More Ice Cream for You!

It's the last day of National Ice Cream Month. But that doesn't mean the ice cream parties should end! At the beginning of the month, I shared my Oat and Dulce de Leche ice cream that I made for our Ice Cream themed Foodie Extravaganza event. There are lots of great ice creams on the list in that post so do check those out if you haven't yet.

Here are some others that caught my eye this month.

Coconut Marshmallow Fluff Ice Cream from Blahnik Baker - Cannot stop drooling over this one. A coconut ice cream would have been delicious. But she added marshmallow fluff AND toasted marshmallows. Amazing stuff. I'll take mine with some chocolate chips added in.

Roasted Apricot Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream from Joanne Eats Well - It has chocolate chunks. Need I say more? How about the fact that she roasted the apricot?

Ice Cream Pie with Peanut Butter Krispie Crust from Foodie Crush - For the peanut butter lovers!

Salted Oreo Ice Cream Pie from Climbing Grier Mountain  - Oreos. Oreos. Oreos.

No Churn Coconut Pistachio Ice Cream from The Spiffy Cookie - My mother would go crazy over this one!

Blueberry Lemongrass Ice Cream from Pastry Chef Online - Very different!


Which flavours have caught your eye recently?



 

Coconut Cilantro Pesto Dip with Baked Plantains - CIC

I put my hand upon your hip.
When I dip, you dip, we dip.

Ahem. Sorry. I just couldn't help it, So after procrastinating last month and having to rush to melt a back up dish for Crazy Ingredient Challenge, I vowed to not let that happen this month. As soon as the final votes were on, I started planning a dish using this month's winners - coconut and pesto. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to make. That was until a friend challenged me to avoid making bread. It wasn't exactly bread that I had planned but fiiiine, I'd step away from my flour crutch.

Stepping away wasn't easy. Coconut can be hard to highlight since it's flavour is so subtle. I eventually decided a chickpea salad/dip. Still clutching to my bread love, I thought I'd make a sandwich using this whimsical bread that I made. My owl is a little drunk/sad but he still makes a good sandwich.

Somehow, even after all that planning and a vow to not procrastinate, I found myself running to the supermarket at 11pm on the 18th to grab basil and coconut milk. Oops! And guess what? The supermarket was out of basil! Since it was too late to go elsewhere, I had to switch gears. I grabbed cilantro for a cilantro pesto then made a last minute decision to ditch the chickpeas. Instead I went with baked plantains. Really delicious and later this week, I'll still cook a batch of chickpeas to mix with the dip.

The plantains are twice baked in the style of the fried tostones. Growing up, my mother would often make these on weekends. She' fry them though. I don't think we have a particular name for them in Jamaica. I just knew them as the best plantains ever. But I know Latin American and African countries have a variety of names for them.

Be sure to scroll down to see how others used coconut and pesto!

 

Coconut Cilantro Pesto Dip with Baked Plantains

Ingredients

Coconut Sour Cream

1 can coconut milk 

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 teaspoon oil

salt, to taste

Coconut Cilantro Pesto Dip

2 packed cups cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup nuts of choice

1 jalapeno pepper

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons shredded coconut

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 - 4 tablespoons oil (coconut or olive oil)

 salt to taste

 coconut sour cream

Baked Plantains

 2 green plantains 

salt 

oil for brushing

Directions

Place the coconut milk in the fridge for at least two hours. If short on time, you can place it in the freezer. After the can has chilled, carefully open the can. Do not shake the can at all. 

Scoop out the cream that has solidified at the top. Reserve the remaining liquid for smoothies or Jamaican rice and peas. 

Mix together the lemon juice and vinegar and stir in a little at a time into the the coconut cream. Taste and add enough to reach your desired taste. Stir in oil and salt. Place in the fridge to chill and solidify a a little. 

Put the cilantro, nuts, jalapeno, coconut and garlic into a food processor. Process until well-blended. Add the lemon juice then drizzle in the olive oil until you have reached your desired consistency. Err on the side of a thick peasto as you will be stirring in the coconut sour cream that will thin it considerably. Additionally, aim for a really spicy pesto since the coconut sour cream will mute the heat quite a lot. Stir in salt to taste. 

Mix the cilantro pesto and the coconut sour cream. Taste and adjust with salt or acid, if necessary. Chill until ready to use. It will thicken the longer it sits in the fridge. 

Preheat the oven to 400F. 

Slice the plantains into 1 inch pieces. Brush the pieces with oil then place on a greased baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and flatten the plantain pieces. My mother usually used two saucers so that's what I did.  Brush with additional oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for another 15 minutes or until the plantain has reached the desired crispness. You can place it under the broiler for just under a minute if it's not reaching your preferred colour. 

Serve warm with coconut cilantro pesto dip!

Notes

Everything above is totally customizable. Taste at each step and adjust where you see fit. You may want more or less coconut. You may want less heat or more acid. There's no messing it up. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Generra Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

I have had the words for this blog post planned for weeks and then yesterday happened. It started with not getting any sleep on Tuesday night, then there was a really bad fall (I'm OK enough, I think), storms all day which meant a darker than usual house for pics (but water for the drought-stricken county!), a hard drive that did not want to cooperate, missed meals, and three stores that did not have the specific ice cream that I needed to soothe my weary soul. I was going to ditch the previously planned words and be really whiny as I sat typing up this post on my phone. But though the day really really sucked, there was cake and eventually, 5 minutes before one supermarket closed, I found the ice cream that I wanted. Whining can wait. Let's talk about this cake - generra cake.

I learned about generra a couple weeks ago - it is a coffee beverage that has orange rind and chocolate. From my research, it seems that this is a Singaporean thing. I found a coffee shop or two in Australia mentioning it and then another couple in Seattle. But most of the mentions were in Singapore. The cake  could be called "Orange Mocha Bundt" but one generra description made it seem that it was more about the coffee than the chocolate so I kept the name.

I could have also called this "Headache in a Bundt" because 3 of the 4 main ingredients have at some point triggered migraines or headaches for me. Living dangerously, folks. But I call it research. I have known for the last couple years that peanuts may be off the migraine-trigger list. I've been sneaking handfuls here and there and there's peanut butter in the cupboard. I have been too scared to touch or be in the same room as oranges since the 1990's so it was definitely time to do some testing.

As for coffee... sigh... I'll tell you more about my lack of a relationship with hot beverages and milk in October. (Yes, I said October.) The short story with coffee is this. I LOVE coffee flavoured desserts - especially ice cream. Hello, Starbucks Java Chip Ice Cream! I still remember the first day I tasted you. There were embarrassing sounds as I tried to lick the carton clean. The coffee ice cream at Devon House in Jamaica is pretty amazing too. However, I just cannot fall in love (or even like) with a cup of coffee. The first sip usually gives me an instant headache but I keep trying - hoping that one day it will taste like ice cream. Oh and then there's the fact that coffee makes me sleepy. Yeah, I'm wired a little differently. Conversely, sleeping pills and antihistamines do not make me sleepy. Google said I'm not abnormal. Well, what Google said was that there are "others". It's possible that that does not translate to "Kelly, you are normal."

So the verdict? I ate a whole lot of cake and there were no headaches. I did feel a twinge here and there but it wasn't anything serious and there were several confounding factors. I'm still not ready to jump back on the orange train though. It's been so many years (decades!) that I don't miss it enough to risk it just yet. Maybe in another couple years, the researcher in me will do some more orange-tests.

By the way, peanuts are not a part of the generra. Our theme for Bundt Bakers this month is fruits and nuts. I had the fruit covered and needed a nut. I could have easily used so many other non-migraine inducing nuts to complement the generra. I'm just ridiculously stubborn sometimes. If you love coffee flavoured desserts, give this one a try. You may even want to add more espresso to give the coffee flavour an extra boost. I was actually surprised at how well the orange worked and the coffee did not overpower it at all. If you use instant coffee instead of espresso powder, you're going to want to use a few more tablespoons.

Scroll down to see how the other Bundt Bakers used fruits and nuts this month! Thanks for hosting, Shilpi!

.

Generra Bundt Cake

Recipe by: Kelly

Yield: 1 large Bundt or 12 one cup sized minis

Ingredients Cake  1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used peanuts) 4 tablespoons espresso powder 1 teaspoon hot water 1 cup milk 2 3/4 cup flour 1/4 cup cocoa  2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 eggs zest of one orange Orange Whipped Cream 1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled 2 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar 1 tablespoon orange zest, finely minced

Directions Cake: Preheat oven to 350 F. Thoroughly grease and flour Bundt pan(s). Sprinkle the nuts at the bottom of the pan(s). Dissolve the espresso powder in the hot water and then add to the milk. In a separate container, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In a third container, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla then add each egg one at a time.  Add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the coffee mixture in two additions. Start and end with the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Scrape the batter into prepared pan(s). Bake the large Bundt 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The mini Bundts should be finished within 15-18 minutes.  Cool for ten minutes then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.  Orange Whipped Cream - Beat the whipped cream to soft peaks then slowly beat in orange juice, sugar and zest. Beat to stiff peaks.

Notes If substituting instant coffee for espresso powder, you may want to double the amount.Taste your batter! Make sure it's really strong.

Fruits and Nuts

 

• Almond Rhubarb Bundt Cake from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Aloha Bundt Cake from Olivia at Liv for Cake
• Apple Pecan Bundt Cake from Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes
• Apricot-Almond Bundt Cake from Cali at Cali’s Cuisine
• Banana Peanut Butter Bundt Cake from Jana at Jenny and Sweets
• Banana Monkey Bundt Cake from Los Chatos Chefs at Los Chatos Chefs
• Banana Pecan Bundt with Bananas Foster Frosting from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Banana Split Bundt Cake from Andrea at Adventures in All Things Food
• Blueberry Cherry Coffee Cake with Walnut Streusel from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Cherry and Almond Bundt Cake from Lara at Tartacadabra
• Cherry and Nuts Bundt Cake from Diego at La Mejor Manera de Hacer
• Cherry and Sliced Almond Mini Bundt Cakes from Teri at The Freshman Cook
• Cherry Pistachio and Honey Bundt Cake from Ethel at eating in instead
• Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake from Vonnie at My Catholic Kitchen
• Eggless Mango Almond Bundt Cake from Shilpi at Simply Veggies
• Generra Bundt Cake from Kelly at Passion Kneaded
• Lemon Lime Pistachio Bundt Cake from Rocío at kidsandchic
• Orange and Pecan Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache from Deepti at Baking Yummies
• Orange Blossom Honey Nut and Blueberry Cake from Anshie at Spice Roots
• Peach and Pecan Bundt from Catherine at Living The Gourmet
• Peach Coffee Cake from Julie at Eat, Drink, Be Mighty
• Pineapple-Pecan Bundt Cake from Kathya at Basic N Delicious
• Pineapple Sundae Bundt Cake from Colleen at Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Pomegranate and Pistachio Kugelhopf from Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
• Roasted Banana and Black Walnut Bundt Cake from Terri at Our Good Life
• Summer Fig Bundt from Margaret at Tea and Scones
• Vegan Orange Ripple Rhubarb Cake with Pistachio Sauce from June at How to Philosophize with Cake

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.