Buttermilk Ice Cream With Spiced Fruit Compote Food

BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up, then whisk in half of the sugar (6 tablespoons). Set aside.
• In a heavy stainless steel pan, stir together the cream, milk, and the remaining sugar (6 tablespoons) and put the pan over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
• Carefully scoop out about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ½ cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Returning to the pan of cream on the stove, use a heatproof spatular to stir the cream as you slowly pour the egg and cream mixture from the bowl back to the pan.
• Continue to cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened, coats the back of a spatula, and leaves a clear mark when you run your finger across it, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
• Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer and into a clean container. Set the bowl into an ice bath, wash your spatula, and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight. (In this recipe, it's particularly important that the base is cold before proceeding to the nest step; otherwise the buttermilk will cause the mixture to "break" and lose its emulsion.)
• Add the buttermilk and vanilla to the cold base and whisk to blend.
• Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you'll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Enjoy right away or, for a firmer ice cream, freeze for at least 4 hours.

SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Place cinnamon sticks and cloves on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with kitchen string to form a bag., In a large saucepan, combine the orange juice, raisins, brown sugar, salt and ginger. Add spice bag; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Add fruit; simmer for 3 minutes. Discard spice bag. Serve fruit warm or cold with a slotted spoon.

SERIOUSLY GOOD SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients, except the fruits, into a large saucepan and slowly bring to the boil, uncovered. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes then remove the pan from the heat.
• Top and tail the oranges, then slice off the skin and every scrap of pith, using a small, sharp kitchen knife. Cradle each orange in the palm of your hand, hold it over the saucepan and cut out the segments, letting them drop into the syrup. Squeeze any juice from the debris into the syrup, too, then discard.
• Add the apricots and plums to the syrup and return the saucepan to a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then simmer the fruits for 10 minutes. Leave to cool, then chill for at least 2 hours.
• Serve the poached fruits just as they are or as a brûlée: whisk the milk into the fromage frais to loosen it a little, then divide the fruits and enough juice to cover them, among six ovenproof ramekins and spoon on the fromage frais, thickly. Dust with caster sugar and then 'burn' the sugar with a blow-torch. (Or put the ramekins on a heavy baking sheet, place it under a very hot grill and leave for 1-2 minutes until the sugar has caramelised.)

SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE

Steps:

• Stir first 5 ingredients in large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add remaining ingredients; simmer until fruit is tender, about 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fruit to bowl. Boil syrup in pan until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 7 minutes. Pour over fruit. Cool. Cover; chill until cold, about 3 hours. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.)

BUTTERMILK SPICE CAKE WITH PEAR COMPOTE AND CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• For pear compote:
• Mix sugar, lime juice, and salt in heavy large saucepan. Add pears and toss gently to coat. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until pears are just tender, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled.
• For buttermilk spice cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides; line pan with round of parchment paper. Sift first 9 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean and add lime peel; beat to blend. Beat in flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions, scraping down bowl occasionally. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
• Bake cake until beginning to brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan on cooling rack. DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.
• Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto rack; peel off parchment and turn right side up onto platter. Sift powdered sugar over. Cut into wedges. Serve with pear compote and dollop of crème fraîche.
• A brown, star-shaped seedpod that's available in the spice section of some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Asian markets.
• ** Available at most supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

CORNMEAL CAKE WITH BUTTERMILK ICE CREAM AND RHUBARB COMPOTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 9-inch cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Dust pan with cornmeal, tapping out excess. Sift flour, ½ cup cornmeal, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat in orange peel. Gradually add 1 cup sugar and beat until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping sides of bowl. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients in 3 additions until just incorporated. Transfer batter to pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with crushed sugar.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Run knife around pan sides to loosen. Turn cake out onto plate, then invert, crushed sugar side up, onto rack. Cool completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Wrap in foil; let stand at room temperature.
• Cut cake into wedges. Serve with Buttermilk Ice Cream and Rhubarb Compote alongside.

SPICED FRUIT COMPOTE WITH RICOTTA CREAM

Steps:

• Combine muscat, juices and sugar in a large pan, stir over heat without boiling until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil, simmer, uncovered without stirring for about 15 minutes or until mixture is thickened slightly.
• Add carambola, dates, dried fruits, cinnamon, split vanilla bean, cardamom and rind to syrup, Simmer uncovered without stirring 10 minutes or until fruit is tender. Cool syrup, cover, refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. DIscard cinnamon sticks, cardamom and vanilla bean, Serve with ricotta cream and crushed pistachios.
• Ricotta cream-.Beat cheese, icing sugar and cinnamon in small bowl with electric mixer until smooth. Stir in milk.