Strawberry Ice Cream

I haven't made ice cream for nearly 3 weeks and that's a long time for me . I've been itching to try to make  white chocolate ice cream but then I saw some strawberries at the wet market . Strawberry season won't be here until late next month but there are loads of it now . But don't be fooled by the gorgeous red color , almost all of them are tart - even during it's peak season , you seldom find a whole box of really sweet strawberries , well , if you're really really lucky :D I have this recipe that I jotted down few months ago from an article - Aggie's Kitchen - of Goodhousekeeping magazine UK , May ( I guess ? )

Put 500 grams of hulled and chopped strawberries and 100 grams of caster sugar in a pan over gentle heat and cook it until it turns saucy . Cool then purée . Add 300 ml double cream . Churn .

* I added some grated lemon zest and some lemon juice .

Makes about 1.6 liters / about 8 cups

plain

 rippled

small scoops

full house after 40 minutes of churning

the usual suspect :D

Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork & Salted Fish

I'm always on the look out for tofu recipes especially steamed tofu . As I'm always topping it with minced pork and minced prawn , though it's really quiet good , sometimes it gets old , the same way over and over . So , I was browsing this free Chinese daily ( uhmm just checking out the some photos as I don't read Chinese heh! ) I saw this bilingual recipe . The first time I made it , I'm not really satisfied , too much sauce that the tofu's swimming in it . So this time , I still used all ingredient but added some minced ginger and some chopped spring onion , reduced all ingredients especially the pork from that too much 200 grams to more or less 40 grams ( not sure though 'coz I just wing it ,again :D ) . Recipe from the book Authentic Homestyle Cuisine by K.S Lee

1 T chopped salted fish ( fried )
200 grams minced pork
1 pack beancurd ( for steaming ) - I used Pak Fook brand
2 dried mushroom , soaked and diced
2  ( padi ) chillies , diced
1/2 T minced garlic

Seasoning :

1 T each of oyster sauce & chilli sauce
1/2 T sugar
1 1/2 tsps chicken powder
1/4 tsp each of salt & white pepper powder

1 T flour or cornstarch & 1/2 cup water mix together .

* Steam beancurd for 8 minutes . Pour the water out , keep warm .
* Heat some oil , fry pork , chillies and garlic until fragrant .
* Add mushrooms and salted fish . Add seasoning and fry for a while .
* Add starch mixture , cook over medium heat till gravy thickened . Pour sauce over beancurd . Serve hot.

Savoury Scones

I don't know what was I'm thinking when I made this scones . I suppose to combine the butter and flour but I dumped in the cream instead of flour yikes !!!!! To think with all those baking errors that I've done lately I should know better :P But because it's made with baking powder , they will rise in the oven  no matter what I've done to the dough :P Luckily , I'd read that piece of advice from Dorie's book before ( but not when I made my 1st ever scones ^-^" ) so I'm okay :P :D As long as it's edible I'm happy hahaha I used this recipe from Dorie Greenspan 's and cream is the main ingredient but when I check my double cream it tasted sour , so instead of adding raisins , I added cheddar cheese and Italian seasoning to make it savoury .

Cream Scones

1 large egg
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
5 T unsalted butter , cut into small pieces , chilled ( I used a combination of salted and unsalted )
3/4 cup moist , plump currants ( I used nearly a cup of cheddar cheese , cut into small cubes )

* Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C . Line baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat .
* Stir the egg and cream together .
* Whisk flour , baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Drop in the butter and using your fingers , toss to coat pieces of butter with flour. Quickly working with your fingertips or pastry blender , cut and rub the butter into dry ingredients until mixture is pebbly .
* Pour the egg and cream over dry ingredients and stir with a fork until the dough , which will be wet and sticky , comes together . Stir in currants . Still in the bowl , gently knead the dough by hand or turn it with a rubber spatula 8 to 10 times .
* Lightly dust the work surface with flour , and turn out the dough . Divide it in half . Working with one piece at a time , pat the dough into a rough circle that's about 5 inches in diameter , cut into 6 wedges and bake for 20- 22 minutes or until tops are golden and firmish .

Japanese Cheesecake

I spotted this recipe a long time ago from Diana's Desserts and it's been on my recipe stash for quiet sometime . As I've been planning to bake a cake for Mama's birthday ( the grandmother of the 3 awesome - ok ok not that awesome really hahaha - Chigels ) last September that I spied this recipe ( the spin off of Diana's ) at the gorgeous blog of Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover and also followed her recommended link at The Little Teochew . The 1st time I made it , I was quiet surprise how tall the cake was and how it tasted divine :D  . I have so many photos in my file that I've forgotten to blog it tsk tsk . So this morning I baked it again ( I've been dreaming about it eversince ) when I saw my leftover cream cheese getting a little bit moldy :P :D . But compare to the first one , this one's not that tall , about 2/3 I guess partly because the way I whisked the egg whites - instead of adding the sugar gradually I dumped it all in one go ugh ! so that my whites didn't rise to it's full glory hee hee Another disappointment was that it has a lot of small craters at the top and the insides but suffice it to say that it still taste as divine as the first one . A must keep recipe and once you made and tasted it you'll make this again and again ^-^

140 grams caster sugar
6 eggs , at room temperature , separated
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
50 grams butter
250 grams cream cheese
100 ml fresh milk
60 grams cake flour
20 grams cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

* Preheat oven to 160°C .  Grease the 8-inch springform/loose bottom pan and line with parchment paper at the bottom and at the side , make sure to extend about 1.5 inches of the parchment paper at the side so that it's higher than the pan .
* Melt the cream cheese , butter and milk over a pan of barely simmering water . Cool the mixture .
* Fold in the flour , cornstarch , salt and yolks to the cream cheese mixture and strain to remove any lumps . Set aside .
* Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy then add in sugar gradually until soft peaks form .
* Add in the strained cream cheese mixture to the whisked egg whites , fold in gently until well combined .
* Pour into the prepared pan and bake in a water bath for an hour and 10 minutes or until set .
* Leave to cool in the oven with door partially ajar about 30 mintues to an hour .

--- Tenting the top of the cake prevents over browning .

Just don't mind those small craters heh !

The first time

Spaghetti with Roasted Grape Tomatoes & Chicken Meatballs

I break out in hives if I can't cook pasta for more than a month :P :D Had to wake up so early this morning to cook it so that I can have it for breakfast hee hee Have a good Sunday , guys !

For the roasted tomatoes : Preheat oven to 220°C . Put about 500 grams grape tomatoes , cut in half , in the roasting/baking pan , add in 6-8 cloves of smashed garlic  . Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil , throw in some coarse salt and a generous dash of Italian seasoning . Cook for 45 minutes .

500 grams spaghetti
about 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
some homemade chicken meatballs , I added chili flakes to these
150 ml tomato ketchup
150 ml water
generous half tablespoon chicken powder
about 1/3 cup cilantro , coarsely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp chili flakes
roasted garlic ( from the roasted tomatoes ) , minced
some sugar and white ground pepper ( I ran out of black pepper tsk ! )

* While the pasta cooks , heat some EVOO in the pan , fry onion until soft , add in the roasted garlic .
* Dump in the roasted tomatoes , ketchup and water , stir thoroughly to combine . Simmer for a minute , then add in the cheese , stir until it melts , add in half of the cilantro , chicken powder , chili flakes , sugar and pepper . Stir and adjust taste . Simmer until bubbly , then add in the cooked pasta . Give it a good stir until well incorporated ( or if you don't want to drown :D your pasta with the sauce , you can opt to put pasta in individual plate and top it with the roasted tomatoes & meatballs sauce ) toss in the remaining cilantro , give it another stir . Dish up .

Creamy Potatoes & Chicken Meatballs

Munching some leftover Ikea meatballs and eyeing the 2 pieces of chicken breast in front of me and thought " stir frying that chicken again ? hmmm boring " :P :D Looking at the last meatball in my hand I thought , why not ? Been planning to cook spaghetti with pork meatballs later this week but when these chicken meatballs turned out well , will use these one instead ;D Next time though will add some chili flakes . This recipe's much more like chicken ala king . Omit , substitute and adjust if prefer.

8-10 baby potatoes
1 small carrot
6 pieces button mushroom , halve
some chopped onion
1 clove garlic , coarsely chopped
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 stalk Chinese celery , sectioned
1 tsp chicken powder , some brown sugar
1/2 tsp constarch & 1 T water , mix together

Meatballs :

200 grams chicken fillet , minced/ground
2 T grated cheddar cheese
2 T panko / Japanese-style breadcrumbs
1 T cilantro , chopped
1 1/2 T cornflour
some salt and white pepper to taste

* Mix ingredients above and let it rest for a while . Form into balls and pan-fry until golden brown . Set aside .

-----------

* Boil baby potatoes for 20 minutes and add the carrot in the last 5 minutes . Drain and let cool , then peel the skin , cut potatoes in half and chop the carrot  .
* Pour some oil in the pan , fry the mushrooms until golden brown , transfer to a plate . Keep warm .
* In the same pan , stir fry the onion until slightly soft then add in the garlic , fry until fragrant . Add the potatoes , carrot , mushrooms and the meatballs , stir to combine and pour in the water . Add in the chicken powder and sugar , mix thoroughly . Cover and simmer until half of the liquid evaporates , then pour in the milk and adjust taste . Let it simmer for few minutes and add in the celery , stir well to combine , add in the cornstarch mixture , give it a good stir until mixtures thickens . Dish up .

Caramelized Pear and Almond Upside-Down Cake

At last I spotted d'Anjou pears at our local supermarket !!! Yup , these pears only appears during fall/winter here . Since I got this book ( from the library , of course ! ) and been waiting for that pears for nearly 3 weeks , I'd been planning to use Bartlett pears initially but too lazy to bake cake at that time :P I'd set aside 3 pears for this cake just in case 2 won't be enough to cover the bottom heh! I'm planning to reduce the brown sugar for caramelizing the pears but didn't and added 1/2 tsp of grated lemon zest . While waiting for the caramelized pears to cool down a little bit , and looking at them , told myself , I guess there will be more than enough - let's eat some of that then hee hee . Uhm , I'd eaten too much I guess tsk tsk , so when I transferred the pieces in the pan , you guess it , not enough to cover the bottom :D So , just don't mind the bald spot , okay ? hahahaha The author recommends  to use a well-seasoned 9-inch cast iron skillet  but since I don't have it I used my 9-inch springform pan . Recipe adapted from Diane Rossen Worthington's book .

1 cup ( 4 oz , 112 grams ) blanched almonds
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
6 T ( 84 grams ) unsalted butter , at room temperature
1 cup sugar ( I reduced it to 2/3 cup )
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 T ( 28 grams ) unsalted butter
3 T packed light brown sugar
2 Anjou pears , cored , and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

*Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C . In a food processor fitted with the metal blade , process the almonds until finely ground , almost like bread crumbs . In a medium bowl , combine the ground almonds , flour , and baking powder . Stir to blend .

* With an electric mixer on medium speed or in a food processor fitted with a metal blade , beat the butter until softened . Gradually beat in the sugar and continue to beat the mixture until it is thick and pale in color . Add the eggs , one at a time , and beat until incorporated . Gradually beat in the flour mixture and the orange juice , mixing just to combine . Set aside .

* To prepare the pears : In a well-seasoned 9-inch cast iron skillet , melt the butter over medium-high heat . Add the brown sugar , stir to dissolve , and cook until bubbly . Add the pear slices in a single layer . Cook in the syrup for about 2 minutes per side , or until both sides are lightly caramelized . Use tongs to move them around . Remove from heat and let cool fro 3 minutes .

* Pour the batter over the pear mixture and gently spread it around to cover the pears . Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean . Let cool for 10 minutes , then invert it into a cake plate . Serve warm or at room temperature .

Bald Spot Alert !!!!

Stuffed it ! :D

You see these kind of food along the streets of Hongkong . Actually more of a street food , it's cheap and satisfying but you can easily make it at home . You can also use bell peppers , fresh mushroom , puffed tofu , eggplant and even bitter melon !

some minced (dace) fish
1 block firm tofu ,  drain for few hours or just wipe it dry with kitchen towel ,cut into 8
chili peppers , deseed and cut into half
some cornstarch to dust the surface of tofu and the inside of the peppers

* Stuff the minced fish evenly into the tofu and peppers . Panfry until golden brown . Serve with soy sauce.

C ² Cookies

I wasn't planning to bake these cookies but my petrified cranberries and cherries so as my 3 months expired dessicated coconut were giving me an evil eye :P :D And because I still can't get over those anorexic and over tanned cookies last time heh! I tried another Dorie Greenspan recipe . When I see cookie recipes that use 2 sticks / 1 cup butter , I tend to check out how many cookies would it yield , so I usually add more ingredients to get my desired amount of cookies :D This recipe is no exception , I added 1/2 cup flour but I forgot to add 1 cup of dark chocolate so I only have 42 cookies :P But at least I'm happy with the result hee hee And what's with the post title anyway ? ^-^

My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies by Dorie Greenspan

Makes about 45 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour - I added 1/2 cup
1 tsp salt ( 1 1/4 tsps if you really like salt ) - I just used a pinch
3/4 baking soda
2 sticks ( 8 ounces ) unsalted butter at room temperature - I used 227 grams salted butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 oz bittersweet chocolate , chopped into chips or 2 cups store-bought chocolate chips or chunks - I used 1 cup white choco chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans - omitted this instead I used 1 cup dessicated coconut and 1 cup combo of dried cherries and cranberries

* Preheat oven to 190°c/375°F .
* Whisk together flour , salt and baking soda .
* Working with a  stand mixer . preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl , beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute until smooth . Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so , until well blended . Beat in vanilla . Add the eggs one at a time , beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions , mixing only until each addition is incorporated . On low speed or by hand with a rubber spatula , mix in the chocolate and nuts .
* Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonful into the baking sheets , leaving about 2 inches in between.
* Bake cookies for about 10 to 12 minutes until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center . ( I baked the first batch for about 13 minutes but still a little bit pale so the succeeding batches , I baked it more than 15 minutes )

                                                   'Coz these cookies deserves a ribbon :D

Need a bigger cooling racks er that wire's for steaming btw hee hee

  The c²

Beef Short Ribs with Pineapple Sauce

I love to cook this cut of beef because it's easy to prepare and just few minutes to actually cook it .

For us carnivores :D

3 pcs ( 1/2 inch in thickness ) , about 350 grams , beef short ribs
some minced garlic , soy sauce , sugar , a little bit oil and chicken powder to marinate the beef
1 small can , 234 grams , pineapple slices in heavy syrup , drain and reserved syrup
1/2 tsp cornstarch , 1 T water , some sugar and soy sauce to be added to pineapple syrup

* With the back of the knife , pound each ribs lightly , be sure not to separate it from it's bone , to tenderize it . Marinate for an hour then pan fry until golden brown ( don't fry it too long or else the beef will be too tough to chew ) , transfer to a plate , keep warm .

* In the same pan , pour over the sauce , stir until slightly thicken then add in pineapple slices and ribs . Stir well to combine and sauce thickens . Dish up .

Cream Cheese Scones

While washing the food processor after baking these scones and kept telling myself  that " you should have bought that pastry blender " and I couldn't agree more :P Using the food processor's a breeze but for the aftermath read : washing up , too much work  , obviously hee hee It's the 1st time that I tried making scones , I'm a tad afraid to overworked the dough that some of it still clinging to my fingers and still a little bit wet when I baked it ^o^" . I just crossed my fingers that it will rise and can be eaten by me without spitting it after one bite hee hee And of course , so that I can blab er blog it here heh! . It turns out okay ( of course I had to ohhhh - coz it looks good er to my eyes :D and ahhhh - the heavenly smell of freshly baked goods , when  I took it out from the oven hee hee ) , it says in the recipe that you can have 2 1/2 x 3-inch triangular scone , I don't know about that 2 1/2 but at least I get the 3-inch scones right hahahahaha Recipe from the
awesome book of Nick Malgiere .

Makes sixteen  2 1/2 x 3-inch triangular scones

3 cups all-purpose flour ( spoon into a dry-measure cup and level off )
1/4 cup sugar
1 T baking powder
3/4 tsp salt ( reduced it to scant half )
4 ounces ( 112 grams ) cream cheese , cold and cut into 20 pieces
6 T ( 84 grams ) unsalted butter ( I used salted ) , cold and cut into 12 pieces
2 large eggs , cold
1/3 cup milk , cold

Cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan lined with parchment or foil

* Set rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 220°C / 425°F .
* In a bowl , mix the flour , sugar , baking powder and salt and set aside .
* Place cream cheese , butter and eggs in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse 6 to 8 times to combine ; the mixture will look a little curdled .
* Use a thin metal spatula to scrape down the side of the bowl . Add the dry ingredients and milk. Pulse 3 times and scrape again .
* Pulse 3 more times and invert the dough to a floured work surface . Carefully remove the blade . Fold the dough over on itself several times to make it smoother .
* Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and press each piece into a 6-inch disk . Arrange the disks of dough on the prepared pan about 3 inches apart .
* Use a bench scraper or a large knife to mark each square of dough into 8 triangles , cutting about halfway through .
* Bake the scones until they are well risen and deep golden , about 15 minutes .
* Cool baked scones on the pan for few minutes , then use a knife to separate at the marked divisions.

Serving : Serve immediately with jam or marmalade ; these scones don't need any cream or butter .

1st batch

2nd batch

Chicken Wings in Soy Sauce and Rose Wine

It's the 2nd time that I cook these using the same recipe . And I still don't like the color , I should have reduced more dark soy :P Maybe the next round :D If you're going to use the rose wine , a little drop goes a long way . Recipe adapted from Lisa Yam cookbook .

8-10 ( whole ) chicken wings
some sliced ginger and sectioned spring onion
1 shallot , sliced

Seasoning :

1/3 cup dark soy sauce
2 T light soy sauce
salt and white pepper
approx 1 1/2 T crush rock sugar
1 1/2 cup water
1 tsp rose wine

* Wash and scald chicken wings then rinse and set aside to drain .
* Heat about 1/2 T oil in a pan . Stir fry ginger , spring onion and shallot until fragrant . Pour in the seasoning and bring to a boil . Add chicken wings and bring to a boil again . Reduce the heat and simmer , about 20-30 minutes , until cook .
* When it is done , add about 1 tsp of rose wine and mix well . Serve with rice or can be eaten on it's own .

Pancit Canton

Or chow mein which means stir fried noodles . Whatever you call it , it's basically noodles stir fried with some meat , shrimp and  veggies . Some birthday parties in the Philippines won't be complete without this kind of offering , either this or Bihon Guisado - some believes that cooking noodles during your special day symbolizes long life , so avoid cutting it :D . Omit , substitute and adjust if desired .

700 grams fresh egg noodles ( or it is called oil noodles ? )
200 grams cooked chicken pieces
1/2  of a small cabbage , chopped
1/2 of a carrot , julienned
1/2 red onion , sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic , coarsely minced
1 T chili garlic sauce
1 stalk spring onion , sectioned
some sugar and chicken powder , to taste
2 T oyster sauce , 1 T soy sauce , 1 T fish sauce added to 1 cup water and mix

* Wash noodles with warm water , rinse and set aside to drain .
* Sauté onion until slighly soft then add garlic , fry until golden brown . Add the garlic sauce , cabbage and carrots , stir fry for a while to soften the veggies . Add in the chicken pieces so as the noodles , stir fry until well combined .
* Pour in the sauce and water mixture , mix well , then adjust taste by adding some sugar and chicken powder . Cover and simmer until cook , toss in your spring onion , give it a thorough stir . Serve hot .
* Best serve with a drizzle of  lime or lemon juice .

Oodles of noodles

One serving won't be enough :D

Stir Fried Cucumber and Mushroom with Chicken

When you see some gorgeous cucumber at the market , I bet you always think - salad ! salsa ! pickles ! or just eating it raw . But you wouldn't think of stir frying it , would you ? :D  It's not really the season for cucumber here , but I saw these yummy looking Chinese cucumber at the wet market and thought stir fry ! :D I love the crunchiness of the cucumber in this dish , so when you cook it , don't add too much water .  Did you know ( I bet you did !  but anyway ) that cucumber is classified as a fruit not a veggie ? ( well ,that's according to wiki :D ) You can use any cucumber for this recipe . I used this type of cucumber . Omit , substitute and adjust ingredients if prefer .

1 pc of cucumber , about 250 grams
100 grams oyster mushroom
100 grams chicken fillet
1/2 medium onion , thinly sliced
1 ( small ) clove minced garlic
1/2 tsp chilli garlic sauce
some sliced ginger
salt & pepper to taste
1 stalk spring onion , sectioned
1 tsp oyster sauce added to 1/2 tsp constarch & 1 T water , mix together

* Scrape the thorny skin , deseed and slice . Put the sliced cucumber in a colander and toss in some salt , about 5 minutes , wash thoroughly then drain .
* Heat some oil in the pan , pan fry the mushroom until golden brown , transfer to a plate , keep warm .
* In the same pan , fry garlic until fragrant then add in the chicken fillet , stir fry until done then toss in the chilli garlic sauce . Add in onion , fry until slightly soften , add ginger , stir then immediately add the sliced cucumber and mushroom , stir to incorporate and splash in just a little bit of water just to moisten , stir to combine , add in salt & pepper , give another stir then add in your oyster-constarch mixture , mix thoroughly then toss in some spring onion . Dish up .

Nutty Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

What's your favorite ice cream flavor ? I remember when I was young , I always bought strawberry ice cream from the shop that sells Magnolia ( the best and popular brand at that time ) and eventhough there's much more exciting flavor like rocky road - I'll always chose strawberry :D Few walks away from that shop there's this ice cream shop called Coney Island ( Idon't know why it never made into a franchise tsk ) they have exotic flavor such as pistachio ( that's the only flavor that I remembered besides my fave strawberry from that shop :P :D ) . I eaten pistachio ice cream not knowing what pistachio was at that time - uhm no google at that time hee hee and I can't even pronounced it properly heh !- except it looks gorgeous with it's lovely almost green color ( maybe they added food coloring ) and it's taste absolutely delicious !

I'm not planning to make this ice cream actually but when I check *sigh* Haagen Dazs :D shop , all I saw was DULCE de LECHE flavor with it's lovely dulce de leche swirl - I tell you -what person in her right mind could resist ? Of course I had to drag myself away and kept telling myself it's too expensive for 1 measly scoop ? Yeah yeah tsk tsk So when I arrived home I googled dulce de leche ice cream :D

The color of my homemade dulce de leche didn't stand a chance , the cream and milk mixture drowned out the color :P But of course it's still taste awesome :D I could drink it right then and there but that will defeat the purpose :D

I just used 1 can and that's only about a cup and maybe that's the reason why the ice cream is so light in color :P The churning time was nearly an hour compare to my usual 20-40 minutes . Even after that too long churning , the ice cream mixture was still quiet soft when I tranferred it to a container and I can't ripple my reserved ddl properly tsk tsk . Note to self -it really needs exactly 1 2/3 cup not a measly 1 cup :P :D I didn't have enough pecans so I added walnuts and almonds .

Yield : 1 1/2 quarts or about 6 cups

Recipe from Gourmet

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 2/3 cups dulce de leche
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped pecans , toasted

* Bring milk and cream into a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat , remove from heat then whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved . Whisk in vanilla , then transfer to a metal bowl . Quick chilll by putting the mixture in a larger bowl of ice and cold water , stirrring occasionally until cold , about 15 to 20 minutes .
* Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker until almost firm then fold in the chopped pecans .
* Transfer into the container and put in the freezer to harden , at least an hour .

One round perfect scoop

Another scoop , to show a glob not a swirl of dulce de leche :P ok ok that's an excuse so that I can eat another scoop hee hee

Double Trouble Cream Cheese Brownies

I need to think more catchy titles :D Too much icing on these brownies I guess or maybe these brownies need no icing :P Compare to the brownie recipe that I tried from Better Homes and Gardens - the easiest ( I just used one mixing bowl using that recipe and there's no need to use the mixer ) to date and the yummiest , too ^o^ . This recipe's too much work :P :D Good thing it taste good - except that too thick icing :D Recipe adapted from this  Coffee by Betty Rosbottom .

Chocolate - Cream Cheese Brownies

5 T unsalted butter , divided , plus extra for greasing the baking pan
4 ounces ( 112 grams ) semi-sweet chocolate , coarsely chopped ( I used bittersweet chocolate )
3 ounces ( 84 grams ) cream cheese
1 cup sugar , divided ( I reduced it to 3/4 cup )
3 large eggs , divided
1/2 cup plus 1 T all-purpose flour , divided , plus extra for flouring the baking pan
1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract , divided
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

For the icing :

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate , coarsely chopped ( I used bittersweet chocolate )
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1 1/2 tsps powdered instant coffee ( I used  1 1/2 T espresso powder )

* Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F . Generously butter an 8-inch square baking pan and dust it with flour . Shake out the excess flour and set the pan aside .
* Melt 3 T of the butter and the chocolate in a heavy , medium saucepan over very low heat , stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and creamy . Remove pan from heat and cool slightly .
* With the electric mixer  on medium speed , cream the remaining 2 T of butter with cream cheese in a medium bowl . Gradually add 1/4 cup of tthe sugar and beat until it is light and fluffy . By hand , stir 1 egg , 1 T of the flour and 1/2 tsp of the vanilla . Mix to blend and set aside .
* With the electric mixer on medium speed , beat the remaining 2 eggs in a medium bowl until they are light and fluffy . Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar  and beat until the mixture is thickened , about 1 minute . Remove and fold in remaining 1/2 cup of flour , baking powder and salt . Stir in the cooled chocolate mixture , the walnuts and the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla . Pour this batter into the pan .
* Drizzle the reserved cream cheese mixture over chocolate batter in the pan and use the spatula to swirl it into the chocolate batter to create a marbled effect . Bake brownies until tester comes out clean , about 30 minutes . Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature .
 * To make the icing : Put the chocolate , cream and coffee in a heavy medium saucepan over very low heat . Stir constantly until mixture is smooth and creamy . Cool for 15 minutes . Use spatula to spread the icing over the top of the brownie s. Refrigerate until the icing is firm . Slice and serve .

Makes 16 brownies