rosemary & brown sugar ice cream

while it's surely not summer in northern michigan just yet (simply dip your toes in lake michigan and you'll agree), the occasional glistening 75 and sunny spring day has me in full-on ice cream heaven mode. i don't think a week went by this winter without at least some sort of homemade frozen treat available in the freezer (ice creams, sorbets, and sherbets), but now that some warmth has arrived... well there's often at least two or three options to choose from. and i have a hankering feeling that things are only going to get better from here. 

i'm an ice cream addict and i'm not afraid to admit it. so, here's to a summer of ice cream! 

i made this simple, yet sultry, rosemary ice cream using just six simple ingredients, including whole creamline milk and heavy cream from shetler family dairy. if you learn just one thing from this post, let it be the value in finding a good local dairy from whom you can purchase quality grass-fed milk, cream and butter. your treats, meals, and body will thank you. take a look here to learn more about the benefits of grass-fed dairy! 

if you saw my brownie ice cream sandwiches, you’ll recognize this brown sugar ice cream base. it’s the perfect ice cream in my mind, so you’ll likely be seeing a LOT of variations on this one. i love the rich caramel flavor that comes to life by making a simple switch to brown sugar in a classic vanilla custard base. 

the rosemary and brown sugar flavor balance is inspired by this stunning rosemary cake, with brown butter frosting.  i made this cake for multiple special holiday occasions last year, and it's been in my heart ever since - pulling fresh savory herbs into my sweets left and right. 

ingredients: 

2 cups heavy cream 

2 cups whole milk 

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

3 egg yolks 

1 Tbsp vanilla 

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary 

instructions: 

combine the milk, cream, and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally. heat to just about a simmer, ensuring the sugar is dissolved. 

while the milk is heating, place egg yolks in a medium bowl (i like to use a big measuring bowl like this one). once the milk is heated through, turn off the heat and pour about 1/2 cup into the yolks, whisking to combine. then add about half of the remaining milk, whisking to combine once more. finally, pour the milk and yolk mixture back into the pot, whisking to combine it with the rest of the milk. 

return the pot to medium-low heat, stirring the mixture constantly until you have a custard. knowing when it's ready is probably the trickiest part of making custard, but you'll get the hang of it! the mixture will start to thicken and coat the back of a wooden spoon when it's ready. this generally takes 5-10 minutes on my stove. if your a thermometer type, you want to bring the custard to 170 degrees. the most important thing is to stir it constantly and not overcook it. 

when the custard is ready, pour it back into the bowl and stir in the vanilla and salt. plenty of people will recommend you put that bowl directly into an ice bath... but i'll admit that i'm lazy in that department. i just stir it for a minute or two while it starts to cool, cover the bowl, and pop it in the fridge. 

let the custard cool for about 4 hours, then churn according to your ice cream maker's directions. as the mixture thickens, sprinkle in the rosemary. when it's fully churned, scoop into a container, cover, and place in the freezer for at least an hour or two before serving. 

(almost) traditional english trifle

trifle was a favorite beautiful yet easy to throw together dessert as i was growing up - my mom made it with store bought cake and instant pudding, so it came together in a breeze. 

when it came time to celebrate a big birthday of hers (a lady never tells her mom's age, right) over the weekend, my dad thought she might enjoy a dressed up version of the old favorite. so i set out to make all the layers of a traditional trifle from scratch and boy was it a success! i mean, look at this - layer after layer of fresh berries, whipped cream, pound cake, and sherry. of course there must be sherry! 

this dessert is a crowd pleaser, and while it takes a bit of planning ahead to make all the layers, and half an hour or so for assembly the day you're planning to serve it - the effort is well worth it! you can expect abundant "wows" over your creation, and everyone reaching in for seconds! 

so, as the season for fragrant, sweet and intoxicatingly delicious strawberries approaches... i give you the perfect summertime dessert for a crowd. using all the ingredients listed below will give you enough for about 20 small servings. you can always half the recipe for a smaller bowl (though it has to be tall for the layers!), or make individual trifles in tumblers or other wide glasses. 

ingredients: 

note: these amounts represent what i used for my trifle... but it'll all depend on the size of bowl you use. i made a large bowl, so this should be plenty for you, just keep an eye on how much of each item you're using as you layer your bowl! 

1 loaf of martha stewart's vanilla pound cake (or another pound cake or angel food cake recipe) 

double batch of smitten kitchen's vanilla bean pudding  (i had a little left over for snacking!) 

about 1 pint heavy whipping cream (i used a bit more) 

2 quarts fresh strawberries, greens removed and sliced in half 

1 pint fresh raspberries 

1 jar raspberry jam (i like american spoon!) 

about 1/2 cup cream sherry 

instructions: 

first, puree just under half of the strawberries in a blender, leaving some small chunks of strawberry. 

then whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. set aside one quarter of the whipped cream, and fold the pureed berries into the other three quarters of the cream. now, you're ready to start assembling the trifle! 

cover the bottom of a deep clear bowl (or about 10 wide glasses) with slices of the pound cake, cutting the slices to fill in the space as best you can. most important to making this look beautiful is the get the cake as close to the sides as possible.

sprinkle sherry over the pound cake (don't be afraid to have a heavy hand with it - being able to taste the sherry is super important to this being a traditional trifle!).  

spread a thin layer of raspberry jam over the pound cake. 

scoop some of the vanilla pudding on next, spreading it around to create an even layer. 

next, layer half of the raspberries over the pudding to cover the entire layer. 

cover the berries with the strawberry whipped cream. 

continue to create layers, using the same structure until you reach the top of the container. choose one layer to use strawberries instead of raspberries for your fruit layer, placing cut side of halved strawberries against the sides of the bowl to create some distinction of the fruit layer. 

when you've constructed your last group of layers, top with the plain whipped cream and decorate the top with strawberries. you can also grate a little chocolate on top for decoration if you like! 

keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve. serve within 24 hours of constructing, preferably less. 

crave-worthy chocolate chip cookies

as i sit here writing this, glancing at a small empty container with a few cookie crumbs in the bottom, i'm seriously regretting giving away 80% of this batch of cookies... because they turned out absolutely incredibly. they're seriously chocolatey, and perfectly tender with a little crisp on the edges and a bit of salty to balance the sweet. of course, a big part of the reason for giving them away is so i wouldn't eat the whole batch in one sitting... and this just proves i totally would have. thank goodness for neighbors! 

it all started last night, when i stumbled upon smitten kitchen's review and re-posting of Ashley Rodriguez's chocolate chip cookie recipe. deb has been a favorite food blogger of mine since, well, way before i ever wanted to do this myself. i've been drooling over her photos and recipes, and making them over and over again for years. so when she went gaga for a cookie recipe from not without salt, another favorite blog of mine... i couldn't help but want to make them as soon as i possibly could. 

enter the very next morning - first coffee, then cookies! thankfully, this recipe requires only one bowl and is super simple. 

yields 10-12 large cookies, and can easily be doubled for more! 

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ingredients: 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 

2 Tbsp organic cane sugar 

2 Tbsp turbinado sugar (use brown sugar if you can't find / don't have turbinado) 

3/4 cup plus 2Tbsp light brown sugar 

1 large egg 

1 tsp vanilla 

3/4 tsp baking soda 

heaped 1/4 tsp salt 

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 

1/2 pound bittersweet chocolate chips, or chopped dark chocolate bar 

flaky sea salt or celtic sea salt 

instructions: 

cream together butter and all three sugars, beating for at least 5 minutes with an electric mixer, stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or a really buff arm.  

add egg and vanilla, and beat until just incorporated. 

beat in baking soda and salt until fully combined. 

mix in the flour on a low speed, until just incorporated. 

using a spatula or wooden spoon, stir in chocolate until evenly distributed. 

scoop cookies onto baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. i used my ice cream scoop to do this to get big cookies and nice circles. sprinkle each cookie with a few flakes of salt. 

bake at 360 degrees, for 10-12 minutes - until the edges just start to brown and the centers are still soft. let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.