Adriano Zumbos Box Mixes Review

A lot of you may not know who Adriano Zumbo is; hes a very famous patissier here in Sydney. Hes been featured on MasterChef Australia where contestants had to bake and prepare his wild desserts, including an outrageous croquembouche, a macaron tower of olive, beetroot and raspberry macarons, and an unbelievable gingerbread house. You can even buy these things from his shop, but youll have be prepared to pay from $105 for the croquembouche and $400 for the macaron tower!

Recently, what Adrian Zumbo has really become famous for is his macarons. He makes such bizarre flavors that hes created a Zumbaron craze. Zumbaron is a combination of his last name, Zumbo, and macaron. If you live in or near Sydney, you can find these Zumbarons in the brand new Zumbaron trucks sort of like a food truck, only selling macarons! I think this is pretty cool and one day Ill have to get myself into Sydney to stop by one of these Zumbaron vehicles.

Adriano himself looks to be a fun, quirky guy who is a child at heart, but he takes his desserts pretty seriously. I was surprised to see box mixes with his name on them in my grocery store a couple of weeks ago because this just didnt seem like something he would do. At $7.80 per box, I was reluctant to try the macaron mixes, but I snapped up a salted caramel one. The next time I was at the shop I bought the brownie mix. Ill start with a review of the macarons.

I was expecting these macarons to turn out quite well. Despite having issues with Donna Hays macaron box mix, I had higher hopes for Adriano Zumbos. What I absolutely love about Adrianos mixes is that there is a video available online at every step of the way. Simply visit his website, or use a QR scanner on your smartphone to scan the QR code that is printed on the box. The videos are high quality, as well as being clear and easy to understand. With the macaron mix, it comes with meringue mixture, almond mixture, caramel filling mixture, 2 large piping bags and a cardstock circle template to trace circles on the baking paper. All you need to add is plain water to the meringue mix, and butter to the caramel filling.

Using Instagram, I documented my time spent making these. Making macarons is usually quite easy, its just the technique and knowing when to stop mixing that makes macarons so tricky. I watched Adrianos video of the mixing step a couple of times and felt confident about the way I was doing it. I piped the mixture onto the circles I had traced and let it set for 10 minutes, as per instructions. However, I do know that you should be able to touch the macaron batter without having the batter end up on your finger, and after 10 minutes, it was still leaving batter on my finger. I let the trays set another 20 minutes, then put them in the oven.

Here is where I was going against my gut feeling. The instructions said to bake the macarons at 160C. In my experience, that temperature is too high. However, I still had faith in Adrianos instructions, so 160C it was. Within minutes, though, the macarons had risen quickly and the top of each macaron had cracked. None of the shells developed feet. Definitely, the oven temperature was too high. This batch of 24 macaron shells was obviously ruined. The photo of this batch is in the collage below, bottom left. I took this batch out a bit too early as well, so they were a little under-baked.

For the next batch of macarons, I lowered the temperature of the oven by 30 degrees and also stuck a wooden spoon in the oven door (something Ive done previously for macarons). This batch did better, although I still got some cracked shells. None of these shells developed feet, either. The photo of this batch is in the collage below, bottom right. I also noticed that the macaron shells were very orange, while the photo of the macaron on the box was a light caramel-color.

I tried to think of anything I could have done wrong, other than the oven temperature. I felt confident that I had mixed the batter properly, though.

I was very disappointed with my shells, but I still prepared the filling and sandwiched the macarons together. I expected them to taste nice, but I wasnt even impressed with that either. The filling tasted more like butter than caramel. I was expecting these macarons to be so delicious; it was a huge let-down.

I am reluctant to give this box mix a thumbs-down because I do know of people who have had success with it, but it just hasnt worked for me. I was thinking Id give these salted caramel macarons another go a few months down the road, but after tasting them, I think Ill pass. I was so disappointed that I didnt even bother to take photos of them with my real camera!

Now, just to prove to you that I have made macarons before, from-scratch, here are the first ones I ever made Nutella/coffee macarons, matcha macarons, chocolate/peanut butter macarons, and my favorite were these lemon macarons (I know all those posts are missing photos, I promise Ill get them up sometime in the next 24 hours!). With the experience Ive had of Donna Hays and Adriano Zumbos macaron mixes, I think Ill just stick with homemade macarons from now on!

Youd probably think that Adrianos brownie mix turned out just as bad as the macarons, but it was the complete opposite. I really loved the brownie mix. I hate to keep comparing Donna Hay and Adriano, but Adrianos brownies were heaps better than Donnas.

There are also video instructions for the brownies, but I certainly dont need to watch instructions to make brownies; this is like second nature to me! This box comes with the brownie mix, which includes white chocolate chips, and a separate packet for chocolate chunks. I under-baked these slightly and they were so deliciously and sinfully gooey. They became quite hard by the next day and I did not like them cold. I heated up them in the microwave, just until the chocolate was gooey again, and they basically tasted like they were fresh from the oven. Id definitely make this box mix again.

I would still recommend giving Adrianos mixes a go, if you have a spare $7.80 to spend on a gourmet packet mix. If youre having trouble deciding between Donna Hays and Adriano Zumbos, Id not hesitate in telling you to buy Adrianos!

If youve prepared Adrianos macaron mix either the salted caramel or passionfruit, please, leave a comment and let me know how they turned out; Id love to hear about it!

---

The Da Vinci Code (2006) A murder inside the Louvre and clues in Da Vinci paintings lead to the discovery of a religious mystery protected by a secret society for two thousand years -- which ... Swept Away (2002) - IMDb Directed by Guy Ritchie. With Madonna, Adriano Giannini, Bruce Greenwood, Elizabeth Banks. A snooty socialite is stranded on a Mediterranean island with a communist ... Mariner Deck Solutions The Marine Fiberglass Experts Specializing in Bait tanks and leaning posts. 40 Days and 40 Nights in Paris: A preview of the new Adriano Zumbo ... So the story goes, I was in Adriano Zumbo's bedroom but more on that later. And what was I doing at his house? Getting a preview of his new collection: 40 Days and 40 ... The Ready Mix Sessions with BiG AL - ReadyMix Records Ready Mix Records proudly presents the Ready Mix Sessions. Born from our passion, love and dedication to underground music, the Ready Mix Sessions will introduce ... Lindt macarons vs Adriano Zumbo macarons - Chocolatesuze - Sydney ... Lindt macarons vs Adriano Zumbo macarons. But oh arent the cakes at Adriano Zumbo just simply gorgeous? Too pretty to eat but so so delicious. Beatles Import Music CD - ... SilverDisc Records specialized in import and rare collectibles music cd from Japan and Europe. The Lone Baker - Journal The Walking Gingerbread Men (Zombie Apocalypse Cupcake) Join me on Facebook. Zombies, Zombies, Zombies; I've read 'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War', I ... New Parthenon Restaurant - Downtown Detroit - Detroit, MI (313) 963-8888 "Since our favorite Greek restaurant was demolished to make room for a new "walkway" to a parking lot... we had to find another to replace it ... San Jose 72 Pilot Pilot. 1.- Just a smile 2.- Lucky for some 3.- Girl next door 4.- Lovely lady smile 5.- Sooner or later 6.- Dont speak loudly 7.- Over the moon

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

Before I begin this post, I just want to apologize for the lack of updates in recent weeks. We have been having a stressful time at home and even went through the process of changing schools for my daughter, which consumed heaps of time and energy. I had complete bakers block, but Im getting back in the swing of things and hope to bring you more delicious recipes. Now, on with the post

If youre on Pinterest, you may have seen a certain recipe of mine floating around there. These peanut butter chocolate chip blondies I made a year ago have went viral on Pinterest. It only happened recently; previously these homemade chocolate peanut butter cups were the most popular recipe on my blog, with visitors coming mostly from Pinterest or FoodGawker. Im not even sure how they were so popular as I think the pictures for those chocolate peanut butter cups are just terrible! Well, as the blondies have been earning my blog thousands of visits from Pinterest each week, I decided to do a recipe-flashback post by baking the blondies again and, hopefully, taking better photos.

I have to be honest and say that this isnt particularly one of my favorite recipes; it seems that I raved about this recipe in the original post, but it just didnt do the same for me the second time around. It was just okay. Its quick and easy and its one of those recipes where you probably already have everything to make it in your pantry. The blondies, when finished, taste great, but only fresh from the oven, in my opinion. Once they cool, they start to become too firm and stale rather quickly. You must make sure theyre eaten before the end of the day after baking, Id recommend. This is something I also pointed out in my first post about these blondies.

Its not the sort of recipe that will absolutely wow you, but they do have a gorgeous, brownie-like flaky top.

And those gooey chocolate chips? You simply cannot beat that.

Another must for this recipe you must not overbake the blondies. In doing so, you would lose that overall gooey-ness that youve come to expect from a blondie. The same goes for brownies as well. No overbaking!

Im not sure if these photos are any better than my originals, with the red and white stripey plate, but I had a lot of fun baking this recipe again and taking the photos. And Ill admit, I actually messed up the recipe by adding double the amount of butter! I have no idea how I managed that, but luckily I had enough ingredients to start over. You wouldnt believe how greasy-looking the batter looked! I had actually prepared the entire recipe and was trying to spread the batter out in the pan when I noticed something was really wrong. It was so greasy and wouldnt spread out properly. Im just glad I noticed it before I placed it in the oven!

Anyway, if youre craving peanut butter and chocolate, or just simply something sweet, by all means, give this recipe a go. Just dont expect it to knock your socks off just because its been viral on Pinterest! If you decide to bake a batch, let me know what you think!

Note that I have halved the original recipe to fit in an 88-inch square pan.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Adapted from Handle The Heat & My Kitchen Addiction
Makes about 16 squares, depending on how big you cut them

Ingredients
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips (I probably used closer to 1/2 cup!)

Method
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 88 square pan and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in the peanut butter. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add the egg to the butter & sugar mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared dry ingredients, and stir to create a thick, smooth batter. Fold in half the chocolate chips, reserving the rest for sprinkling on top.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spreading the batter evenly to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips and lightly press them into the batter.

Bake for 25 minutes until the top is golden and the edges are slightly browned. Allow to cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

---

Peanut Butter Frosted Chocolate Chip Blondies. How Sweet It Is Yesterday was Mr. How Sweet's favorite day of the year - Derby Day. It was also one of my favorite days - mint julep day. Unfortunately, Mr. How Sweet peanut butter chocolate chip blondie hearts. rolo stuffed peanut butter cookies. Coming as no surprise to you, I'd like to share the fact that I seriously love to make cookies. Similar ... Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Pie Bake or Break Summer is most assuredly the season for no-bake desserts and cold desserts. Not only is it nice to get a break from the hot oven, but those cold desserts are lovely ... Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Sandwiches Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Sandwiches. A peanut butter cup sandwiched between 2 warm chocolate chip cookies. Triple Layer Chocolate Chip-Fudge Brownie-Peanut Butter Blondie ... Triple Layer Chocolate Chip-Fudge Brownie-Peanut Butter Blondie Bars makes one 9 x 13 pan the chocolate chip layer (taken from my deep dish whole Sweet and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies A Dash of Sass A peanut butter blondie studded with salted peanuts and chocolate chips. Whole wheat, naturally sweetened and totally vegan! Addictive and delicious. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake Bake or Break I dont have the data to back it up, but I would venture to say that peanut butter and chocolate has to be one of the most popular flavor combinations out there. Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Balls Bite-sized oatmeal peanut butter balls make them in 5 minutes or less! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies Recipe Two Peas & Their Pod Soft, chewy, peanut butter blondies with chocolate chips. Everyone needs this easy and delicious blondie recipe. Naturally Sweet Recipes: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies Print Recipe 1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened 1 cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter 1 1/2 cups Coconut Sugar

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone had a scary (and safe) Halloween this year! Halloween isnt very popular in Australia (although more and more Aussies seem to be celebrating in recent years), but that doesnt mean you wont see Halloween stuff in the shops, or trick-or-treaters on your doorstep. We havent celebrated Halloween in a few years not since my ever-popular zombie cupcakes and spider pumpkin dulce de leche cupcakes, anyway. Did you even realize that my zombie cupcakes are featured on the Bake It Pretty product page for the zombie hands? That totally blew me away when I saw that!

Well, since my kids are getting older, I decided to treat them to a Halloween feast last night. The day before Halloween, I bought a sackful of decor from a dollar shop and decorated our dining room table with spooky stuff while the kids were at school.

I then got to work on some Halloween desserts, which I really had a lot of fun with. I started with these bloody zombie cupcakes, made especially for my 5-year-old son, who, for some reason, has a thing for zombies.

These are red velvet cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting; the clotty, gelatinous-looking blood is actually boysenberry sauce! For my sons amusement, though, they were zombie blood cupcakes with bone frosting and fresh zombie blood. He took it rather seriously and thought they were pretty cool! I havent used these zombie hands since 2009, so I had a lot of fun incorporating them into these cupcakes. The recipe for the cupcakes comes from Brown Eyed Baker, but I used Philadelphias brand new cream cheese frosting to make the process a bit quicker. The cupcakes and frosting were really delicious together, and the fresh blood boysenberry sauce (which was store-bought) added a nice little fresh touch. As previously mentioned, you can get the zombie hand cupcake toppers from Bake It Pretty.

Next up were these witches fingers. These cookies were a major wow-factor for the entire family, and, unfortunately, were a little too creepy; everyone refused to eat them!

They scared my 3-year-old, even after I had repeatedly assured him that they were just cookies. My husband took one bite and decided he couldnt handle eating the rest. What a sissy! Anyway, theyre just a basic sugar cookie dough with a bit of green food coloring mixed in; the blood is just red icing gel; the fingernails are blanched almonds. I was actually quite impressed with these. It was amazing to make these witch fingers because they do indeed look quite life-like! The recipe comes from Annies Eats.

The kids came home to see these cupcakes and fingers on our Halloween-themed table and they were simply delighted! They continued to talk about it and gather around it for the entire rest of the night!

For the savory foods, the kids got to help once they were returned home from school. We made deviled eggs with olive spiders

I used my own recipe for the deviled eggs and I got the olive spider idea from She Knows. This was pretty easy, but it was time-consuming chopping the olives and getting them in the right place for that spider effect.

And lastly, mummy pizzas and hot dogs!

We put a little too much cheese on our mummy pizzas, so after they baked, it all melted together and it didnt look so mummy-ish anymore! We love cheese though. This idea came from Curry and Comfort.

The mummy hot dogs were easy, but a little tricky to do as the weather was so warm, which made the pastry sticky and difficult to work with. We still got those dogs wrapped up though, and they were the most popular of the savory food. This idea came from Damn Delicious.

The only thing we were unlucky with last night was that we only had 3 trick-or-treaters! Last year, we had so many that we ran out of candy. Were in a different house this year, however, so Im presuming there either arent a lot of kids around our neighborhood, or Halloween isnt celebrated much in this suburb. Oh well, at least the kids had a fun Halloween feast and a great spooky night!

---

Happy Halloween! Through my eyes: Adventures in Borderline land I wanted to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween To be honest, Im a bit depressed because we arent doing anything for Halloween. Its my favorite ... TERESA COLLINS: HAPPY HALLOWEEN... McKay came home Monday night because she was "missing" her family. She called and at first I thought something must be wrong. I kept asking..." are you okay?" She ... Happy Halloween! Finding Happiness Halloween has always been my favorite holiday! Even to the point my fianc proposed on Halloween. (Best trick-or-treating loot ever! Good thing it wasn ... Happy Halloween! jordanunroe Here are some pretty great songs that all remind me of Halloween. Enjoy and Happy Hauntings! Ghost by Parachute: The title alone just screams Halloween. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! The Adventures of Ellie and Edmond HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Were celebrating Halloween with a fun set of pictures of animals with pumpkins! Often zoos and aquariums give animals in the fall ... Happy Halloween - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Happy Halloween is a short horror movie starring Navid Akhavan in the lead role. The film has only been released in Germany and was released straight to DVD on ... Happy Halloween! Threads Planning creative costumes for Halloween can be tough. As a college student, you might find that your funds cant stand putting down $40-$60 on a costume ... How to keep your pet safe and happy on Halloween - CNN.com French Bulldog Lula poses as the Olympic Team USA at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on October 20, 2012 in New York City. Happy Halloween! Tokyo Doll Happy Halloween! Share Tokyo Doll! Twitter; Facebook; Email; Pinterest; LinkedIn; Like this: Like. 2 bloggers like this. Post navigation. Previous. Next. Leave a Reply . Happy Halloween Flickr - Photo Sharing! Hope you all have a good Halloween and dont scare the kids too much :-) Thankyou for looking :-) This photo was taken on April 18, 2012

Biscoff Ice Cream With Brownie Chunks and Fudge Swirls

Do you love Biscoff? And chocolate? And ice cream? If you answered yes to all three questions, then youre going to love this post. Ill show you what Im talking about

Okay, this looks like a bowl full of mess, youre right. Let me explain what happened to this bowl of ice cream, though. I churned the ice cream last week and put it in the freezer to harden up, so that it would look better for photographing. When the time came, later in the day, I set up the area where Id be taking the pictures. I then scooped the ice cream into the bowl, drizzled melted Biscoff over it and crumbled a Biscoff cookie on top. I got my camera from my camera bag, turned it on, and framed my first photo. I clicked the shutter. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing happened.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that my camera battery was dead. And my ice cream was melting.

I put the bowl of ice cream into the freezer, and put my camera battery in the charger. About 5 minutes later, I removed the battery and put it back in the camera. I took the ice cream out of the freezer and placed it back on the set I had prepared. It was pretty much too late for the ice cream, though, as it had already melted quite a bit.

Since I got my new ice cream maker, I have noticed that homemade ice cream melts faster than store-bought. If Im going to photograph my homemade ice cream in future, I have to remember to be sure my camera battery is charged!

So that explains why my ice cream looks so messy, but yet to be explained is what this ice cream actually is. Its a delicious combination of Biscoff ice cream, gooey chocolate brownies and chocolate fudge swirl. Its better than any tub of Ben & Jerrys (no offense, Ben & Jerry!). In fact, I hid the container of this ice cream behind bags of frozen peas and raspberries, and a couple boxes of frozen fish, just so that no one would find it.

Actually, I did share some with my 7-year-old daughter, who loved it just as much as I did.

Just to be extra-extravagant, I warmed a scoop of Biscoff spread and drizzled it on top of the ice cream. But I couldnt stop there. I also crumbled a Biscoff cookie over the entire bowl. *blush* This is getting kind of embarrassingly extravagant.

Let me talk you through the various recipes I used for this decadent ice cream First up, the ice cream base. Its my adaptation of Billy Laws peanut butter ice cream recipe, which you can find in his new cookbook, Have You Eaten? (click here to buy). I made the peanut butter ice cream earlier and loved it, and thought it would be even better if I substituted creamy Biscoff spread for the peanut butter. What an excellent idea this turned out to be! Besides leaving out the peanut butter and replacing the full amount with Biscoff, I also completely left out the honey. Buy Billys book for the original recipe, and just do what I did to make Biscoff ice cream. Alternatively, choose an existing Biscoff ice cream recipe by searching on Google, or substitute Biscoff for peanut butter in most peanut butter ice cream recipes.

Next, the brownies. Again, this is a recipe from Billy Laws cookbook. These brownies are the ultimate brownies. So fudgey and chocolatey and delicious. Billys original recipe also uses peanut butter and macadamias, but I left these out. To add brownies to your Biscoff ice cream, buy Billys cookbook for his recipe, or choose your own fudgey brownie recipe. To use them in your ice cream, follow the recipe to prepare the brownies, and after they have cooled completely, cut the batch in half and place one half in the freezer. The other half you can give to friends or family. I recommend putting the brownies in the freezer so that they will be easier and cleaner to cut into small chunks. Once frozen, use a sharp knife to cut the brownie into bite-size chunks. Use as many or as little chunks as you like. Once cut, place the chunks in a ziploc bag, or something air-tight, and put them back in the freezer until needed.

Lastly, for the fudge swirl, I used this recipe.

Now, to get this ice cream and add-ins all in the same bowl. assuming you have already made the ice cream base and it has been chilled completely in the refrigerator, churn it in your ice cream maker as per instructions. Once finished, scoop out some ice cream and spread it out on the bottom of a freezer-safe container so that its flat. Toss some brownie chunks on top and drizzle over a bit of fudge sauce. Working quickly, before the fudge sauce sets, swirl the fudge into the ice cream with the tip of a butter knife. Then repeat the layering. Cover the ice cream tightly and freeze until set (or eat straight away, if youre into that sort of thing).

To serve it the way I did, just melt a few scoops of Biscoff spread in the microwave (about 10-15 seconds, or just until warm and its of drizzle-able consistency), pour it on top of the ice cream, then crumble a Biscoff cookie over the entire bowl. If youre in Australia, you wont be able to find Biscoff spread, unfortunately, unless you have a friend traveling to the US or your family lives there. Luckily, I have family in the US that can send some to me. However, I can help you out with the Biscoff cookies as a local confectionery shop has just started selling these tasty little morsels. Read my post about where you can find this shop, or information on how you can have a package of them posted to you.

And what does my ice cream actually look like when its not all melted?

It looks beautiful and delicious!

Before you leave, be sure to check out my other Biscoff recipes:

• Biscoff & chocolate striped popsicles
• No-bake chocolate Biscoff bars
• Biscoff pumpkin pie

---

Exploring Beyond Private Selection Ice Cream Flavors Sampled Pizza, Appetizer, Desert Available from the Private Selection Brand of Products. Went Beyond the Regular Private Selection Ice Cream Flavors. Easy Homemade Ice Cream without a Machine Kevin & Amanda's Recipes Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream 2 cups heavy cream 1 (14 oz.) Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk 3 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla ... Ben & Jerry's - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, a division of the British-Dutch Unilever conglomerate (although no reference to Unilever is made on packaging), that ... Banana Pudding Ice Cream with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Fudge ... August 6, 2012. Banana Pudding Ice Cream with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Fudge Swirls (Giveaway!) The Ice Cream Informant: REVIEW: Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie A review of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie: chocolate ice cream with fudge brownies. Amazon.com: Cuisinart ICE-100 Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato ... The Cuisinart Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker The ICE-100 Ice Cream and Gelato Maker Make decadent ice cream, rich creamy gelato and light sorbet that your ... Rodale Store Get full access to all of the lifestyle-changing information from the best-selling books, plus online only content, decision tools, shopping lists, and more, including: The Ice Cream Informant: REVIEW: Blue Bell Christmas Cookies in July Ever since I ran across a pint of Ben & Jerry's Pumpkin Cheesecake concealed in the depths of the ice cream isle a few months back, I've been on the lookout for ... Kneady Sweetie Hello friends! Its been a while. I sort of went on a blogging hiatus. I just can't believe that summer has flown by and that we are already well into fall. Ben & Jerry's Flavors Everything you need to know about Ben & Jerry's flavors. They're really delicious, so dive right in!

Strawberry, Basil & Black Pepper Ice Cream + Ice Cream Maker Giveaway!

What is it about ice cream that makes it one of the worlds most loved comfort foods? Many nights, after having a hard day, Ive cuddled up on the sofa with a small tub of ice cream after everyone else is asleep (Ive eaten more tubs of Ben & Jerrys than I care to admit!); it always makes me feel better. Theres just something special about ice cream.

Ive tried making my own ice cream before, with the hand-churning method, but never really got excellent results. This is where you prepare your ice cream mixture, freeze it, then every 2 hours, take it out, scrape it into the bowl of an electric mixer, mix it to break up the ice crystals, scrape it back into the freezer bowl, freeze it, and repeat the entire process another 3 times. How annoying! And can you believe I have never owned an ice cream maker in my entire life? Yes, I do live under a rock.

Ice cream makers basically do the hand-churning method for you. All you need to do is turn it on, pour your ice cream mixture in, and leave it for 15-20 minutes to churn the mixture, in a way that is similar to a stand mixer. After that youll have a soft-serve consistency, and if you would like it to be firmer, just pour it into a freezer-safe container and freeze for a few hours, scoop it out and enjoy.

If you were to take a look at my Firefox bookmarks, youd find heaps of ice cream recipes. Even though Ive never had an ice cream maker, a girl can dream, right?

Last week, my dreams came true, when Kitchenware Direct, my go-to shop for kitchen supplies, heard my ice cream maker pleas and sent me one of my very own (and they have one for you, too!). I immediately gave my red Cuisinart ice cream maker a test run with this dark chocolate sorbet

I used my cherished Valrhona cocoa powder for this recipe and the results were spectacularly dark and delightfully creamy. This was an easy recipe, consisting of pantry staples (cocoa powder, sugar, and vanilla) and water. I wasnt sure what to expect with my first go at sorbet and found that when the ice cream maker had been going for 20 minutes, the consistency of the sorbet was like a super-thick milkshake. I froze it for a few hours (it was about six, I think) to get it to scoopable consistency. It was really silky and smooth, I was quite pleased with myself!

I didnt realize what an ice cream maker actually was. It reminds me of my Zoku Quick Pop Maker; they both have a silvery surface that freezes liquids instantly (and wet fingers!). The ice cream maker has a big paddle attachment (sort of like a stand mixer) to keep the mixture constantly moving, ensuring the end result is creamy and smooth. Theres only one button on this machine, which is the on/off switch.

While I gave the ice cream maker a test run with a sorbet, I wanted to make ice cream for my official review post. I chose a recipe in the latest issue of delicious. magazine for strawberry, basil and black pepper ice cream by one of my favorite food bloggers, Katie Quinn Davies from What Katie Ate. I had never tried basil and strawberry together before, although I had heard it is a great combination. But what is this about black pepper? I couldnt resist making this recipe.

Fresh strawberries, lemon, lime and basil! The strawberries will need to sit in the refrigerator to macerate with a bit of juice from the lemon and lime and some sugar for 2 hours. Afterwards, half of the strawberries will go in a blender, along with a few basil leaves and fresh finely ground black pepper to puree. The rest of the strawberries are to be crushed with a potato masher and set aside. Milk, cream and vanilla beans are added to the pureed strawberries. This mixture then goes into the ice cream maker.

Dont be too concerned about the size of this machine, by the way. Its actually quite compact and fits easily into our cabinets. Compared with our kettle, it isnt too much larger.

According to reviews of this product on Kitchenware Direct, a common complaint seemed to be the noise of the machine while it was churning. Personally, I didnt find the noise to be too loud. My food processor is much louder than this ice cream maker is!

After 10 minutes of churning, the crushed strawberries are added to the mixture. After 20 minutes, I turned off the machine. The ice cream was at a very soft, soft-serve consistency. I had a taste and was surprised at how wonderfully tasty it was! I scraped out the ice cream into a freezer-safe container and froze it overnight.

Scraping out the ice cream from the freezer bowl is a little tricky. Youll need to use a silicone spoon or spatula as a hard plastic or metal one will damage the bowl. And once the machine stops churning, the ice cream starts sticking to the bowl. So Ive discovered that you have to be pretty quick to scrape out the ice cream easily!

The next morning, I sampled some ice cream. The texture was just like the ice cream Im used to and scooped out easily. The flavor was brilliant! With the first bites, you can really taste the basil, and as you eat more, you start tasting the fresh strawberries. Every few bites, theres a slight tingle from a piece of black pepper. My only complaint is that it left a sort of greasy-mouth feel for some reason, which was a little odd.

((Update: Ive discovered a possible cause or two of this greasy-mouth feel. It could be that there is too much fat content in the ice cream, however, I doubt this is the reason in my case as I was just simply following a recipe. The other cause is over-churning, which could turn all that cream into butter! Just like how youre not supposed to whisk cream too much, otherwise itll turn into butter? It appears the same thing goes for ice cream makers, and this, I believe, is the cause of the greasy feeling I experienced. Since writing this post, I have made two more batches of ice cream; one was matcha, and it had the greasy feeling as well. The next batch was peanut butter, and I was sure not to over-churn. I churned the peanut butter ice cream for only 15 minutes, whereas I had been churning my ice creams for 20 minutes. The peanut butter ice cream did not have a greasy feeling whatsoever. Problem solved!))

But I can overlook that because this is some mighty delicious ice cream.

I am absolutely thrilled to own my first ever ice cream maker and am now looking forward to working through my extensive list of ice cream recipes that Ive bookmarked. I can guarantee you that there will be Biscoff ice cream, peanut butter ice cream and matcha ice cream to begin with, then Ill work on some more interesting flavors.

Recipes for the dark chocolate sorbet and strawberry, basil & black pepper ice cream are at the very end of this post.

GIVEAWAY!

Now, how about this giveaway? If you live in Australia, you can enter to win your very own ice cream maker, just like mine, in your own choice of color red, blue, orange, pink, yellow, or green.

Here are the rules:

1. Open to Australian residents only.
2. Prize is one Cuisinart 1.5 litre ice cream maker in the color of the winners choice, provided by Kitchenware Direct.
3. Leave one comment only on this post and tell me your favorite ice cream flavor for extra entries, as below, please leave a separate comment.
4. For one extra entry, tweet about this giveaway and be sure to tag me (@jamieanne), then leave another comment here telling me about your tweet.
5. For another extra entry, post about this giveaway on Facebook by liking my page, The Sweetest Kitchen, and tagging it in your post, then leave yet another comment here telling me about your post.
6. This giveaway closes on Monday, October 29 at 11AM (AEST).
7. One winner will be selected and notified by email, after which the winner will need to respond within 3 days or another winner will be selected, so be sure to include an active email address.

Good luck!

This competition & review is made possible by Brad from Kitcheware Direct.

Dark Chocolate Sorbet
Adapted from Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker instruction booklet
Makes about 5 cups

Ingredients
3 cups water
1 2/3 cup caster sugar
pinch of salt
1 2/3 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste)

Method
Combine water, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook mixture, stirring often, until sugar is completely dissolved.

Gradually add cocoa powder to sugar mixture while whisking constantly until smooth. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours, or overnight.

Churn in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturers instructions. The sorbet will be soft and creamy; transfer to an air-tight freezer-safe container and place in the freezer for a few hours until desired consistency is reached. Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving.

Strawberry, Basil & Black Pepper Ice Cream
Adapted from delicious. magazine, October 2012
Makes 1.5 litres

Ingredients
195g fresh strawberries, hulled, quartered
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
165g caster sugar, divided
about 7 medium-sized fresh basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon fresh finely ground black bepper
190ml whole milk
250ml thickened cream
150ml thin cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

Method
Place strawberries in a bowl with the lemon and lime juices and 55g sugar. Mix well, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours to macerate.

Place half the macerated strawberries in a food processor, along with the basil and pepper. Whiz for a few minutes to form a juicy pulp, then set aside. Crush the remaining macerated strawberries with a potato masher and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, whisk the milk and remaining 110g sugar together for 2 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Add creams, strawberry and basil puree, and vanilla seeds, then gently stir together. Chill overnight, if possible, or for at least 6-8 hours.

Churn the chilled strawberry mixture in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturers instructions, adding the crushed strawberries 10 minutes before the end of churning. If you prefer a firmer ice cream, freeze for a few hours before serving.

---

Peach Ice Cream and a Giveaway! Annie's Eats Peach has long been a favorite ice cream flavor of mine. There is just something about that winning combination of peaches and cream. This ice cream is sweet, creamy ... Cooking with Teresa Gonzalez Cooking, wine, photography, music, all while our children played. This was the most epic collaboration I have ever been involved in. Janderyn is a fellow foodie ... Cafe Johnsonia: Creme Brulee Ice Cream Don't forget to enter the giveaway for the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker with extra bowl! Every so often a dessert comes into your life and you think: This is my favorite. 4 Ingredient Chocolate Cookies 'n' Cream Ice Cream Recipe Two ... Only 4 ingredients are needed to make this decadent ice cream: coconut milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and Oreos. Simple to make and dairy-free too! How to Make Ice Cream Cones on a Panini Press Panini Happy This one is worth screaming from the rooftops. YOU CAN MAKE ICE CREAM CONES WITH YOUR PANINI MAKER! Easily! With no special ingredients! And theyre good! Strawberry Mojitos We are not Martha Blog Posts 2012 (111) Oct 2012 (3) Autumn Butternut Squash Pizza with Pumpkin Crust; Mini Greek Salad Pizzas; Mller Quaker Yogurt (and Giveaway!) Nasi Lemak Lover: Matcha (Green tea) ice cream I have never thought of getting an ice cream maker until i saw many bloggers sharing their lovely ice cream recipes. Also I feel this is the right timing to own one ... Lucky Charms Ice Cream We are not Martha Blog Posts 2012 (111) Oct 2012 (3) Autumn Butternut Squash Pizza with Pumpkin Crust; Mini Greek Salad Pizzas; Mller Quaker Yogurt (and Giveaway!) Cafe Johnsonia: Rich Lemon Ice Cream Lemons have been on my mind lately. My birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I really get into planning what kind of cake and ice cream I want to make for myself. The Tasty Alternative: Recipes Vegan Cashew Sour Cream Vegan Cilantro Lime Sauce Vegan Dill Cream Cheese Vegan Walnut Pesto Strawberry, Cantaloupe, Ginger Green Smoothie Strawberry Cantaloupe Popsicles

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

Ive sat here for a while trying to think of a way to describe the recipe Im going to post about today. I was trying to compare this peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough frozen yogurt to something revolutionary, but all I could come up with was this electric car from Tesla Motors. Then I had to rethink my strategy because I wasnt sure I should be comparing these two items. I mean, the Model S looks quite brilliant and is pretty sexy. If electric cars become affordable and start to replace our current gas-guzzling cars, it could mean a lot for the environment. How does peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough frozen yogurt compare to something like that? The only way this recipe could change lives would be. well, it wouldnt be good, lets just leave it at that.

So how can I start a post that has a title almost as long as the post itself? Maybe I should just show you a picture.

There. That should do it.

When I posted a version of this picture on various social media sites the other day, it received quite a bit of interest. Most were drooling, or licking the screens of their mobile devices. Or whatever hungry people do when they look at pictures of food. It seems that pretty much everyone agrees that a bit of peanut butter added to anything wont hurt anybody. You guys must really love peanut butter.

What I did here was take this exceptionally easy recipe for chocolate chip cookie dough frozen yogurt and added that bit of peanut butter to it. The result was a deliciously creamy, peanut buttery, chocolatey, yogurty, frozen delight.

I had made the plain chocolate chip cookie dough frozen yogurt twice before I came up with the idea of adding peanut butter to it. I almost decided to use Biscoff, but didnt want to waste my precious Biscoff if it didnt turn out the way I wanted it to.

Another good thing about this recipe is that you dont actually have to wait until its frozen to eat it. The only thing that freezing it does is make it resemble ice cream. Either way tastes sinful.

And, since this recipe has yogurt in it, that makes it healthy. Right? So what are you waiting for? You can probably even finish making it by the time you finish saying peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough frozen yogurt.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt
Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod & Crunchy Creamy Sweet
Makes about 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (I actually used a little bit under 1/2 cup)
1/3 to 1/2 cup peanut butter (depending on how much you like peanut butter)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup vanilla yoghurt

Method
In a mixing bowl, beat butter, peanut butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture and fold in gently. Add yogurt and stir gently until fully incorporated.

Scoop into a freezer-safe container and cover tightly. Freeze until set (if you can wait), preferably overnight.

---

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Two Peas & Their Pod Monday is not my favorite day of the week. I have a hard time coming back to work, especially after a fun holiday weekend. We went hiking and spent time at the Deweys. Big Mama's Home Kitchen: Chocolate Chip Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ... I found another way to use my favorite 10 inch cast iron skillet. This big cookie gets crispy around the edges and stays nice and gooey in the middle. Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Pinch of Yum Healthier cookie dough with peanut butter and chocolate chips. Grab a spoon! Baking with Blondie: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies I love this twist on your typical chocolate chip cookie. There's just something perfectly wonderful about the way shortbread-style desserts melt in your mouth. peanut butter cookies smitten kitchen A home cooking weblog from a tiny kitchen in New York City. The place to find all of your new favorite things to cook. Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies - The Sweetest Kitchen Please note, if the post you are looking at is missing its pictures, it is because I accidentally deleted *all* of the photos on my blog while updating it. Raspberry Kiss Surprise Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies ... Raspberry Kiss Surprise Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies 1 stick softened unsalted butter 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed light Joy the Baker Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls Joy the Baker makes Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.... ridiculous. Baking with Blondie: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Whenever I eat a mini-Reese's cup, it's always a small blast from the past for me. It didn't matter if it was from my Easter basket, Halloween candy bag ... Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cookies - PheMOMenon Conquering My ... This is my first, fully iPhone photographed and written post. I figure its better than the no posting Ive been doing since I never seem to be able to make it to ...

Chocolate Chip Pikelets

Pikelets are just one of the many things Ive been introduced to since moving to Australia. Pikelets dont exist in the US, as far as I know, but are popular in Australia, New Zealand and some parts of Europe. While similar to American pancakes, pikelets do have subtle differences. For instance, pikelets are generally smaller and heavier than pancakes. Theyre usually served cold with a bit of butter or jam (or other spread), whereas pancakes are always served warm and usually with maple syrup. The marketing for pikelets, at least in Australia, seems to be geared towards children, but as we all know, pancakes are for everyone, no matter how young or old they are! There are also differences in the batter self-raising flour is common in pikelets and plain flour is usually used in pancakes, but youll still find milk, eggs and sugar in both recipes. Pikelet batter needs to be completely smooth and rested for 15-30 minutes before cooking. On the other hand, a good pancake batter should be a little lumpy and doesnt need resting. All this said, though, there are still differences between pikelet recipes throughout the world.

Ive found that pikelet recipes are an excellent way to get children into the kitchen. They can help with all aspects of the recipe (except perhaps with the actual cooking bit), and they always love to gobble the pikelets up when theyve cooled! Pikelets make a great after-school snack, as well, when served alongside a helping of fresh fruit. If youre a stay-at-home mum like I am, its simple to whip up a batch before heading out to pick up the kids from school; by the time you all get home, the pikelets will be cool and ready to be demolished.

You can easily put your own spin on any pikelet recipe by adding in some chocolate chips, blueberries, mashed bananas, apples, or whatever youre in the mood for. For chocolate pikelets, just swap out a couple tablespoons of flour for cocoa powder, or use coconut milk instead of plain milk for coconut pikelets. You could probably add in a bit of peanut butter or Biscoff! The possibilities are nearly endless.

For this post, Ive made chocolate chip pikelets, which are based on a plain pikelet recipe by Valli Little. The kids are in love with these. This particular version wouldnt have been possible if it werent for Nestle Australia releasing their brand new mini chocolate chips; mini chocolate chips didnt exist in Australia before this (or at least if they did, I never found them!). The normal size chocolate chips would have been too big, but the mini ones were just right.

Since weve started making our own pikelets, my kids have told me to never buy store-bought ones again!

Chocolate Chip Pikelets
Adapted from taste.com.au and Valli Little
Makes 25

Ingredients
1 cup (150g) self-raising flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
pinch salt
3/4 cup (185ml) milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Melted butter, to brush

Method
Sift flour, sugar and salt together into a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk milk, egg and vanilla together, then add to dry ingredients, whisking until smooth. Set aside and let batter rest for 15-30 minutes.

Heat a non-stick frypan over medium heat and brush with a little melted butter. Drop level tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and immediately sprinkle over a few chocolate chips. Cook for half a minute or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Flip over and cook other side for 30 seconds, or until golden.

Allow to cool and serve plain, or with butter, jam, or peanut butter (whatever youre in the mood for, really!).

---

Pikelets Recipe - Taste.com.au Pikelets recipe - Sift flour and sugar together into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Whisk milk and egg together, then add to dry ingredients, whisking until smooth. Il Granino : Welcome to Il Granino Bakery Welcome to Il Granino Bakery. Il Granino Bakery serves customers throughout all of Western Australia expanding our distribution and product. With our rich heritage ... Banana Chocolate Chip Pikelets recipe - Best Recipes Banana Chocolate Chip Pikelets recipe at Best Recipes. Delicious perfect pikelets every time. Chocolate Chip Biscuits recipe - Best Recipes Chocolate Chip Biscuits recipe at Best Recipes. To die for chocolate biscuits. Baked Mars Bar Cheesecake Mouthwatering Munchies Baked Mars Bar Cheesecake. Baked Mars Bar Cheesecake. Base : 1 cup sweet biscuit crumbs 2 tablespoons butter, melted. Filling: 2 x 250g KRAFT PHILADELPHIA Cream ... Warm Choc-chip Pikelets With Caramelised Pears And Chocolate Sauce ... Warm choc-chip pikelets with caramelised pears and chocolate sauce recipe - For the pears, peel and core fruit. Cut into 1cm-thick slices, then toss in juice. Melt ... raspberri cupcakes: Mint Chocolate Chip Cake Chocolate cake and I have had a very interesting romance. I started off with quite an intense dislike of chocolate cake. I KNOW. But try not to judge me too harshly ... Spinach and Ricotta Pie Mouthwatering Munchies Spinach and Ricotta Pie. Spinach and Ricotta Pie. 1 sheet puff pastry 250gm light ricotta 1 large bunch spinach 1 onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed raspberri cupcakes: Chocolate Chip Cherry Cheesecake This is one sexy cheesecake. Somehow it turned out too sexy, if that's possible. A C hocolate Chip & Cherry Cheesecake that's made with my old faithful biscuit base ... Chocolate Recipes - Food.com Whether you're a chocolate fanatic or just craving something sweet, choose from our library of endless chocolate recipes like cookies, cakes and fudge.