Angel Song Ice Cream (no machine)

If still, after creating this concoction, I am not called a genius, I swear I`ll quit making ice cream. Actually, no, I`m kidding. :) This is hands down the BEST ice cream flavor I could ever come up with. And a big bonus is he fact that you need absolutely no weird ice cream machine to do this. Just a mixer, some bowls and a spoon. Get ready for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Chunk Nutella Swirl Ice cream. Ben&Jerry would be jealous, don`t you think? They would surely hire me!

I`ll just skip the usual descriptive essay about the amazing flavor of this ice cream. It is only two things I want to mention:
1. The ingredients can be found anywhere, very easy and they are not expensive.
2. You will not believe how easy this is.

Buy or bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Either you bake them or not, be sure to add A LOT of chocolate chips to them.I used about 150 gr of cookies. Mine are 30-40% chocolate chips. Place them in a bag and bash them with something heavy. Just like in the picture , leave some chunks bigger than the others, so you feel the texture in your ice cream. Set aside as well.

First step is to prepare are your ingredients and have them ready. Take some Peanut Butter. Now, you can use chunky or creamy, whatever you prefer, but I like some pieces of peanut here in there in my ice cream. You need to measure 4 heaping(!) teaspoons like the one in the first picture. Or, 4 leveled tablespoons. Then, you do the same way with your Nutella, which you will place in a wider bowl, because later you`ll need to combine it with the ice cream base.

Set aside.

Next up is to make the ice cream base, which couldn`t be easier: Whip 400 ml. of cold(!) whipping cream/double cream (whatever you call it) until stiff peaks (image 1 and 2 above). Then, add 400 ml. sweetened condensed milk (if you can`t find condensed milk, you can make you own by boiling together 400 ml of evaporated milk with 150 gr of sugar on very low heat for about 30 minutes or until it is reduced by half, let it cool). The sweetened condensed milk has to be form the fridge as well, you want everything cold. The ice cream base is ready, from here on you can add whatever you like. At this point, put about 1/2 cup of the base in the bowl with Nutella and mix it well (image down, on the right side). Set side. Then dump your chocolate chip cookie chunks in there and fold `em in.

Last step is to place your mixture in a plastic container, and swirl the Nutella mixture on top. See left image above. Store in the freezer for at least 4 hours. I know, waiting is the worst part, but when you take a bite out of that creamy, velvety bliss of an ice cream, you`ll forget about everything. It is like foodgasm, I swear. Even my mom said so! It is just as creamy as a regular ice cream made with an ice cream machine, but maybe even better. Try it yourself and tell me how it was. :)

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake For One

So maybe I should have posted this a looong while ago, maybe February, when Valentine`s Day was here, but I was just too lazy to write anything. The general excuse. 

What do you do when there is too many candy left from your birthday? You bake something with it because you are just so sick of the mainstream bar of chocolate that`s has been lingering for a good while in your drawer. Yes, thank you, I will have a warm, oozy chocolate cake just for ME. This recipe makes only ONE huge lava cake that has your name on it. And no, you are not supposed to eat it with anyone but alone because you deserve it. 

I can be sooo selfish sometimes.

And now, who in their right mind would split dessert? Especially cake? Chocolate cake, to be more precise.  

Oh, I forgot, this is not a regular lava cake...it has almonds on the bottom and dried cranberries to balance the sweetness. And Homemade Oreo Ice Cream  for good measure. You`re welcome.

Another thing I would like to share with you, even tough it is kind of weird and...well, maybe not appropriate for this blog topic, is my little fitness journey. And what I achieved through sacrifice, sweat and pain: ABS! Not only have I grown stronger, but I also managed to figure out that balance is everything. And I`m talking food here. You can have that piece of cake without packing pounds on, you must know when and how much of it. Even athletes have epic meals. But not every single day. The only difference is that I am not a pro at sports, I do the best I can to stay in shape without stressing about it. And guess what? I enjoy every single meal I make for myself (or my family) because it is nutritious. You control what goes in it. 

For those who wonder what I did for those abs...Pilates and a lot of cardio are involved. I am really curious how I will look over another 6 months of hard work. This is what you get when you don`t take countless selfies at the gym and sweat rivers instead. Sore muscles can become an addiction but it is one of the best addictions in the world. I dare you to try it. 

Ingredients:
79 gr chocolate (it really doesn`t matter if it`s semisweet, plain, dark, it`s up to you)
11 gr raw almonds whole
11 g cranberries
15 g butter softened
1 egg
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200 d C/425 d F and grease one large ramekin bowl with butter, then dust with 1 tsp cocoa powder. Arrange the almonds on the bottom of the ramekin, set aside.

2. Melt the chocolate over a water bath or in a microwave, stirring every 20-30 seconds so it doesn`t burn. Set aside

3. Beat the soft butter with the sugar until it is paste like, add the egg and beat 1 more minute. Combine this mixture with flour, vanilla extract and cranberries before folding in the melted chocolate. Do this in batches: at first, add only 1/4 of the chocolate to the batter, mix it in and then add the rest. This way you temper the batter, avoiding scrambling the eggs and making a mess.

4. Pour it in the ramekin and bake for 11 minutes or until the tops are set and slightly pull away from the sides of the bowl. Take it out of the oven and leave it 5 minutes at room temperature before flipping it over on a plate. Garnish with more cranberries, a touch of basil leaf and ice cream. Serve hot...darn good, I tell ya!