Fresh from the Freezer

  Olive oil and pretzels create a mysterious yet addictive flavor that’s greater than the sum of its parts. This flavor combination is one of my favorites so far. Olive oil and pretzels aren’t strangers when it comes to desserts—think orange olive oil cake and chocolate-covered pretzels—but these star-crossed lovers aren’t often paired together for some reason. This ends now. Olive oil and pretzels create a mysterious yet addictive flavor that’s greater than the sum of its parts. It tastes a little like both ingredients, but the combination of the two also tastes like some secret third thing that’s been difficult for me to pinpoint. Whatever it is, I’m really, really into it. I’ve already made this flavor a few times now because of how fantastic it is. I had two other people try it and guess the flavor, and their guesses were nothing short of strange: white bean, onion, possibly toast, and a few others I can’t recall. The taste testers knew what weirdness I’m capable of. ...

I decided to take the inside of roasted sweet potato, mix it up with gelato ingredients plus a splash of rum, and presto! This Japanese sweet potato gelato was born. From the very first bite, I’ve been addicted to Japanese sweet potato, also called satsumaimo. There are so many confections from Japan that use Japanese sweet potato because of its gentle, chestnut-like flavor, including everything from cakes to cookies to puddings and then some. My favorite Japanese sweet potato dessert by far, however, is a baked treat that is literally just called “sweet potato.” Sorry, I know it’s confusing, but there is a dessert in Japan called “sweet potato” that is made out of the plant which is called “sweet potato” in English. To avoid too much confusion, I’m going to refer to the dessert as “suiitopoteto,” which is the Japanese pronunciation, and the tuber itself as “sweet potato.” These are suiitopoteto I made using this recipe  if you'd like to try making them.  They're bette...

  This recipe is basically just liquid Key lime pie meeting whipped cream, as it should be. Isn’t it always so nice to reconnect with old friends? I recently got into contact with a childhood friend of mine who I’ll call D, and I sent her a link to this blog. She expressed interest in a no-churn recipe. No-churn ice cream is easy and accessible. All you need is a can of condensed milk and a pint of cream. However, I have always hesitated with no-churn ice cream recipes because I anticipated them having several big problems:  1. Having a greasy mouthfeel  2. Melting too quickly  3. Being way too sweet I kept wondering what flavor might help mitigate those issues, and then it hit me—Key lime pie. Yay, I finally get to use this tray I bought at a souvenir shop!  I don’t mind doxxing myself just a little bit. D and I both grew up in Florida. She’s since moved away, so I thought this would be perfect to give her a little taste of her former home. The tartness o...

  This recipe contains no fruit, but it is my forbidden fruit. When I first tried corn ice cream, it was from Adrienne Borlongan’s wonderful cookbook The World of Ice Cream , which I reviewed here . I tried a slightly modified version of her recipe and loved it. Corn ice cream is sweet and buttery. Corn ice cream feels like a secret that Southeast Asia and South America have been keeping from North America, and for good reason; almost every time I tell someone here about how delicious it is, they do not believe me. I know people like to stick to their classics, but come on. Corn ice cream is fantastic . What, did you think I was going to call it a-maize-ing? Well, I would not do that. That would be too corny. Ahem. Sorry. Honestly, with how major of a crop corn is in the U.S., I am shocked it is not more popular as a dessert flavor. Corn has quickly became one of my favorite ice cream flavors right up there with vanilla and strawberry. Corn is a trigger food that hurts my...

  This ice cream really tastes like the inside of a blueberry cheesecake. An online friend once told me that her favorite ice cream flavor is blueberry. I had doubts about how good it could be. Until this month, I had never bothered making blueberry ice cream. If I wanted to make a berry flavor, I would make something tart and zippy, like strawberry or raspberry. Maybe I’m just picky, but blueberries don’t always have a ton of flavor. The kind of blueberries I like are the kind that has good surface tension and a little bit of tartness. I like the ones that pop when chewed. Don’t give me a mealy, wrinkly, too sweet, one-note blueberry. Anyways, I was fortunate enough to get a punnet of blueberries like that from the grocery store, and I decided that blueberry cheesecake ice cream was in order. I slightly adapted this recipe from Deliciously Rushed . This recipe is not low carb, but it is still lower in sugar and higher in protein than the average storebought pint, not t...