A Cup of Jo started a weekly feature of how to cook the best basic food - chocolate chip cookies, spaghetti sauce, grilled cheese sandwiches, and the like - as made by famous food bloggers. Last month I saw the headline, "The Best Chocolate Ice Cream You'll Ever Have" and bolted straight to the grocery store for the two ingredients I needed.
Goal:
Reality:
Following the recipe exactly, the ice cream came out too hard for a spoon to handle. I left it on the counter for about an hour, came back, and the "ice cream" had not melted at all. For ice cream, it was a disaster. I commented on Cafe Fernando, the chef's website, about the fudge-like consistency.
Cenk, the chef, emailed me right away to find out more details about the problem. Besides being a little starstruck to correspond with the author of the "Best Culinary Travel Blog," I thought it was very professional of him to help others perfect the recipe. I turned the botched recipe into fudge balls by rolling it in Ghiradelli hot chocolate mix; it was a hit with party guests. I knew something was really wrong when I could roll it in my hands without it melting.
So it turns out that Turkish cornstarch (cornstarch is a thickener) is much weaker than the Western version. A woman in the UK reduced it from 5 to 2 teaspoons and shortened the cooking time. I made it a second time with 2 scant teaspoons of cornstarch and 4 minutes on the stove. It still turned into fudge.
I'm going to give it one more try before giving up and going back to my chocolate sorbet recipe.
Goal:
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| Photo credit: Cup of Jo |
Following the recipe exactly, the ice cream came out too hard for a spoon to handle. I left it on the counter for about an hour, came back, and the "ice cream" had not melted at all. For ice cream, it was a disaster. I commented on Cafe Fernando, the chef's website, about the fudge-like consistency.
Cenk, the chef, emailed me right away to find out more details about the problem. Besides being a little starstruck to correspond with the author of the "Best Culinary Travel Blog," I thought it was very professional of him to help others perfect the recipe. I turned the botched recipe into fudge balls by rolling it in Ghiradelli hot chocolate mix; it was a hit with party guests. I knew something was really wrong when I could roll it in my hands without it melting.
I'm going to give it one more try before giving up and going back to my chocolate sorbet recipe.
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