelles giving them a fun color option along with the pretty design!
The ice cream is super creamy, deliciously fruity, full of flavor and the bites of banana pound cake are a treat! The entire combination reminds me of my favorite American breakfast Waffles with bananas and berries with whipped cream on the top! That was my inspiration for this ice cream, along with the berries and the banana pound cake, signifying the colors of the American Flag!
I hope you get to try this recipe. If you do try it, please do not forget to tag #thejamlab on Instagram and/or leave a comment on this blog post!
Wishing you all a very happy and Safe July 4th!
XO
Amisha
Ingredients
- Mixed Berry Compote:
- ½ cup blueberries
- 3/4 cup blackberries
- ¾ cup raspberries
- 2 cups strawberries(hulled)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 oz lemon juice
- Ice cream custard:
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 4 large egg yolks
- Banana Pound Cake:
- 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ stick unsalted butter, softened + 1 tbsp butter for greasing
- ½ cup plain yogurt
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar + 1 tbsp extra sugar for greasing
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 ½ bananas mashed completely
- Pizzelle:
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup(1 stick) melted butter
- 3 tbsp ground freeze dried raspberries
- 3 tbsp ground freeze dried blueberries
Instructions
- Pizzelle:
- (recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour)
- Beat the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder, mixing until smooth. Add the melted butter, again mixing until smooth; the batter will be thick and soft.
- Divide the batter into 3 bowls. Add freeze dried raspberries to one bowl. Add freeze dried blueberries to another bowl.
- 1. Heat your pizzelle iron. Grease it as directed in the manufacturer's instructions. Take about ½ tsp of one color and ½ tsp of another color, or mix all 3 colors and put it on each pizzelle shape. Cook the pizzelle according to the instructions that came with your iron. In general, they'll take between 45 seconds and 2 1/2 minutes to brown. Remove the pizzelle from the iron, and cool on a rack. If desired, use a pair of scissors to trim any ragged edges.
- Banana Pound Cake:
- Grease a loaf pan with the 1 tbsp butter and sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar all over the pan evenly. Pre-heat oven to 330 degrees.
- In the bowl of a high speed mixer, add the butter and the sugar, and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one a time, and mix after each addition. Add the extracts, and the mashed bananas and mix again, till well blended.
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt and whisk well. Add this flour mixture in 3 additions to the butter mixture and beat until blended. Do not over mix.
- Add the batter to the loaf pan and bake for about 60-70 minutes. Keep checking after 45-50 minutes to see if the toothpick comes out clean from the center of the loaf. Remove loaf pan when toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 15-20 minutes. Gently invert the loaf pan and remove the cake gently and let it cool on the wire rack completely.
- The cake will keep outside for about a week. Cut half of the pound cake into 1 cm cubes(for the ice cream). Half of the cake is used in the ice cream, and the remaining half can be enjoyed as a snack or with coffee/tea!
- Mixed Berry Compote:
- Wash the berries. Cut the strawberries into quarters.
- In a medium bowl, add the berries, sugar, lemon juicel. Mix to incorporate. Let it sit for half an hour.
- In a small saucepan, add in the mixture, stir it to mix any sugar that is still there, at high heat, let it start boiling. It will start foaming as well, do not mix it. Let it boil for about 10-15 minutes. At this point, reduce the temperature to medium heat. Stir the remaining mixture for about 5 more minutes. It will be jammy. Store it in an air tight glass container in the fridge to let it cool and thicken slightly.
- Make the Ice Cream Base:
- (recipe from the Cooking Illustrated)
- Set a strainer over a medium bowl set in a larger bowl containing ice and 2 cups water. Heat the milk, cream, 1/2 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, , until steam appears and the milk is warm (about 175 degrees), about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk the yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl until combined and pale yellow, whisk it vigorously. Whisk half the warm milk mixture into the beaten yolks, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined.
- Whisk the milk-yolk mixture into the warm milk in the saucepan; set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until steam appears, foam subsides, and the mixture is slightly thickened or an instant-read thermometer registers 180 to 185 degrees. (Do not boil the mixture, or the eggs will curdle.)
- Immediately strain the custard into the bowl set in the ice bath; cool the custard to room temperature, stirring it occasionally to help it cool. Once cooled, add in the vanilla extract and stir. Cover and refrigerate for atleast 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Making the ice cream:
- Once, the custard is ready, pour the custard into the ice cream machine and churn, following the manufacturer’s instructions, until the mixture resembles soft-serve ice cream for 20 minutes. Add in 2 cups of the mixed berry compote and banana pound cake cubes at this point. Churn for 5 additional minutes. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight rectangular 8x8 baking tray and let it set in the deep freezer for 2-3 hours.
- Assembly:
- Serve with the mixed berry compote and the pizzelle cookies OR simply sandwich a scoop of ice cream between the pizzelles!
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