Skip to main content

Plum Ice


Plum Ice 
Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg.  336.

2 lbs. (8 large) dark plums
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar (Note: I would use only 1/2 cup)
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice



Every year, a man from the family who owns the nursery where I work, brings us these delicious plums. Last year, I made a non-Maida recipe,  Plum Coffee Cake, which was very good. I wanted to do something different this time, and, turning to Maida's books, I found this recipe.

The recipe suggests using 'Black Diamond' or 'Santa Rosa' plums. I have no idea which variety these are.

A note on the sugar - it is way too much! I reduced it to about 3/4 and it was still very sweet. I would suggest 1/2 cup sugar, especially if the plums are very sweet.

This is easy to make. You will need an ice-cream maker. We have a little Krups one that is wonderful.

The recipe makes 1 1/2 quarts.


Halve and pit the plums and set aside.






  • Stir the water and the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil and the sugar has dissolved. Add the salt and the plums. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10-20 minutes, until the plums are tender. Some of the skins may loosen and become detached. This is ok.


Puree the plums in two batches (including the skins)
 in a food processor until smooth.



Strain the mixture over a bowl.

Add the vanilla and lemon juice. 

Stir and chill in the freezer or refrigerator until very cold.

Freeze in an ice-cream churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a covered container in the freezer for at least several hours before serving.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Palm Beach Brownies with Chocolate Covered Mints

Palm Beach Brownies with Chocolate Covered Mints Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. viii. I made these brownies again a few days ago and they were just as good as ever. This time I made half with York Peppermint Patties and the other half with Andes mints. There wasn't a noticeable difference in taste. The ones with the Andes mints were pretty with the mint green color but the ones with Yorks are equally pretty. When Maida Heatter's first book (the above-mentioned title) won the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame Award in 1998, she accepted her award on stage and began to toss out these brownies to the audience. Everybody clamored for one and went wild. The original recipe came from a local deli in her area and did not include the mints (that recipe is available in the first edition of this book). She tinkered with the recipe and added the mints which do not melt during baking. I've been itching to ...
9 comments
Read more

Mulattoes

Mulattoes Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. 199. Of the hundreds of Maida Heatter cookie recipes, this may be the most famous. These are chunky but soft, extremely chocolaty,  full of nuts and chocolate chips. Sinfully delicious! They are easy to make. The trickiest part may be the baking time. After making them numerous times, I have learned to only bake them 10 or 11 minutes at the most, then remove them and allow them to sit on the hot baking pan for about 5 minutes. They will be extremely soft to the touch but eventually they firm up nicely.  I just use my hand mixer for these. Although the recipe states that it makes 18 large cookies, I find that the yield is slightly higher, even when making them fairly large. I use a tablespoon scoop to form the cookies. 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 3 oz. (3/4 stick) butter 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking pow...
12 comments
Read more

Frozen Chocolate Mousse

Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.) , pg. 228. Here is a dessert sure to make any chocoholic swoon. Silky and decadent, this frozen mousse is like a rich chocolate ice cream. It is really easy to make - all the folding required will give you a workout but it is worth it! The crust can be made with crushed wafer cookies or you could even buy a ready-made crust. If doing your own, the instructions say to apply the crumbs around the sides of the pan (use a springform pan) but I did not do this - I just made a bottom layer. You will have to run a sharp knife around the pan before releasing the catch on the pan. The mousse is soft (even after freezing) and it will need to be put back in the freezer as soon as possible after serving. Maida Heatter recommends covering the mousse with either whipped cream, strawberries or chocolate leaves. I did not do either, it looks lovely without a topping. Crust 8 oz. choc...
5 comments
Read more