Melon Cassis And French Vanilla Ice Cream With Blackberries Recipes

WARM JOHNNY CAKES WITH WILD BLACKBERRIES

Steps:

• For the honeysuckle simple syrup: Combine the sugar with 2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Put the flowers in a large bowl and pour the syrup over the flowers. Let steep and cool to room temperature, then strain out the flowers. Refrigerate until using.
• For the honeysuckle butter: Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the butter on low speed and add the pinch of salt. Once the butter is soft and malleable, slowly whip in 1 1/2 cups of the honeysuckle simple syrup. Once the syrup is combined, slowly add the flowers.
• For the Johnny cakes: Combine the milk, honey and 3/4 teaspoon of the lemon zest in a small saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the honey is dissolved and the mixture registers 110 degrees F when measured with an instant-read thermometer. Remove the pan from the heat, add the yeast, cover and let steep until the yeast begins to foam, about 15 minutes.
• Combine the cornmeal and milk mixture in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the blackberries in a medium bowl and add 2 cups of the honeysuckle simple syrup. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining 2 1/4 teaspoons lemon zest. Let the berries sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on low speed until foamy. With the machine running, add the sugar 1/2 tablespoon at a time. Increase the speed to medium and whisk until the egg whites form medium-stiff peaks. Set aside.
• Once the batter has risen and soaked up most of the liquid, fold in one-third of the egg white mixture. Add a second third of the egg whites and fold until well incorporated. Fold in the remaining egg whites, being careful not to overmix or deflate the batter.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the batter to the skillet 2 rounded tablespoonfuls at a time to form cakes about the size of a silver dollar. Cook the cakes until golden brown and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes each side. Transfer the cakes to a plate and keep warm until ready to serve. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.
• Arrange 3 cooked cakes on each of 6 dessert plates. Evenly divide the macerated blackberries and their juices over the cakes. Top each plate with 1/2 cup of the honeysuckle butter. Serve immediately.

MIXED BERRY AND CASSIS SUNDAES

Steps:

• Bring crème de cassis and 1/4 cup sugar to a simmer, stirring until sugar has dissolved (if alcohol flames, momentarily cover with lid to extinguish). Stir in lemon juice.
• Pour syrup over berries, stirring gently to coat. Let stand 10 minutes.
• Beat cream with remaining tablespoon sugar using an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks.
• Divide ice cream and sorbet among glasses. Top with berries and syrup, then with whipped cream.

COEURS à LA CRèME WITH BLACKBERRIES

Steps:

• Make coeurs:
• Beat together cream cheese, sour cream, confectioners sugar, vanilla, juice, and a pinch of salt with an electric mixer until smooth. Force mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove any fine lumps.
• Line molds with a single layer of dampened cheesecloth and divide cheese mixture among molds, smoothing tops. Fold overhanging cheesecloth over tops, pressing it lightly. Refrigerate molds in a shallow pan or dish (to catch drips) at least 4 hours.
• Make topping:
• Mash half of blackberries with granulated sugar. Stir in remaining whole berries, cassis, and juice, then macerate, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
• Unmold coeurs and carefully peel off cheesecloth. Let coeurs stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving. Spoon topping over coeurs.

MELON-BLACKBERRY SMOOTHIE

Steps:

• Place the banana, honeydew melon, blackberries, wheat germ, and almond milk into a blender. Cover, and puree until smooth.
• Divide ice cubes into two tall glasses, and pour the smoothie over the ice.

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.

FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM WITH SAUTEED BANANAS AND PHYLLO TRIANGLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Spread a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Top with a layer of phyllo and brush the sheet with the melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon. Scatter a layer of sugar across the butter coated pastry. Repeat with 2 more layers of pastry, then top with a final sheet of dough then cut pastry into long triangles, working from side to side of the cookie sheet, using a sharp paring knife or pizza wheel. Cover the pastry with another sheet of parchment paper and another cookie sheet. Place pastry in the hot oven and bake 15 minutes or until golden. Remove pastry from oven to cool.
• Begin other recipes in your menu while pastry bakes.
• When you are ready to serve dessert, heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter. When butter melts, add bananas and saute 3 minutes. Sprinkle with brown sugar to coat bananas. When sugar melts around fruit, add rum and flame it. Pour rum from shot glass, not from the bottle, to prevent flame ups. When flame goes out and alcohol has evaporated, spoon warm bananas into cocktail glasses. Top with small scoops of French vanilla ice cream and garnish with phyllo triangles. Serve extra triangles on a pretty plate for sweet snacking.

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.

MANGO, BLACKBERRY CASSIS, AND VANILLA MOSAIC

Steps:

• Put sorbet and ice cream in refrigerator until evenly softened, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, purée blackberries, sugar, and cassis in a blender until smooth, then strain thourough a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids. Freeze to thicken slightly until ice cream is ready, 20 to 40 minutes, then stir until smooth.
• Lightly oil loaf pan, then cut a piece of parchment to fit bottom and long sides of pan, leaving at least 3 inches of overhang on each side.
• Fill pan decoratively with spoonfuls of sorbet and ice cream, pressing down and filling empty spaces with blackberry purée as you go. Smooth top, pressing down with back of spoon to eliminutesate air spaces, then fold parchment flaps over top and freeze until solid, at least 3 hours.
• To unmold, run a thin knife along short sides of pan to loosen mosaic, then open parchment and invert onto a flat serving dish, discarding parchment.
• Cut mosaic into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Cooks' note: Mosaic can be made 5 days ahead and frozen, covered with plastic wrap.
• Makes 10 to 12 servings.

VANILLA CREAMS WITH STRAWBERRIES IN CASSIS

Steps:

• Place 2 sieves over bowls; line sieves with cheesecloth or damp kitchen towel. Spoon yogurt into 1 sieve; spoon fromage blanc into second sieve. Cover; chill overnight. Scrape drained yogurt and fromage blanc into large bowl; whisk to combine. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Gently mix in 3 tablespoons sugar and lemon peel. Whisk egg white in medium bowl until peaks form. Gently fold egg white into cheese mixture. Divide among 6 small bowls. Cover; chill at least 8 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
• Toss berries, 2 tablespoons sugar, and cassis in large bowl. Let stand until berries release juices, stirring occasionally, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
• Sift or sprinkle brown sugar evenly over each dessert. Spoon berries and juices over.

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!

EASY MELON ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Tip the cream and sugar into a pan. Bring to the boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved, then turn off the heat. Tip the melon into a food processor with the lemon juice, blitz until smooth, then pour the cream onto the melon and blitz again.
• Pour the mix into an ice-cream machine and churn until thick and semi-frozen, then transfer to a freezerproof container and freeze. Serve the ice cream scooped into a bowl with fresh raspberries.