Thursday, April 1, 2010

Happiness in the form of ice-cream!




As a kid I used to love eating chocobars. We used to visit our grandparents in Bombay every summer vacation and I used to love going to the shop across the street with my Mama to buy chocobars. My Ammuma (Grandmother) absolutely loves chocobars and even to this day that is the only thing she eats without complaining. It's so much fun to watch Ammuma eat ice-cream because as she tends to look like a 5 year old girl eating her first chocobar. She always has the same look of excitement and happiness as she slowly bites the chocolate bits off first and then heads for the vanilla center. My Amma and Acha's favourite ice-cream also happens to be chocobar. My Amma is not a huge fan of chocolate but when it comes to chocobar she can't resist it. When I was a kid, Amma knew I could not eat ice-creams without dropping it on my clothes she had this sun dress that she'd always make me wear when I go out with Mama to Juhu beach so that I would only mess up that one dress. That became my ice-cream dress, so I knew every time I wore that dress I'd be sure to get ice-cream that day. My Amma would've probably seen this coming but I ended up dropping caramel sauce and ice-cream on my t-shirt today; I guess somethings will never change.

A few days back I was watching the Food Network and I saw this show where famous chefs were talking about their favourite desserts and in the show there was this lady who was talking about an ice-cream bar she had eaten at a fancy restaurant. It was basically a brownie with ice-cream on top and the ice-cream bit covered with melted chocolate. When chocolate hits the ice-cream it tends to solidify and create a shell over the ice-cream like a chocobar. The chocobar on the show though was fancier as it had the brownie component and the caramel sauce in which you dip the chocobar. They did not show the recipe for this dessert because it was just a showcase of just famous desserts but the idea seemed fairly simple and so I decided to make it in my own kitchen. It was slightly messier than the video clip of the chef preparing it in his fancy kitchen. Obviously I don't have a temperature controlled kitchen filled with stainless steel benches and stainless steel fridges and stainless steel freezers the size of an elephant; I barely had room to put my little ice-cream bars into the freezer but I must say that they taste heavenly. Imagine a chocobar with a brownie inside and the whole thing dunked into a pool of caramel sauce. Well, that's just him being extra nice but I really think that these are delicious. Before I head into the recipe I'd like to thank Madhu for giving me company on the phone while baking my last cake and Gita Aunty who shares her thoughts on each post; it really means the world to me! So, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the brownie:


  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1/2 cup of butter
  • 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
  • 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp of baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 1/4 cup walnut halves
For the ice-cream filling:
  • 1.5 - 2 liters of vanilla ice-cream
For the chocolate mix:
  • 3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2 tsps of orange extract
For caramel dipping sauce:
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 6 tbsps of butter
  • 1/2 cup of whipping cream
Directions:
Step 1 - Make the brownie:

  • Melt the butter and mix all the ingredients in order.
  • Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius for 20-30 minutes in a 9 x 13 inch greased pan.
Step 2 - Add the ice-cream:

  • Cool the brownies for about 20 minutes then melt the ice-cream in a large bowl spread it over the brownie which is still in the pan.
  • Now freeze the two pan for about 2 hours.
Step 3 - Make the caramel sauce:

  • Put all ingredients into a saucepan and keep whisking till it thickens into a sauce.
Step 4 - Make the ice-cream bars:

  • All you have to do now is carefully cut the ice-cream and brownie with a sharp knife and place the brownies on greased plates. This step might be a little tricky as the ice-cream tends to melt quickly, but just make sure to be quick and pop the plates back into the freezer for about 30 minutes.
  • While the bars are sitting in the freezer, melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 40 seconds, take it out, stir it and put it back again. Repeat this step again till all the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth paste.
  • Mix in the orange extract into the paste. Set aside till the 30 minutes are up for the brownie bars.
  • Now, pull the ice-cream brownies out from the freezer and dip each of the bars into the melted chocolate and place on greased wax paper and freeze immediately for at least 15-20 minutes before devouring them. If you want you may drizzle caramel sauce over the bars before freezing or you can serve as is with a side of caramel sauce for dunking.
  • Done!

8 comments:

  1. i want to live there with you !!!
    look at all these man.. i am so proud of you :)
    muah

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  2. ammmu this loooks soooo yummy ya!!!! im jus dyiiiiiiiin to sink my teeth into them!!!!aaaah that too with the caramel sauce!!!!hmmmm....:):):):)YUM!

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  3. i have to say. I LOVE your blog. Its INSPIRATIONAL. ive been following it on the sly-- and then finally decided to come out in the open. and its AMAZING. i was inspired after julie & julia, but youve actually done something about it!! Wanted to ask -- want to make this, but which semi sweet chocolate can i use here? you get only this dark choc compound--which is a bit oily. i wish i could just order truckloads of stuff from the UK, it would make all this lovely stuff sooo much simpler.

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  4. START A CAFE! :) :) Ill come and be your cheap help :)

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  5. Ammu........
    Wait, am sure you will repeat history, am just waiting for that day, when your kid will have a fixed T shirt just like you...........he,he..
    You made such a yummy dessert, Ammuma will be 100% very proud of you!
    Love you lots!!!

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  6. Does this recipe come with a free membership at some gym?! Just looking at the pictures I can feel the kilos piling up(not to mention the elastic inches expanding! This is divinely sinful!!

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  7. Hi
    Nafisa introduced me to this blog. I tried the Brownie recipe for Nafisa who was home for a bit. They came out great!
    Brinda (Nafisa's Mom)

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  8. To Aash:
    Thanks so much for visiting my blog! Your comments meant the world to me. Thanks for all the compliments! They really made me super happy! I'm glad you visited my blog and liked it. For the chocolate bit you can use any bar of chocolate. I know the stuff here comes all measured and neatly packed ready to cook but when I was back at home I just used regular cadbury's or I'd go to M.K. Ahamed and get their cooking chocolate bars. If there's a will, there's always a way! :D And, I'll definitely look you up if and when I start my dream restaurant!

    To Gita Aunty:
    Ya! This stuff is definitely sinful! I don't dare to eat more than a few bites. I usually leave it all for Sandeep; he never seems to put on any weight. hahaha! But, he loves eating everything I cook.

    To Brinda Aunty:
    Thanks so much for visiting my blog! It means so much to me! I hope the brownies came out fine because the recipe needs to be doubled if you're making regular brownies. With this recipe the brownie is just a flat layer to go below the ice-cream. Since, you said they came out OK, I'm relieved but you should try the doubled version for a chunkier fuller brownie. Hope you keep visiting and thanks for trying out my recipe!

    Love,
    Sandhya

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