Neapolitan Ice Cream Pie Food

PASTIERA NAPOLETANA (NEAPOLITAN EASTER PIE)

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour and sugar and process a few times to mix together.
• Next add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like wet sand.
• Add the egg and yolk and process a few seconds more until the dough forms (this should be about 5-7 more pulses). Be sure to not overprocess the dough.
• Dump the dough from the food processor bowl onto a lightly floured counter. Form the dough into 2 disks (one a little larger than the other. The smaller disk will be used to cut the strips for top of pie) and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.
• While dough chills, make the wheat berries and pastry cream.
• Combine the wheat berries with about 2 quarts cold water and the salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then decrease the heat to low and allow the wheat to simmer gently until it is cooked though, about an hour.
• Drain and cool the wheat in a bowl. While wheat berries cool down, prepare the pastry cream.
• Whisk the egg and yolk together in a bowl, then whisk in the sugar and flour. Whisk in the milk and scrape the mixture into a small saucepan.
• Place over medium/low heat and stir constantly until the mixture thickens and comes to a gentle boil. Cook, stirring constantly, for a few seconds after the cream reaches the boil.
• Scrape the pastry cream into a bowl. Immediately whisk in the ricotta until smooth. Whisk in the sugar, then the eggs one at a time. Stir in the orange flower water, candied orange peel, vanilla, cinnamon and the cooked wheat berries.
• When dough is nicely chilled, remove from the refrigerator.
• Roll out the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap into a 13-inch round about 1/8 thick. Spray an 11-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom with baking spray. Gently wrap the dough over the rolling pin and place it over the tart pan; release the rolling pin and let the dough fall into the tart pan.
• Press the dough softly into the bottom of the tart pan. If some of the dough breaks while you press it into the tart pan, that's not a problem. Simply piece the dough together.
• Press the sides of the dough about 1/2 inch up the side of the tart pan. The rim of the tart should be lined with a slightly thicker layer of pastry than the bottom (about 1/4-inch thick). Cut off the extra dough from the sides and keep these excess pieces to make the lattice topping.
• Place this tart pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes (or even longer if necessary) to chill.
• When the dough is chilled and ready to fill, remove the tart pan from the refrigerator and prick the pastry bottom with a fork a few times. Set a rack in the lowest level of the oven and preheat to 350 F.
• Spoon the ricotta filling into the prepared crust. Remove the other portion of chilled dough from the refrigerator to make the lattice strips. Use a serrated cutting wheel to cut it into 3/4-inch wide strips.
• Arrange 5 of the strips parallel and equal distance from each other on the filling, letting the excess dough hang over the edge of the pie. Place the 5 remaining strips on exactly the same way, but at a 45-degree angle to the first ones.
• Gently press the ends of the strips to adhere to the edge of the bottom crust. Carefully remove any excess pieces of dough with your fingers or with the back of a knife.
• Bake the pastiera until the filling is set and slightly puffed and the crust is baked through, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack.

NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Using half of the ice cream, scoop into crumb crust to cover; press down slightly to fill in gaps. Drizzle with 1/4 cup of the ice cream topping.
• Scoop remaining ice cream over topping; press down slightly. Drizzle with remaining topping. Cover; freeze at least 4 hours or until firm. If desired, serve pie with additional warm hot fudge ice cream topping.

NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Combine crackers and butter in a food processor. Press mixture into a 9-inch, deep-dish pie pan to form crust. Chill in freezer for 20 minutes. Remove; spread strawberry frozen yogurt over crust. Sprinkle Heath bar on top. Freeze until firm. Remove. Spread a layer of mint ice cream over frozen yogurt; sprinkle 1 cup Oreos on top. Freeze until firm. Spread a layer of chocolate frozen yogurt on ice cream; freeze until firm. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup Oreos on top. Garnish each slice with strawberries.

SUGAR WAFER NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Line the inside of an 8-inch round (3-quart) baking pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 3-inch overhang of wrap.
• Spread 1 pint of ice cream across the bottom of the prepared pan. Line the edge of the pan with a single layer of upright chocolate wafer cookies, pressing them all the way to the bottom so they sit firmly in the ice cream. Repeat with another circle of chocolate wafer cookies nestled against the first row. Arrange 2 circles of vanilla wafer cookies followed by 2 circles of strawberry wafer cookies. Fill the center hole with 2 to 3 strawberry wafer cookies.
• Spread the remaining ice cream over the top, tapping the pan on the counter lightly to makes sure the ice cream fills all the nooks and crannies (the ice cream should be quite soft--almost melted is okay). Pull the plastic wrap up and over to cover the top and freeze at least overnight and up to 2 weeks.
• When ready to serve, remove the cake from the freezer and let sit for 10 minutes to make unmolding easier. Beat the cream with the sugar until stiff peaks form. Put 1 cup of the whipped cream in a pastry bag fitted with a medium star tip.
• Unwrap and invert the cake onto a serving dish. Frost with the remaining whipped cream, then use the whipped cream in the pastry bag to pipe stars on top and around the bottom of the cake. Decorate with the sprinkles.

NEAPOLITAN ICE CREAM

Steps:

• For the custard base and vanilla ice cream layer: In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the half-and-half and sugar. Stir it around to combine.
• Using a small paring knife, split the vanilla bean down the middle. Scrape out the caviar inside and add it to the pan along with the bean. Stir the mixture around and heat it up until it's hot but not boiling.
• Add the egg yolks to a medium bowl and whisk them vigorously until the yolks are slightly lighter in color, about 2 minutes.
• Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan. Grab a ladle of the hot half-and-half mixture and drizzle it very slowly into the yolks, whisking constantly. This will temper the egg yolks so that they don't scramble when they're added to the saucepan. Add another ladle of the hot liquid, and when it's mixed in, pour the egg mixture slowly into the half-and-half mixture, stirring with a spoon until the mixture is thick and coating the spoon, 2 minutes or so.
• Set a fine-mesh strainer over a clean glass bowl and strain the custard. Don't worry if it looks a little lumpy! That just means you're perfectly imperfect. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and stir to combine. Divide the mixture into three pitchers; set aside one pitcher to work with for the chocolate ice cream layer, and chill the other two.
• For the chocolate ice cream layer: Melt the dark chocolate chips with the heavy cream over a double boiler. When the chocolate and cream mixture is smooth and melted, add 1 cup of the reserved custard and combine. Return this mixture back to the pitcher. (This step is to ease the mixing process to make it easier to pour back into the custard and could therefore be omitted.) Whisk the cocoa into the pitcher. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn as per the manufacturer's instructions. (This will take approximately 1 hour.)
• Line two 6-cup loaf pans with plastic wrap. Scoop half of the chocolate ice cream into each. Smooth them over and place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
• To make the vanilla ice-cream layer, add the second pitcher of custard to the ice cream maker and churn according to the instructions. (Again, approximately 1 hour.)
• Remove the loaf pans from the freezer and spread half of the vanilla ice cream in each. Smooth and return to the freezer for at least 1 hour.
• For the strawberry ice cream layer: Combine the strawberries, sugar and red food coloring in a blender and puree until smooth (or you can stop just short of smooth if you want a little texture). Pour the pureed strawberries into the final third of the chilled custard mixtures and stir. Pour into the ice cream maker and churn.
• Remove the two pans from the freezer and scoop half of the strawberry ice cream into each, making the final layer. Smooth and return to the freezer for at least an hour.
• To serve: Remove the loaf pans from the freezer, turn them upside down onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Slice neatly with a knife that has been dipped in very hot water.

NEAPOLITAN BANANA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• For the vanilla banana ice cream: Cut each banana into 6 chunks and freeze until rock solid, preferably overnight.
• Put the banana chunks and vanilla bean seeds in a food processor and process. Hang on, your food processor may jolt in the very beginning! The bananas will look crumbly at first, then gooey and eventually light and creamy- just like ice cream. Stop the food processor frequently to scrape down the sides of the bowl and break up any clumps. Transfer to a bowl and put in the freezer.
• For the chocolate banana ice cream: Cut each banana into 6 chunks and freeze until rock solid, preferably overnight.
• Put the banana chunks, cocoa powder and coconut oil in a food processor and process. Stop the food processor frequently to scrape down the sides of the bowl and break up any clumps. Transfer to a bowl and put in the freezer.
• For the strawberry banana ice cream: Cut each banana into 6 chunks and freeze until rock solid, preferably overnight.
• Put the banana chunks and strawberries in a food processor and process. Stop the food processor frequently to scrape down the sides of the bowl and break up any clumps.
• To assemble the Neapolitan banana ice cream: Scrape the vanilla-banana ice cream into 1 end of an 8-by-5-inch loaf pan so it fills about 1/3 of the length of the pan. Use a rubber spatula to push it back a bit if you need to before adding the chocolate-banana ice cream next to it, filling the middle third of the pan (it's ok if they run together a bit). Scrape the strawberry-banana ice cream into the other end of the pan. Serve right away or freeze until ready to serve. To serve, run an ice cream scoop down the loaf pan to make 3-flavored scoops.

NEAPOLITAN EASTER PIE

Steps:

• Vanilla Pastry Cream:Bring milk and vanilla seeds and pod to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 20 minutes.
• In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually add milk mixture in a slow, steady stream and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.
• Whisking constantly, slowly pour one-third of milk mixture into egg yolks. Pour mixture into remaining milk in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a heatproof bowl; discard solids. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, pressing directly on surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled and firm, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Whisk to soften slightly just before using.
• Crust:In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in orange zest. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Reduce speed to low, and beat in flour mixture.
• Divide dough into 2 disks, one larger (approximately two-thirds of dough) and one smaller. Press each piece into a disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 1 day.
• Filling:Place wheat berries in a medium bowl. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Refrigerate overnight.
• Drain wheat berries, and transfer to a medium saucepan with milk, water, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Drain, and spread on a baking sheet. Let cool about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta and sugar. Add cooled wheat berries and pastry cream. Stir to combine.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger piece of dough to a 14-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 10-by-2-inch springform pan. Pour filling into shell. Trim excess dough to 1/2 inch above filling. Roll out remaining piece of dough, 1/8 inch thick. With a pastry wheel, cut into twelve 3/4-inch strips. Weave strips into a lattice over filling; trim lattice flush with edge of dough.
• Lightly beat egg and brush evenly over top of pie. Bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 60 to 90 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool 20 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edge to gently loosen pie. Remove outer ring from springform pan. Let pie cool completely. Serve.

NEAPOLITAN BOSTON CREAM PIE

Steps:

• For the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottoms only of two 8-inch round pans with butter or shortening and line with parchment paper.
• Sift the flour into a medium bowl and set aside. Stir together the milk, oil, melted butter, vanilla and water in a large measuring cup. Set aside. Measure the sugar into a small bowl.
• Whip the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Sprinkle in about half of the sugar, then whip on high speed until soft/medium peaks form and they are the consistency of marshmallow crème. Transfer the meringue to a medium bowl and set aside.
• Put the egg yolks, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt in the same stand mixer bowl and mix on high speed until lightened in color and fluffy, 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and stir in about half of the milk until combined, then stir in half of the flour. Repeat with the remaining milk and flour. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the meringue in two parts with a rubber spatula.
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and smooth the top. Bake side-by-side until toothpicks inserted into the centers come out clean, 19 to 23 minutes. Cool in the pans, wrapping the warm cakes in plastic wrap after 30 minutes. Cool completely and then chill before assembling.
• For the strawberry pudding: Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, salt and lemon zest in a medium pot. Whisk in the milk, jam and butter. The jam will remain in clumps but will dissolve as the mixture heats. Cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, while bringing to a boil. Allow the mixture to boil while whisking constantly for 10 to 20 seconds. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl, then place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Refrigerate until cold and set, about 5 hours or overnight.
• For the ganache: Place the cream, chocolate chips, butter and salt in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 15 second increments, stirring well after each, until melted, 45 seconds to 1 minute total. Stir until the ganache is smooth and has the consistency of thin yogurt.
• To assemble, place 1 chilled cake layer on a serving platter. Stir the pudding to smooth it out and then mound it in the center of the cake layer. Use a spoon or spatula to spread the pudding towards the edge of the cake, leaving about a 1/4-inch border. Place the second cake layer on top, flat baked side up.
• Pour the warm ganache into the center of the cake and use a spoon or spatula to spread it toward the edge, allowing it to drip slightly down the sides of the cake.
• Top with a ring of the strawberries before serving.
• To store the pie, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.