The Texas heat has really kicked in due to the arrival of August. Most of us watch the temperature gauge and sit in the air conditioning when time permits, however, there are the few that live for the outdoors when the sun is at the hottest.
The real test for toleration comes either when there is no heat in the winter or no air in the summer. This weekend was the test for me since the air conditioning went out. Luckily, there was another place where I could stay with air conditioning, but it did not have all the amenities of the house.
I still intended to create a delicious dessert, but with the kitchen being 93 degrees, my creativity was a bit limited. It did not take much time for me to decide on making some ice cream. Not just ice cream, but something a little more challenging and unique. So the ice cream idea evolved into and ice cream pie. This recipe has been created by adapting and combining several component recipes together.
This ice cream pie has a tasty combination of strawberries and chocolate. A pie with an oreo cookie crust filled with sweet strawberry ice cream would have been quite satisfying at the end of a meal. As a food blogger, I could not resist on taking this recipe to another level by adding more cookies and chunks of dark chocolate candy loaded with almonds to the ice cream.
So if you are looking for a delicious way to beat the heat, head for the kitchen and pull out the ice cream maker-this recipe is well worth the time and effort. Be sure to review the tips at the end of this recipe that will help you have more success in creating this dessert.
Choco Berry Ice Cream Pie
by Flourtrader
Ingredients/Crust
3 tbs melted butter
18 crushed oreos
Ingredients/Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cups half and half
1/3 cup water
1 pint hulled and sliced strawberries
8 oreo cookies, broken into chunks
3/4 cup chopped chocolate almond candy (milk or dark)
1/4 cup chopped chocolate almond candy (for topping)
2 eggs
2 tbs lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon squeezed)
3/4 and 1/3 cup sugar (divided)
The first step is to create the strawberry blend for the ice cream. Fill a bowl with the lemon juice and whisk in 1/3 cup sugar. Add the sliced strawberries and stir, making sure all the slices are coated with the sugar mixture. Cover the bowl and place in refrigerator for about an hour, allowing the strawberries to sweeten in the sugar mixture.
After about 30 minutes, start on the cream mixture. Whisk the eggs together for about 2 minutes in a medium size bowl until frothy. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and whisk again. Continue adding the sugar and blending in 1/4 cup increments. As you whisk the mixture, it will thicken and become less grainy.
Using another bowl, mix the water, half & half and heavy cream together. Then pour into the egg mixture and stir until blended. Then take out the strawberry mixture from the refrigerator. Before mixing the strawberries with the cream, you can decide on a few options. For a less chunky and more strawberry flavor you can choose to mash the strawberries in the juices. Another choice is to drain off as much of the liquid from the mixture as desired and leave the slices of strawberries in tact. Bear in mind, however, that the bigger the chunks of strawberries more ice will form with the berries.
Once blended, fill ice cream maker and follow instructions that came with it. As the ice cream is thickening, start on the crust.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, blend the crushed oreos with the butter. Empty mixture into a 9 inch pie pan and press evenly up the interior sides and bottom to form a crust. Place in oven and let bake for about 10 minutes. Then place on rack to completely cool.
Using a small bowl, mix together the oreo cookie chunks and 3/4 cup of chopped candy. This blend should be mixed into the cream component only when you have completed the instructions given with the ice cream maker. This is when the cream has been converted into a thick ice cream.
Then fill the prepared crust with the ice cream mixture and smooth the top. Freeze for a minimum of four hours or overnight, depending on how solid you want the filling in the pie. Prior to serving, sprinkle the remaining (1/4 cup) rest of the chopped candy on the surface of the pie.
Tips and Notes:
1. Consider adding about 1 tbs of invert sugar in order to keep the filling from being too icy, recipe can be found here.
2. Feel free to play around with the dairy products by using goat's milk or almond milk in place of the half and half and water. I have yet to do this, so I cannot comment on the results.
3. Also, you might want to change the crust to an almond/graham blend instead of crushed oreos.
4. For the strawberry blend, I crushed the strawberries in the mixture with a large fork. I wanted a more strawberry flavor throughout the ice cream, than strawberries with cream filling.
**LAST YEAR: Breakfast Muffins**
