Best Melon Cassis And French Vanilla Ice Cream With Blackberries Recipes

CASSIS A L'EAU

Steps:

• Fill 3 glasses with ice cubes. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons crème de cassis in each glass and add water.

FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the yolks and half of the sugar.
• In a non-reactive saucepan combine the cream, 1 cup of the milk, the remaining sugar, and the salt.
• Split the vanilla bean in half, lengthwise, to expose the tar-like seeds inside the pod. Scrape the seeds loose with a knife; add the bean and the seeds to the cream mixture.
• Heat the cream over medium-high heat until just at a boil. Remove from the heat. Gradually pour the hot liquid into the yolks, while whisking constantly. Return the cream-egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring the mixture constantly, with a wooden spoon in a figure-8 motion, until thickened, about 10 minutes. When the ice cream mixture is properly cooked it should coat the back of a spoon, be satiny thick, and be free of any bubbles on the surface. (If you taste the ice cream base it should have a slight egg-y taste.) When thickened, pour in the reserved milk to prevent the mixture from overcooking. Strain into a medium bowl. Add the cognac if desired.
• Fill another bowl with ice. Set the bowl of ice cream base in the ice and stir until thoroughly chilled. Freeze the base in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. (Take care not to over churn the ice cream or it will get a grainy texture.) Transfer the ice cream to the freezer to set up for at least 1 hour. Serve.

BLACKBERRY ICE CREAM WITH CANDIED LEMON ZEST

Steps:

• Remove the zest (the colored part of the peel, not the white) of the lemons in long strips with a vegetable peeler or paring knife and cut into matchstick size. Juice enough lemons to yield 1/2 cup.
• Combine 1 cup of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan and heat to boiling, swirling the pan instead of stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the lemon zest strips and boil over medium-high heat for 30 minutes or until the lemon strips are translucent and syrup forms big, sticky bubbles that cover the surface.
• Remove pan from heat and take peel from pan with a fork to a sieve placed over a bowl. Cool zest strips until dried. Reserve syrup for another use; for example, for lemonade or sorbet.
• While lemon zest cools, puree blackberries in a food processor and push pulp through a wire sieve placed over a large bowl to remove seeds. Add the remaining 2 cups of sugar, the cassis, reserved lemon juice and the cream to the blackberry puree and whisk until blended.
• Grease a cutting board with nonstick cooking spray and spread out the candied lemon peel over surface. Coat candied lemon zest with cooking spray and finely chop; stir it into berry mixture. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
• Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If ice cream is very soft, transfer to a container, cover and freeze until hard.

BLACKBERRY FRENCH TOAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Spread the bread slices on a baking sheet and turn off the oven. Place the sheet in the oven and leave it overnight until the bread is dried.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/4 cup sugar until all yolks are broken, and then add the milk and cream. Put the dried bread pieces on top of the egg mixture. Wait a few minutes, and then push the rest of the bread into the mixture and mix lightly. Place a small or medium casserole dish on a baking sheet that is lined with foil. Brush the dish with some of the melted butter.
• Put half of the bread mixture in the dish to make a layer that covers the bottom. With a slotted spoon, arrange the berries evenly over the bread layer. Sprinkle the berries with sugar. Using your hands, pull out the remaining bread and create a second layer, arranging it evenly and patting down any crusts. With a spatula, stir the remaining egg mixture and pour over the top bread layer. Using a flat pastry brush, lightly brush the rest of the melted butter over the top. Bake the French toast until it rises up about 1-inch on the sides, about 1 hour. Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then cut into servings and serve immediately with sausage patties and fresh fruit.

CASSIS-SPLASHED MELON WITH FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM & BLACKB

Steps:

• Cut off a sliver of each melon wedge bottom, so that they will sit nicely on a plate.
• Pour 2 tablespoons of cassis liqueur or syrup across each melon wedge.
• Scoop 1 ball of ice cream onto each wedge of melon.
• Garnish each with blackberries and serve.
• Simple as that!