It may sound like a contradiction in terms, but vegetable-laden desserts are expected to carve a new trend next year, along with an appreciation for hand-made sweets and surprising new flavors.

According to the latest trendspotting forecast for 2012 by San Francisco-based Andrew Freeman & Co., pioneering and creative chefs will increasingly be experimenting with unexpected flavor combinations in desserts, using bases like ice cream as a vehicle to carry the new pairings.

For instance, vegetables are making their way into desserts at Mario Batali’s New York restaurant Del Posto, where they offer a sorbet flavored with celery and fig, while Michelin-starred restaurant Murray Circle in San Francisco also uses candied beet in its Autumn Pear flavor, made with licorice sabayon, confit of Bartlett pear, and sourdough ice cream, the report points out.

Grass and horseradish, meanwhile, make up the main ingredients in an ice cream offered at Max and Mina’s ice cream parlor in Queens, New York.

When it comes to frozen treats, it’s not just unusual flavor combinations that are upping the ante. New textures are also emerging, most notably imported from Taiwan, birthplace of some of the most novel desserts like bubble tea and shaved ices sweetened with condensed milk, fruit or red beans.

The next frozen treat and Asian import to excite ice cream lovers will be snow ice, predict Freeman analysts. With the creaminess of ice cream, the Taiwanese dessert at Snobar in Los Angeles, for instance, looks like layers of a ruffled skirt and has a feathery, cotton candy-like texture that dissolves in the mouth instantly.

The iced delicacy originated in Taiwan about 40 years ago and uses purified water infused with flavoring before it's flash-frozen and then shaved. Flavors include mango, strawberry, peanut butter and banana, chocolate, green tea, taro and rose.

And finally, a confectionery that for years was limited to summer campfires will be resurrected next year and enjoy newfound popularity, analysts predict, as pastry chefs create homemade marshmallows in exotic flavors.

New York-based DreamPuff Marshmallows Handmade Marshmallows, for instance, already come in flavors like Guinness Stout and Blackberry Cabernet.

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If you buy a good-quality vanilla ice cream, then this is a breeze to make, but it isn’t so hard to make your own, and the dish is even better for it. One batch is a bit more than four portions, but who ever complained about having ice cream in the freezer?

Serves 4
Ingredients
For the pears
200g light brown sugar
200ml white wine
200ml water
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 cloves
10 black peppercorns
2 long pieces of lemon peel
4 sweet juicy pears, peeled

For the ice cream
500ml full milk
500ml double cream
2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped out
8 egg yolks
200g caster sugar
About 200ml of good grappa (waitrosewine.com has a nice one)

Put the sugar, wine, water, lemon peel and spices into a deep pan that will hold your four pears easily. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down to a light simmer. Peel the pears, then poach gently in the spicy syrup for 15 minutes. In a medium-heavy saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer with the vanilla pod and seeds. In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until dissolved. Pour a couple of ladles of the hot milk over the egg and sugar mixture, whisking as you do.

Return the egg mixture to the rest of the hot milk and cream in the saucepan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring all the time, for about three minutes, until it is glossy and a little thicker – it should coat the back of a wooden spoon. As soon as it is ready, quickly remove the custard from the pan and set aside in a tray or a large bowl to cool. Once cool, churn in an ice-cream machine or put in a freezer tray and mix every 30 minutes for about three hours until frozen. Serve the pears warm with the ice cream and sprinkle a bit of grappa over them – as much as you fancy. I put about 60ml on each, but then I can be a bit prodigal with the booze.

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My young friend Audrey and I have many things in common. We both like to dress up with pretty aprons. We are both excruciatingly accurate with water guns in a swimming pool. We would both rather read a book than do anything too physically strenuous (water fights excepted). And we both have a serious love for rich chocolate desserts and pretty much any homemade ice cream. So when Audrey (age almost 15) suggested that we make chocolate ice cream, I was all over it.

The credit for this recipe goes to Audrey, who has been making it for her family with great results. My own meager contributions were to include some salt and instant coffee (both intensify the chocolate taste), and vanilla to help deepen the overall flavor of the ice cream. The ice cream is rich, creamy, smooth, and super chocolate-y.

Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Prep time: 3 hours
INGREDIENTS

4 oz 60% baking chocolate
1/4 cup boiling water
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2-cup sugar
2 cups milk
2 cups cream
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
3 egg yolks, whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD

1 Melt chocolate in a double boiler (you can use a makeshift double boiler by placing a metal bowl over a small saucepan of boiling water, just don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). When melted, transfer to a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan, turn heat to medium low and add the boiling water, cocoa powder and half of the sugar. Whisk vigorously until there are no lumps. Remove from heat.

2 Add the milk, 1 cup of the cream, remaining sugar, instant coffee (if using), and the salt to the chocolate base, and whisk vigorously until fully incorporated, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan. When the chocolate base is smooth, turn heat to medium high, stirring occasionally, wait until the base starts to steam. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Once the chocolate base has heated to point of being steamy, temper the eggs by slowly pouring some of the hot base into the eggs while whisking the eggs vigorously to prevent them from cooking. Once you've incorporated about half of the base with the eggs, pour the egg mixture back into the pan with the rest of the chocolate base and stir to combine.

3 Turn heat to medium, and heat the base until it reaches 170°F. At this point the base will have thickened slightly and will just be getting steamy again. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining cup of cold cream, to prevent further cooking. Pour the chocolate base through a mesh strainer in to a bowl to strain out any solids or curds, and place bowl in an ice bath to speed up the chilling. Stir in the vanilla.

4 Chill ice cream base for several hours, preferably overnight, until completely chilled. (To speed up this process you can put the ice cream base, still in its bowl in the ice bath, in the freezer for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes.) Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. If you like soft ice cream, eat immediately. Otherwise put it in the freezer for a couple hours to firm up. Note that the ice cream may be quite hard when you first take it out of the freezer, so you may want to let it sit for a few minutes to soften before trying to scoop.

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Once the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream of the Future," Dippin' Dots is seeking federal bankruptcy protection, a move the company said is aimed at staving off foreclosure on more than $11 million in loans.
The Paducah, Ky.-based company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization Thursday night, asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas H. Fulton to allow it to use cash collateral to continue operations while the case plays out. The company said in a filing that allowing it to use the cash collateral and stay functioning will not harm creditors, including its largest single creditor, Regions Bank, which is owed $11.1 million.
Alabama-based Regions Bank sued Dippin' Dots in February, alleging the company defaulted on multiple loans. The suit is pending in McCracken County Circuit Court.

Steve Heisner, director of administration for Dippin' Dots, said Regions gave the company 48-hours' notice that it intended to foreclose on the loans. That move forced Dippin' Dots Inc., to file for bankruptcy while looking to refinance the debt, Heisner said.

"We are hopeful and believe we will be successful," Heisner told The Associated Press. "There is no thought, intent ... that our operations will be significantly different than they are today."The company "has no alternative borrowing source and to remain in business, the (company) must be permitted to use the cash proceeds described herein to pay general operating overhead and administrative expenses," its attorneys said in court documents.

Heisner said the bankruptcy affects only the manufacturing and national sales arm of the company. The franchise end of the company will not be affected by the proceedings, he said. "The dot, it's going to be there," Heisner said. "There's no doubt about it."A Regions Bank spokesman declined to comment Friday afternoon.

Heisner said when the economy soured in the fall of 2008, Dippin' Dots, like many businesses took a hit.
"It was just a difficult economic time," Heisner said. "That's the only way I know how to express it."
Dippin' Dots, which sells cryogenically frozen beads of ice cream, markets itself to stores, as well as a number of amusement parks across the country, theaters and malls.

In the bankruptcy filing, the company listed about $20.2 million in assets and more than $12 million in liabilities. Dippin' Dots listed $27.7 million in income through September, $26.7 million in income in 2010 and $33.8 million in 2009.

Curt Jones, a microbiology graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale who now lives in Nashville, Tenn., created the ice cream beads in 1988. After having to sell a car and raid savings to keep going, he grew the business to nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from mall kiosks to amusement parks and stadiums. The ice cream is stored at 40 degrees below zero and sold at 20 below zero.

Jones, who dubbed Dippin' Dots the "Ice Cream of the Future," resumed daily control of the company in 2009, with the aim of restructuring it to maintain profits even if sales dropped. In making the move, Jones dismissed President Tom Leonard and Operations Vice President Dominic Fontana. Leonard had run luggage maker Samsonite before joining the company. The company had made no mention of the bankruptcy on its website or Facebook page as of Friday afternoon.

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Once the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream of the Future," Dippin' Dots is seeking federal bankruptcy protection, a move the company said is aimed at staving off foreclosure on more than $11 million in loans.

The Paducah, Ky.-based company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization Thursday night, asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas H. Fulton to allow it to use cash collateral to continue operations while the case plays out. The company said in a filing that allowing it to use the cash collateral and stay functioning will not harm creditors, including its largest single creditor, Regions Bank, which is owed $11.1 million.

Alabama-based Regions Bank sued Dippin' Dots in February, alleging the company defaulted on multiple loans. The suit is pending in McCracken County Circuit Court. Steve Heisner, director of administration for Dippin' Dots, said Regions gave the company 48-hours' notice that it intended to foreclose on the loans. That move forced Dippin' Dots Inc., to file for bankruptcy while looking to refinance the debt, Heisner said.

"We are hopeful and believe we will be successful," Heisner told The Associated Press. "There is no thought, intent ... that our operations will be significantly different than they are today."

The company "has no alternative borrowing source and to remain in business, the (company) must be permitted to use the cash proceeds described herein to pay general operating overhead and administrative expenses," its attorneys said in court documents. Heisner said the bankruptcy affects only the manufacturing and national sales arm of the company. The franchise end of the company will not be affected by the proceedings, he said.

"The dot, it's going to be there," Heisner said. "There's no doubt about it."A Regions Bank spokesman declined to comment Friday afternoon. Heisner said when the economy soured in the fall of 2008, Dippin' Dots, like many businesses took a hit. "It was just a difficult economic time," Heisner said. "That's the only way I know how to express it."

Dippin' Dots, which sells cryogenically frozen beads of ice cream, markets itself to stores, as well as a number of amusement parks across the country, theaters and malls. In the bankruptcy filing, the company listed about $20.2 million in assets and more than $12 million in liabilities. Dippin' Dots listed $27.7 million in income through September, $26.7 million in income in 2010 and $33.8 million in 2009.

Curt Jones, a microbiology graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale who now lives in Nashville, Tenn., created the ice cream beads in 1988. After having to sell a car and raid savings to keep going, he grew the business to nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from mall kiosks to amusement parks and stadiums. The ice cream is stored at 40 degrees below zero and sold at 20 below zero.

Jones, who dubbed Dippin' Dots the "Ice Cream of the Future," resumed daily control of the company in 2009, with the aim of restructuring it to maintain profits even if sales dropped. In making the move, Jones dismissed President Tom Leonard and Operations Vice President Dominic Fontana. Leonard had run luggage maker Samsonite before joining the company. The company had made no mention of the bankruptcy on its website or Facebook page as of Friday afternoon.

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Homemade chocolate ice cream and fudgy brownie bites are perfect companions in this recipe combo. Place the ice-cream freezer can and your freezer-safe dish for ripening the ice cream in the freezer while you make the custard. This helps the ice cream ripen quickly. We awarded this rich-tasting treat our Test Kitchens' highest rating.

Ingredients

Brownies:
1/2 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar $
2 tablespoons butter, softened $
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract $
1 large egg, lightly beaten $
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces) $
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder $
1/8 teaspoon salt $
Cooking spray $
Ice Cream:
1 1/3 cups sugar $
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
3 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk, divided $
3 large egg yolks $
1/2 cup half-and-half $
2 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare brownies, place 1/2 ounce chocolate in a microwave-safe dish, and microwave at high 30 seconds or until almost melted, stirring once. Combine chocolate, 1/2 cup sugar, and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add extract and egg; beat until combined. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1/3 cup cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat just until blended. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare ice cream, combine 1 1/3 cups sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in 1/2 cup milk and egg yolks. Stir in remaining 3 cups milk. Cook 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Place half-and-half in a medium microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 1 1/2 minutes or until half-and-half boils. Add 2 1/2 ounces chocolate; stir until smooth. Stir half-and-half mixture into milk mixture. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl. Cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Cut brownies into small squares; stir into ice cream. Cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

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Once the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream of the Future," Dippin' Dots is seeking federal bankruptcy protection, a move the company said is aimed at staving off foreclosure on more than $11 million in loans. The Paducah, Ky.-based company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization Thursday night, asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas H. Fulton to allow it to use cash collateral to continue operations while the case plays out. The company said in a filing that allowing it to use the cash collateral and stay functioning will not harm creditors, including its largest single creditor, Regions Bank, which is owed $11.1 million.

Alabama-based Regions Bank sued Dippin' Dots in February, alleging the company defaulted on multiple loans. The suit is pending in McCracken County Circuit Court.

Steve Heisner, director of administration for Dippin' Dots, said Regions gave the company 48-hours' notice that it intended to foreclose on the loans. That move forced Dippin' Dots Inc., to file for bankruptcy while looking to refinance the debt, Heisner said.

"We are hopeful and believe we will be successful," Heisner told The Associated Press. "There is no thought, intent ... that our operations will be significantly different than they are today."

The company "has no alternative borrowing source and to remain in business, the (company) must be permitted to use the cash proceeds described herein to pay general operating overhead and administrative expenses," its attorneys said in court documents.

Heisner said the bankruptcy affects only the manufacturing and national sales arm of the company. The franchise end of the company will not be affected by the proceedings, he said. "The dot, it's going to be there," Heisner said. "There's no doubt about it."

A Regions Bank spokesman declined to comment Friday afternoon. Heisner said when the economy soured in the fall of 2008, Dippin' Dots, like many businesses took a hit.

"It was just a difficult economic time," Heisner said. "That's the only way I know how to express it."Dippin' Dots, which sells cryogenically frozen beads of ice cream, markets itself to stores, as well as a number of amusement parks across the country, theaters and malls.

In the bankruptcy filing, the company listed about $20.2 million in assets and more than $12 million in liabilities. Dippin' Dots listed $27.7 million in income through September, $26.7 million in income in 2010 and $33.8 million in 2009.

Curt Jones, a microbiology graduate of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale who now lives in Nashville, Tenn., created the ice cream beads in 1988. After having to sell a car and raid savings to keep going, he grew the business to nearly 2,000 locations across the country, from mall kiosks to amusement parks and stadiums. The ice cream is stored at 40 degrees below zero and sold at 20 below zero.

Jones, who dubbed Dippin' Dots the "Ice Cream of the Future," resumed daily control of the company in 2009, with the aim of restructuring it to maintain profits even if sales dropped. In making the move, Jones dismissed President Tom Leonard and Operations Vice President Dominic Fontana. Leonard had run luggage maker Samsonite before joining the company. The company had made no mention of the bankruptcy on its website or Facebook page as of Friday afternoon.c

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If super premium ice cream is around 16% butterfat, and homemade ice cream is around 19%, how can gelato, made without cream and eggs, be so smooth and creamy when it’s only 3-8% butterfat?  It’s a mystery, for sure.  Making gelato at home is tricky.

Search for gelato recipes on the web, and you’ll find anything and everything.  I’ve even seen gelato recipes calling for 2 cups of heavy whipping cream.  I’m sorry, but that’s just not gelato — that’s ice cream!  Most definitions of gelato say it’s made with just whole milk, plus sugar and flavoring (often fruit or nuts).  But if you try to make gelato with just whole milk, you’ll get a horrible icy mess, exactly like you think you would — there’s just not enough butterfat in whole milk for it to come out smooth and creamy.

So how do the “gelaterias” do it?  They compensate for the low butterfat content with two things: dry milk powder and stabilizer.  But they don’t usually go to the trouble of making their own mix — they typically buy a powdered base mix and various flavorings from a gelato company, and then mix it up and freeze it in their own shop.

So I decided that if they can do it, I should be able to do it too!  It took me a bit of searching to find a company that sells gelato making products to the public, but I finally found a gold mine with Villa Dolce Gelato in California.  I ordered a powdered gelato base for about $15 (to make about 2.5 quarts of gelato) and a jar of pannacotta flavor paste for about $17 (to make about 5 quarts), plus $8 for shipping.  A week later, I was making my first batch of gelato.

As I discovered in the past, making ice cream from a commercial mix is really easy.  I just mixed one part powdered base with two parts milk, added flavoring, and spun it in the ice cream machine.  And out came perfect gelato that was every bit as delicious, smooth, and creamy as any I’ve had from a gelateria.  Success!

Now, I’m not sure I really want to pay $6 plus shipping for each quart of gelato I make, but at least now I know it’s possible.  (But if I did go into the business of selling gelato, this would be a great way to do it.)  My next task will be to figure out how to make the base mix myself, using similar ingredients.  It’s not that I want to make gelato all that often, but gelato is a good lower-fat alternative, and well, it’s an ice cream challenge!  :-)

I can see that the base powder I bought contains non-dairy creamer, whole milk powder, and non-fat milk powder (plus things like sugar and flavoring).  And for stabilizers, it uses locust bean gum (made from carob) and cellulose gum (made from plants).  I’m hoping to make something similar using milk powder and xanthan gum, which I’ve had good success with in the past.

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WikiLeaks is fast becoming the flavour of the season with the launch of an ice cream chain named after the controversial whistleblower website. Sensing moolah in the website’s name the parlour is dishing out ice creams under the name.

An ice cream parlour named after the organisation has sprung up near the beach here. ‘WikiLeakes’, spelt with an extra ‘e’, perhaps to avoid copyright issues, is attracting visitors in droves, many of whom wander in out of curiosity. The parlour has been opened by Honest Ice Creams who have a number of ice cream shops and cool bars across the city.

The idea to name their new parlour after the whistleblower was accidental, say the owners. “The partners were each taking turns to suggest names but none of them appealed to all of us. Then one of them who is very net savvy suggested that we name it after WikiLeaks as it was the hottest thing in the media these days,” said Nizar M K who is the managing partner. WikiLeaks has captured the attention of the public with their leaked cables and we hope to do the same with our ice creams, he adds.

The parlour was opened to the public on Onam day and has been doing brisk business ever since. And Nizar says that one of the hottest selling items is their ‘WikiLeakes special’ ice cream. Its makers say that it contains four flavours of ice cream, two varieties of shakes, fruits, conflakes and nuts among other things mixed to a certain proportion. But unlike its namesake, the parlor is not so open when it comes to giving out inside information.

“The WikiLeakes special has a secret recipe and it will remain secret. That particular ice cream will not be available anywhere else,” said Nizar when queried about the exact recipe.

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Ingredients:
1 small sweet muskmelon
1 litre whole fat milk
1 cup fresh cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp. cornflour
2 drops vanilla essence

Method
Peel, dress, chop and mash muskmelon to pulp.
Keep aside, refrigerated till required.
Bring milk to boil, saving 1/4 cup to keep cold.
Dissolve cornflour in cold milk, keep aside.
Boil milk for approx.15-18 minutes.
Gently pour in dissolved cornflour, stirring continuously.
Boil on low, further 3-4 minutes.
Take off fire, add sugar and vanilla essence.
Stir till sugar dissolves, cool to room temperature.
Cover with a plastic sheet or clingfilm.
Set at highest freezer setting, till almost set, but not hard.
Remove, chop and beat till fluffy.
Beat cream a little, add to beaten icecream.
Add muskmelon pulp, fold in gently.
Transfer back to freezer as before.
Freeze till well set.
Scoop dollops and serve topped with kharbooja seeds sprinkled on top.

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