Ice Cream: |
♥ This post goes out to Jus Teasing who requested Double Crunch quite some time ago via Facebook. JT, thank you sooo much for waiting patiently (I hope!) while I experimented, constructed, and sighed heavily when part of it got smashed by a pizza box. This has been a LONG time coming.
"A mixed ice cream so full of fruit, you might just go a little bananas."–Ice Cream Shop, "Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep"
Note: You can either make your own ice cream or simply purchase some raspberry sorbet. When I first started working on this recipe I homemade the ice cream using beautiful fresh cherries, which were in season, but the last time–the time I was finally able to put everything together & take photos–I used raspberry sorbet because, by then, fresh cherries were long out. So when fresh fruit season rolls around again, please go ahead and try homemaking this fruity ice cream! The raspberry sorbet is a great substitute though, easy peasy!
Also to note is that this creation is made over the course of a couple days, so even though there are several parts to it, it's not so bad if you space it out and work on one or two aspects at a time. The freezer is your friend! :)
Ventus' Double Crunch Ice Cream
Ingredients:
Raspberry Sorbet OR
Homemade Ice Cream
3/4 Cup Fresh Strawberries, hulled & quartered1/2 Cup Fresh Cherries, pitted (not sour cherries)
1/2 of a Fresh Peach, peeled
1/4 of a Fresh Mango, peeled
1/2 of a Fresh Banana
1 1/4 Cup Milk
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
Couple Drops Red Food Color Gel (optional, if needed)
Mickey Bowl
1/2 Cup Red Candy Melts
EZ-Thin Dipping Aide (optional, but works wonders!)
2 White (Coconut) "Jelly Belly" Jelly Beans
1 Slice Pound Cake or Lemon Cake (or wedding cake!), broken into small pieces
Tortilla Bowl
1 8" Flour Tortilla
2 Tbsp. Butter, melted
1 1/2 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
Decorations
1/3 Cup Chocolate Chips (Milk or Dark is fine–whatever is your preference. I used dark)
1/3 Cup Yellow Candy Melts
5 Chocolate Pocky Sticks (or other thin biscuit sticks)
Edible Gold Spray
1/2 Cup Cool Whip
3 Strawberry Slices
2 Maraschino Cherries, patted dry (stems removed or kept. I liked the look so I kept them)
2 Banana Slices, cut at an angle (dip in orange or pineapple juice to keep from browning)
1 Green Fruit Wedge Gummy Candy, cut in 2 (OR 2 Fresh Kiwi wedges or Green Apple slices)
1 Yellow Fruit Wedge Gummy Candy, cut in 2 (OR 2 Fresh Peach or Mango wedges)
Important Items:
Standing Blender or Food Processor (if homemaking the ice cream)
Fine Mesh Strainer (if homemaking the ice cream)
Ice Cream Maker w/ Frozen Bowl (if homemaking the ice cream)
Decorations Template (download here)
3 Squeeze Bottles or Candy Decorating Bags
Sandwich Baggie or another Decorating Bag
Toothpicks
Small Balloon (water balloon is best size)
Parchment Paper
Small Deep Bowl
Wide-bottomed Oven-proof Bowl or Small Pie Dish
Pastry Brush (optional, but easier to use)
Chopstick or Skewer
Directions:
1. Homemade Ice Cream (if using Raspberry Sorbet, skip this step): Puree the fruit in your blender or food processor, & then strain the resulting mixture through the mesh strainer into a large cup or liquid measuring cup. Rinse out the blender, if that's what you just used, & then pour in the cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, & salt, as well as the strained fruit mixture. Blend just to combine & pour the mixture into your ice cream maker & churn according to your unit's instructions.
2. Shaping the Ice Cream or Sorbet: Line a small, deep bowl (mine was 4" dia. x 2 1/8" deep) with plastic wrap, & then scoop & press enough ice cream or sorbet in to fill it to the rim. Fold the wrap over the top & place the bowl in the freezer for at least 48 hours to solidify into the shape of the bowl.
3. Decorations: Print out the template, lay the paper on a large metal tray, & place a sheet of parchment paper over top (I like to secure mine with little magnets). Melt the chocolate & pour it into a squeeze bottle or candy decorating bag. Pipe the chocolate over the key blade pointing right & use a clean toothpick to do the detailing. break a pocky stick to about 3 1/2" long & lay it across the top over lapping the chocolate, lining up the end of the stick with the end of the key blade. Next, use the melted chocolate to make the 2 large Mickey ears. Break 2 sticks to 3" each & lay 1 in the center of each ear. Leave undisturbed so the chocolate can harden.
Note: You could use the halves of an Oreo or other chocolate circle cookie for the ears, but I wanted something thin so I went the straight-up chocolate route. Feel free to do what you'd like though, but I recommend coating in chocolate to make it more uniform, if you go with cookies.
4. Melt the yellow candy melts with optional E-Z Thin & pour/spoon it into another squeeze bottle or decorating bag. Pipe a small amount of melt over the crown design & use a clean toothpick for details. Break a pocky stick to about 2" long & gently lay the tip of it in the center of the crown, making sure it doesn't extend beyond the center point of the crown. Next, pipe yellow over the left-pointing key blade & use the toothpick as before. Break the last stick to 3 1/2" & place it on the top of the key blade, overlapping the yellow, lining up the ends. Let harden. Once completely solid, carefully peel off of the parchment & transfer–flat side up– to another sheet of parchment or a large paper towel. Spray a few coats with the edible gold spray & then let dry.
5. Tortilla Bowl: Heat your oven to 350ºF & place a large, oven-proof bowl or small pie dish upside-down on a baking tray. (Important: Make sure the bottom of the dish you use is wider than the little bowl that has the ice cream/sorbet in it. Mine was about 4 1/2".). Lay your tortilla flat & brush the top with melted butter. Place the tortilla, butter-side down, onto the overturned dish & then brush the exposed side of the tortilla with butter. Using your hands, press the buttered tortilla down around the dish & fold-over/pleat the edges to make the tortilla itself into somewhat of an overturned bowl. Mix the cinnamon & sugar & sprinkle it over the tortilla. Slide the tray into the oven & bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until the tortilla is stuck in its current shape & crispy. Remove from the oven, puncture any billows with a fork, & let cool completely. It'll harden as it cools. Carefully remove the tortilla from the dish, & sit upright as a bowl. Place the tortilla bowl on a small plate & set aside until needed.
6. Mickey Bowl: Blow up a balloon to just a little bit larger than the width of the little bowl you put the ice cream/sorbet into & tie off the end. Line a tray with parchment paper & have it ready nearby. Melt the red candy melts–with a little bit of optional E-Z Thin–in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until fully melted & smooth. Pour/spoon the melt into your squeeze bottle or decorating bag.
7. With 1 hand holding the balloon by the tied end over the bowl, round end of the balloon facing down, hold the squeeze bottle or bag in the other hand & pipe a zig-zag around the balloon about 2" up from the bottom (round end). After you've made the zig-zag, cover the whole round end of the balloon with melt, & then shake it gently over the bowl so the excess melt drips off. Go over the zig-zag again to make it thicker, & then place the balloon on the parchment paper, melt end down, tied end up. Let the balloon sit like this until the melt hardens.
8. Using a skewer, gently press the balloon around the zig-zag so it separates from the hardened melt, being careful not to break the melt as you go. Use the skewer or a pin to let air out of the balloon, making sure the balloon separates nicely from the melt as it looses air & shrinks. Remove the balloon once it has deflated completely & use the extra, re-malted candy melt to reseal any cracks that may have formed, or to fill in the bottom if a hole was created. Locate the best looking zig-zags & carefully affix the white Jelly Bellys (see pictures in this post for position) using a tad bit of red melt on their flat sides. Place the Mickey bowl into the cooled tortilla bowl, the back-side of the Mickey bowl closer to the edge of the tortilla than the front (so there's a wider gap between the front of the Mickey bowl & the tortilla edge), & then slide it all into the freezer until needed.
9. Assembly: Fill the Mickey bowl about half-way with the broken up cake. Fill a med-large bowl with warm-hot water & then remove the little bowl of plastic-wrapped ice cream or sorbet from the freezer & lower it into the water, just up the the rim, for a few seconds. Remove from the water & see if you can pull up the plastic wrap & pop the ice cream/sorbet out of the bowl. If not, lower the bowl back into the water for a few second more. Once the ice cream/sorbet & plastic comes out of the bowl, unwrap the plastic & place the ice cream/sorbet flat-side down into the Mickey bowl, on top of the cake pieces.
10. Quickly puncture the ice cream/sorbet with the skewer or chopstick to make holes to put the chocolate decorations. 1 for the crown on the top center, 2 holes on either side of the crown hole for the ears, & 1 hole on each side, slanting downward, right at the zig-zag edges of the Mickey bowl, for the key blades. Slide the hardened chocolate decorations into their appropriate holes (yellow key blade on the right & chocolate on the left), making sure the flat sides of the chocolate are facing you, & place the whole creation into the freezer.
11. Scoop the Cool Whip into a sandwich baggie & snip a nickel-sized whole from 1 corner. Open the freezer door & pipe little mounds of Whip into the tortilla bowl in the space in front of the Mickey bowl. Check the positioning of the remaining decorations–the fruit, cherries, & candy slices–& place them into the whip where they need to go. Close the freezer & leave the Double Crunch there until ready to serve.
This is absolutely adorable! So creative :)
ReplyDeleteThis looks soooo good xoxo
ReplyDelete♥ Cateaclysmic ♥
:) Thanks!
DeleteNow I know another KH recipe other than sea-salt ice cream. This looks awesome!
ReplyDelete:) thanks!
Delete