Light and Luscious Lemon-Scented Ice Milk

                                                                    Happy Easter

                                                           Lemon-Scented Ice Milk

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I hope you all are enjoying this special holiday weekend. We had our Easter dinner last evening and this is one of the desserts I made to accompany the Mediterranean-style meal we served. I think you'll find it to be a light and lovely way to end a special holiday dinner. A well-flavored ice milk is a wonderful creations that will refresh, rather than weigh down the palate. This scented ice is a simple dish to prepare but it takes time for the lemon flavor to infuse the milk and it must be properly chilled before it goes into your ice cream maker. The operative word for desserts such as this is cold. That necessitates starting the ice milk the day before you actually need it.  I like to serve this treat in frosted parfait glasses with a light drizzle of limoncello, or an absolutely stellar sweet wine sauce that you can find, here.  Desserts like this demand a cookie or two to complete them. So, I served the ice milk with  madeleines, ginger snaps and a new almond flavored sugar cookie that I will share with you tomorrow. I really hope you'll give this dessert a try. Those of you who do, will not be disappointed. Here's the recipe.

 Lemon-Scented Ice Milk ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided use
Zest of 1 large lemon cut into thin strips
1 cinnamon stick
4 large egg whites

Directions:
1) Combine milk, cream, 2/3 cup sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour into a nonreactive container and refrigerate until icy cold, about 8 to 10 hours. Remove lemon strips and cinnamon stick.
2) Beat egg whites in bowl of an electric stand mixer until soft peaks form. Slowly add remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until peaks are shiny. Whisk egg whites into chilled milk mixture. Pour mixture into bowl of an ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturers instructions.
3) About 1/2 to 1 hour before serving, move ice milk from freezer to refrigerator. When ready to serve, place a scoop of ice milk in a parfait glass. Drizzle with limoncello or sweet wine sauce. Yield: 6 servings.






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Lemon-Scented Ice Milk with Berries and Wine Sauce

This is an absolutely beautiful dessert. It's inexpensive and relatively simple to make, though it must be prepared well in advance of serving. The only special equipment you'll need is a stand mixer. The operative word for this recipe is cold. The milk, chilled icy-cold, will whip like cream and produce a delightful lemon-scented iced milk. If you are watching calories, pureed cottage cheese can be used in place of heavy cream and Splenda can replace the sugar in the wine sauce. A quick aside about sugar substitutes - don't use them in meringue; the end product will lack volume and be sticky. Use pasteurized or reconstituted egg whites if there are very young or very old diners at your table. This is an All-American dessert; you'll love the ice milk and the wine sauce is really delicious.

Lemon-Scented Ice Milk with Berries and Wine Sauce

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream or pureed cottage cheese
1-2/3 cup + 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided use
Zest of 1 large lemon cut into thin strips
1 cinnamon stick
4 large egg whites
1 cup water
2 cups frozen unsweetened mixed berries
1/2 cup port wine or grape juice
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Mint sprigs for garnish

Directions:
1) Combine milk, cream, 2/3 cup sugar, lemon zest and cinnamon in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour into a nonreactive container and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours. Remove lemon strips and cinnamon stick; transfer to freezer for 1 to 2 hours, or until mixture is icy cold and edges begin to freeze.
2) Place egg whites in bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on high speed until frothy; add 3 tablespoons sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.
3) Place milk mixture in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with balloon whisk; beat until stiff peaks form, about 5 to 10 minutes. Fold in meringue. Scrape into a chilled pan and freeze for 2 hours.
4) Meanwhile, bring water and remaining 1 cup sugar to a boil. Add frozen berries and wine or juice; return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Mash and strain berries, reserving juice. Return juice to pan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup. Chill.
5) About 1/2 to 1 hour before serving, move ice milk from freezer to refrigerator. When ready to serve, place a scoop of ice milk on a dessert plate. Surround with berries and top with wine sauce. Garnish with a mint sprig. Yield: 6 servings.