#152 Choux buns with Raspberry ripple Ice cream & chocolate sauce
like a Mr Whippy style 99... but better!
I know I’m prone to the odd hyperbole, but this is really, very exciting news: I’ve 100%, definitely found the cure for hiccups. Tried it for the 4th time this week and, thus far, I’ve had a 100% success rate. So, when this phenomenon becomes internationally recognised, remember you heard it here first, ok?
A fizzy drink, that’s what you need!!! Sugar free seems to work a treat but I don’t think it’s a prerequisite. You have to gulp it, no breaths allowed. Yes, it’s super spicy in your throat, kinda makes your eyes water, but needs must and all that. Approximately 19 gulps should suffice (I counted). Then you’re done, obviously return to breathing and whatnot, but Hiccups will have been magically exterminated, I guarantee it. (Please report back with reviews!)
How are we all doing, anyway? Less sweaty? I know this is a controversial statement, but I miss it already, the super-warmth and sunshine, wearing short shorts every day and mainly subsisting on ice cream and watermelon… everywhere seems a bit grey, and err… glum again.
And my week has been mixed too. I kicked off Monday confident that I really wasn’t good enough at life, failing at every turn, not doing or being enough, comparing myself to everyone else. All the usual self-flagellation.
Then something changed a bit on Tuesday, I muddled my way through some fun kitchen experiments in the morning: mini pavlovas, plus some other desserts bits, a GF cake made with oat flour (a structural nightmare but flavour sensation - room for more experimentation!), also Scottish oatcakes - a throne for good cheese, and everything seemed a bit less doomy. I just thought, God, we only get one of these lives, stop worrying for a minute, keep just keeping on, and smile as much as you can while you’re at it.
So, I did. Went into town with Mum in the afternoon, wore jeans and everything (not gym kit!) and tried on some shoes that I can’t afford, Birkenstock clogs, I love them! Aren’t they pretty? Also, SO comfy. I saw my best friends on Wednesday evening, very unlike me to be out on a school night, but it was the BEST tonic, and my other delight at the moment is seeing happiness in others. All sounds a bit self-righteous when I say it like that, but I find myself SO unbearably buoyed when I see a happy spirit. People enjoying their holidays (is it just me that LOVES living vicariously through someone else’s holiday?), watching laughter, success (mainly in sport), camaraderie (also a lot in sport), family-ing, seeing those doing things that they love with an infectious zeal, dogs bounding around (mostly my dog, sorry but she’s the best!). It really boosts me.
Oh god, about dogness; we had another dog/cat/mouse episode this week. Picture this: cat finds a mouse, very proud of himself, brings it home alive to show us, only we don’t see his gift - very remiss of us. Dog decides she wants a piece of the fun, so steals mouse and takes it inside for safe keeping, seemingly plays with it LOTS, her new best pal!!! - we’re still none the wiser, she just seems a bit shifty in the study, strange! 20 minutes later she decides she should probably introduce us to her new mate, brings it outside, (where we are Lunching), for us to see - it’s very dead by this point, death from shock I assume (RIP mouse) and she’s SO confused, ‘why isn’t it still playing with me?’. No amount of pawing mouse in the face revitalises it but she’s still smitten. We step in and rescue dead mouse with a little peanut butter related subterfuge because she wouldn’t have given it up without a fight otherwise…. she subsequently spends the afternoon UTTERLY perplexed as to where it’s gone. Cat, meanwhile, v.chuffed with himself for creating such a commotion. Such fun.
Some actual fun to share, though:
Firstly crisps, I’ve told you about them before, I’m sure, but here’s a reminder. They’re called San Nicasio Potato Chips (I get Himalayan Sea salt because I don’t agree with any other flavour of crisp, salt and balsam or malt vinegar at a push actually). Yes, they’re pricey, savour them over the week, but they remind me of holidays in Spain, you know when they serve you a basket of crisps with your sangria? Like them, superb.
Second up, the ultimate pick-me-up for afternoon flagging, you will need a handful of squishy medjool dates, tahini (or PB), coconut flakes (or another nut), a few sliced rounds of banana, some choc (melted), and a pinch of sea salt flakes. Halve the date, flatten it, spread with tahini, then coconut, press the banana on top then spoon over the melted choc. Freeze it (essential), consume from freezer. Sublime.
ALSO… I made my first ever PROPERLY churned ice cream this week! Incidentally, I’ve decided that ice cream must fall into the same bracket as custard which you will recall from last week’s discussions, is the secret to longevity. So, ice cream is basically your summertime dose of custard medicine. Anyway, I made a simple vanilla flavoured crème anglaise with leftover egg yolks from my pavlova exploits, chilled it overnight, then churned it in the Lakeland ice cream maker that I’ve had for about 3 years and never used because I’ve been too scared to try. Oh my gosh was that exciting - level of accomplishment: OFF.THE.SCALE! Tastes a bit like Walls ice cream - that’s meant to be a compliment, by the way!! - highly addictive, as you can imagine, ice cream is always addictive, isn’t it? My advice, you should definitely try it sometime if you haven’t already!
… in the meantime, my no-churn raspberry ripple ice cream, the centrepiece of this week’s recipe, is SUCH a nifty alternative. I love that you can so easily make an ice cream dupe without any special gadgets, and it absolutely compares! A little less complex in flavour and texture, of course, but a superb thing in its own right. Swirled with a homemade raspberry ripple, then, once set, served with or inside toasty little choux buns, and a drizzle of melted chocolate, it’s giving Mr Whippy style 99 nostalgia!! I’m obsessed! You have to try it. Also, this is a multi-part recipe. You can make some or all of it which feels like a bonus, right?
Ok, I don’t think I have much else to report… any gossip your end? Titbits I need to hear about? Holidays you’re going on! Do tell me about these!!! I love to hear sunshine stories!
Sending oodles of love, as always,
Steph X X X
Choux buns with Raspberry ripple ice cream & chocolate sauce
Apparently, according to my calendar and Google having just checked, it’s National ice cream day today, which makes this week’s recipe, serendipitously fitting - I do love it when that happens.
And I especially love this ice cream-based concept, it’s really just 3 great things combined to make something even more magical… a concept if you like.
One you could absolutely just take inspiration from and run with; make a batch of choux, load it up with your favourite ice cream, top with a drizzle of melted chocolate, fin.
I know I’m biased, but I think my idea is especially great, as it has this added layer of Mr Whippy nostalgia about it!
The toasty choux bun (my favourite choux recipe) represents the cone, a no churn vanilla ice cream is rippled with a homemade raspberry sauce, for that classic flavour pairing we know and love, and a chocolate sauce is drizzled on top, it freezes as soon as it hits the ice cream, which is a little nod to the all-important Flake. It really is a comfort classic.
Also appropriate for adults and children alike, a great family BBQ dessert idea, IMO. With the exception of the chocolate sauce, which takes moments, all the bits can be prep’d in advance, then everyone just dives in and makes a glorious mess, so fun!
Ok so it’s a bit of a project, each element has a few bitty steps to it… but they’re all totally doable, and as I always say, baking is foolproof mind therapy - particularly in the case of choux, actual magic before your eyes - which makes it doubly worthwhile.
If you give this a go, do let me know what you think, I hope you find it as brilliant as I do.
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