Favourite frozen desserts
By Harkiran Sodhi

ICE-creams have a place of their own in our hearts but just as tempting and often very easy to whip up are desserts which use ice-creams or their variations. Just mixing ice-cream with fruit can give you a simple, easy-to-create and delightful dessert for any party. Similarly, mixing shakes, and creating ice-cream sodas are just as much fun to make as they are to drink. Once you get into the fun of mixing and creating your own favourite frozen desserts, the sky’s the limit.

All-American Banana Split

Serves- 1

Preparation time- 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 banana sliced into half lengthways.

3 scoops of vanilla ice-cream

Hot chocolate sauce- (recipe given in sauces)

A handful of chopped cashew, walnuts or almonds as preferred.

1 wafer biscuit

Method:

In a shallow sundae dish, place the two halves of the banana on the bottom. Place the three scoops of vanilla ice-cream on top of the banana halves. Pour the chocolate sauce over the ice-creams and sprinkle the chopped nuts over the top. Place the wafer biscuit on one side and serve immediately.

Choco-Almond Ice-Cream Shake

Serves- 1

Preparation time- 5 minutes

Ingredients:

2 scoops vanilla ice-cream

3/4 glass of whole or skim milk

1 teaspoon of cocoa powder

1 teaspoon sugar

Chocolate sauce

4-5 almonds cut in slivers

Cherry or strawberry to decorate

Method:

Take milk, sugar and cocoa and whisk in the blender to make chocolate milkshake. In a tall glass put in two scoops of vanilla ice-cream and pour the milk shake over it. Top with the chopped almonds, chocolate sauces and decorate with cherries or strawberries.

Very Strawberry Crush

Serves-1

Preparation time- 7-8 minutes

No cooking or freezing time

Ingredients:

2 scoops strawberry ice-cream

6-8 fresh strawberries

1 bottle of 7 Up or plain soda

Strawberry sauce

Method:

In a tall glass place two scoops of strawberry ice-cream. Cut the strawberries in to medium-sized pieces and put them on top of the ice-cream. Then pour a little strawberry sauce over the entire lot. Open a 7 Up or plain soda and pour it into the glass. Serve immediately.

Tip: Use any lemony drink like 7 Up as it breaks the strawberry flavour with its lemon tang which makes it less sweet to taste.

Tips on freezing ice-cream

Ideally, it is better to use an ice-cream maker or a deep freeze to set the best ice-creams at home. If you do not possess either of these there are still some tips that could help you set ice-creams that will be as good, if not better than the commercial ones.

It is better to use plastic containers that have airtight lids over the conventional metal trays to set ice-creams.

These plastic containers are also better to store the ice-cr-eams in for a longer period of time.

In case you have a regular fridge, turn the freezer setting up to the maximum about an hour or so before putting the ice cream in. Remove the ice-cream when it is semi-set, whisk it well and place back in the freezer again. Many people recommend repeating this process twice for really smooth ice-cream.

When you replace the ice-cream back into the freezer after whisking it for the final time, turn your freezer setting back to normal.

Often home-made ice-creams tend to be harder than the commercial ones. If it is so, place the ice-cream container into the fridge rather than in the freezer about 20 minutes before serving it. This will soften the ice-cream.

This feature was published on May 30, 1999