my prince charming: bitter orange ice cream

I'm sure I've gushed again and again how much I love Sour. Sweet is nice, but sour is where it's at in my book. Soon after I started getting interested in food as more than just "what's for dinner" kind of thinking, I had heard about Seville oranges: the sourest of all oranges. It became a bit of a quest, my holy grail, to find a Seville orange. No matter where I looked, I couldn't find a trace of that sour orange. I searched in high-end markets in February (the month when Sevilles are supposedly in store) with no luck. But then last week, after walking down Main Street in search of a pretty skirt, I lucked into a unassuming Asian market where the sign "Marmalade Oranges" caught my eye. Yes, I had finally struck Seville gold!

So I bagged up nearly a dozen oranges and made my way over to the house of a nearby friend who is also a bit of a sour fiend. We cut open the orange and checked it over. It had a very thick rind and a huge amount of seeds, but the essence of orange was strong. We cut a small segment each and sucked on it, laughing at our puckered reactions! Holy Sour Nirvana!! While we quickly decided that the Seville orange isn't meant to be eaten out of hand, I started thinking up all kinds of things I could do with them. A great orangeade and a vinaigrette, for sure, but when I got home, I hopped on my computer and Google found the perfect recipe for me. Yes, another Nigella Lawson recipe with the enchanting (at least to me) name, Bitter Orange Ice Cream.

The best thing about this ice cream is that you don't need an ice-cream maker or any special stirring techniques. Nope, just whip it and freeze it and a few hours later you have creamy frozen goodness. While this certainly isn't traditional ice cream per se, it does scoop up nice into a firm little ball which is perfect for serving in a martini glass or in a dainty vintage sundae cup. If it were the season for fresh strawberries, I'd suggest eating it over a bowlful of those, but it is almost as nice to eat plain out of a bowl or atop a chocolate wafer.

This is a very rich dessert, so I'd suggest keeping serving sizes small but I certainly wouldn't be against walking by the freezer with a spoon in hand in case of ice cream emergencies. I didn't adjust or tweak the proportions in the original recipe one bit. It's perfect as it is with the nicest balance of sweet and sour. And if you don't have a Seville at hand, use 1 orange and 2 limes to make up the difference.

bitter orange ice cream
3 Seville oranges, or 1 navel orange and 2 limes
1 c + 2 T confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 c heavy cream

Zest and juice the oranges and place in a large metal bowl. Stir in sugar, mixing to melt. Add in heavy cream and whip until soft peaks form. Pour mixture into a lidded shallow container and freeze for at least 3-4 hours until firm. Remove from freezer and let stand for 15 minutes to soften slightly. Use an ice cream scoop to make small balls and serve over fruit salad or eat with chocolate wafers. Or just stroll by the freezer with a spoon and dig in.

christmas cake: icebox peppermint yule log

My mother-in-law had asked me to make a dessert for our Christmas dinner and with so many things to do over the holidays, I wanted something without much fuss. I also wanted something kind of spectacular and festive looking. While so many bloggers have been whipping up complicated yule logs this month, I decided that I would make one too. Thankfully, I saw this recipe over at Sew Darn Cute and decided that a candy cane icebox yule log cake would be the perfect holiday desert to end our Christmas meal. This cake was easy to put together, was light and fluffy, and the crushed candy canes made the dessert taste like Christmas. Plus, it has that retro 1950's housewife feel that I just love. It was perfection in a log-shaped cake.


I wish I had used gummy leaves and berries like the very beautiful original, but I just used Christmas cookie sprinkles for a festive decorative touch. I also used less sugar in the whipped cream mixture, figuring that crushed candy canes have enough sugar already. And a final tip...sprinkle icing sugar just before you serve, otherwise, the sugar will melt into the cake. This dessert was a hit and probably my most favorite thing about our meal. Enjoy!

icebox peppermint yule log cake
1 box Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers
2 3/4 c heavy cream
Crushed candy canes (about 5)
1 t icing sugar (+ 2-3 T icing sugar + more for sprinkling)
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t peppermint extract
1/4 c cocoa powder

1. Beat 1 1/2c. cream until soft peaks form. Add in 1 teaspoon sugar, peppermint and mint extracts, beating until stiff. Fold in crushed candy canes.

2. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and assemble your stacks on it. Working quickly to prevent slippage, make 6 or so stacks of 6 wafers each, with 1 tablespoon of candy cane cream sandwiched between each wafer. Top 5 stacks with cream, leaving one stack plain with a wafer on top. If you find that things are sliding around too much, pop the cookie sheet in the freezer until things firm up a bit and then continue on.

3. Turn wafer stacks onto their sides and press them all together, leaving the plain-topped wafer stack at the end. Pop into freezer. After 1 hour, wrap the parchment paper around the "log" and freeze for another 5 hours or overnight.

4. Beat remaining 1 1/4 c. cream with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and sift in the cocoa powder until stiff peaks form.

5. Trim two 3 inch wedges on the diagonal from the both ends of the log and set aside. Place the log on a serving plate and cover it with most of the cocoa cream, reserving about 1/2 cup. Press in the 2 stumpy ends along side of the log and then slather with the remaining cream.

6. Drag a fork all over the log to simulate tree bark, then freeze log for at least 4 hours. Let it sit at room temp for 15-20 minutes before serving. Decorate with candies and powdered sugar for a snowy effect. When cutting the cake, cut on the diagonal for a nice striped effect.