Lemon Speculoos Ice Cream

I've had David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop on my wish list for the past, I don't know, five years? Every birthday and every Christmas list had this book on it. Every time the used bookstore had a sale, I would browse their cookbook section, hoping this book would show up (side note - I never buy books at full cover price). Finally, this past Christmas, I didn't ask for much - two books and a few movies.



Surprisingly, I don't own an ice cream maker. My parents asked if I was going to buy one now. I said no, I've made ice cream by hand before and plan on doing it again. The first flavor I made was Lemon Speculoos. Speculoos is, simply put, a Belgium gingersnap. The book offers a recipe to make homemade speculoos, but I had leftover store-bought gingersnaps I bought on clearance because they were broken. I must admit, I was a little unsure about this. I LOVE lemon, but lemon and gingerbread??



I'm not sure how David decided on lemon and gingerbread, but this ice cream was definitely not a let-down. I served it with warm double chocolate mousse cake. Hey can't go wrong with lemon and chocolate (or lemon and vanilla, or lemon and cheesecake, or...) Because I made the ice cream by hand, it is hard to scoop. Hence why my ice cream looks a little melted because you have to let it sit out for about 10 minutes.

Since I pretty much followed his recipe without changing anything (except cutting the amount in half), I'm not going to post the recipe. I can, however, encourage you to buy the book because it has so many great ice cream recipes and won't disappoint you. The recipe is on page 86. I'm currently making the base for Tin Roof ice cream as I type this. Great way to use leftover peanuts that have been sitting on my counter the past month...

Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes

Gingerbread. It's one of those flavors that screams Christmas. And when you know Christmas is just around the corner, you can almost taste it. Last post I made cookies. This post I have cupcakes.



Gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese icing - definitely a match made in heaven. I had no trouble making these cupcakes. It's pretty much beat everything in a bowl, scoop, and bake for 20-some minutes. Perfect to eat during the snow fall.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cupcakes



1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake liners with paper. In a small bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, allspice and salt.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Alternately whisk in flour mixture and buttermilk, making three additions of flour and two of buttermilk, beating until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Scoop into pan. Bake 22-27 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool for 10 minutes then remove to cooling rack.


Cream Cheese Frosting



4 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
Pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1. Beat together cream cheese, butter, and salt. Beat in sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.