Baklava Ice Cream Inspires

 On a recent trip to the grocery store, I discovered an ice cream flavour that was totally new to me, baklava. Since I’m living in North Africa along the Mediterranean it’s not really a surprising flavour to find, but it is unique for sure. The ice cream itself is interesting, it combines pistachio ice cream with several ingredients found in baklava.

Most of the ingredients worked fairly well, in particular the syrup swirled throughout was great, as was the crunch base. The filo pieces mixed in and sprinkled on the top were okay, but also a little soggy. They also didn’t add much to the flavour. If I was to try and improve this ice cream I would say more filo dough, maybe a few layers of it between the ice cream. I’m also not a huge fan of pistachio ice cream, but in this context it was much improved.

This ice cream was a nice little treat, but it was also a source of inspiration. It inspired me to think about how many desserts one finds in the ice cream isle. I’m not talking about ice cream cakes, or any frozen cakes, I’m thinking specifically of ice cream flavour based on desserts. Off the top of my head I can’t think of too many of them. Honestly, I don’t know if I can think of one specifically, but I just feel like I’ve seen some before.

I’m very certain I’ve seen dessert themed ice cream at ice cream parlours. In particularly the fancy ice cream parlours that make their own ice cream. While I’m sure there have been a few, I’m surprised that dessert themed ice cream flavours are not more common. Probably the closest thing that comes to mind are ice creams that features bits of cookie in them. While it’s kind of dessert flavoured, I wouldn’t really call it themed. I’d like to be proven wrong on this, so if you know a good dessert themed ice cream that you can get at the grocery store, let me know.

Now it wouldn’t be fair for me to just complain about this without offering a few suggestions. So here are a few ideas I think might work really well:

Cheesecake – A creamy ice cream, creamier than most so it feels like cheesecake. I’m not sure if it’s possible, but if you could even get the tart flavour of cream cheese that would be great. Then, swirl in some strawberry syrup. Finally, a layer or two of graham cracker crumbs would give this a little texture and really keep it on theme.

Apple Pie – Now I feel like someone has made an ice cream with apple pie in it, but I’m thinking more about an apple pie ice cream. This would probably feel more like an ice cream cake, but I think the key would be to keep the crusts as layers instead of just pieces. You could have a nice cinnamon/vanilla ice cream with apple pie filling swirled throughout. Then you could have a layer of pie crust on the top and bottom. If the bottom is too complicated at least the top would be good. Frozen cooked pie crust is actually pretty good, so I think it would work really well.

Carrot Cake – This one might be a little divisive, but if done well I think it would work really well. Again, I’m not just talking about filling this ice cream with pieces of carrot cake either. I would say take a super creamy ice cream (maybe the same one you used for the cheesecake) and add some of the ingredients from carrot cake. The carrot cake spices would be key, cinnamon and cloves for sure. Also adding some walnuts, raisins and yes... shaved carrots. I don’t think you’d want to add carrot to the ice cream as that might be too much, but strings of shaved carrots might actually work.

I’m sure there are other desserts that might be tasty in ice cream form and I’m glad that I got to sample this fun baklava ice cream to get inspired. 

It's The Last In Our Kit Kat Review-A-Thon!

Of all of the Kit Kat bars I've ever reviewed, this one might have been the most confusing. I don't think I've ever done as much research into a Kit Kat bar before reviewing it in my life.  This might even be the most research I've ever done on any candy before reviewing it.  Sadly, all that work didn't really pay off.

Click  here to find out  why this bar didn't really work out.

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Candy in the Media

Cheesecake is probably the cake with the most regret.  You want to eat 13 slices in one sitting, but you know after the second you'll only feel regret.

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Chocolate Cream Cheese or Why Was This Not Invented a Long Time Ago

Once in a while I come across a food product that surprises me.  These products, although clever, surprise me because I can't believe no one had come up with this idea until now. They seem so simple, but for some reason it took this long to come up with them.  This container of Philadelphia chocolate cream cheese is exactly such a product.

It's not a hazelnut spread like Nutella, or it's not a chocolate sauce either. This is chocolate, Milka chocolate to be exact, and cream cheese blended seamlessly together.  What you get is one of the creamiest milk chocolate flavours I've ever eaten in my whole life. 

What it does to crackers (how I ate this) is turn them into the crust for your mouth sized chocolate cheesecake bites.  It was just like eating one of the smoothest chocolate cheese cakes and best of all you could choose how much cheesecake filling you wanted for each bite.  While I'd like to congratulate the folks at Philadelphia cream cheese for making such a product, I'd also like to tell them that it's about time.

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Just Desserts - Simply Burgers Cookie Cheesecake

My favorite Burger chain in all of Greece just introduced a new dessert to their menu.  Actually this is really their first dessert I've ever seen them offer on their menu since I started going to Simply Burgers.  That's not to say that they're unfamiliar with sweets, they've always offered Häagen-Dazs ice cream (but I don't count it because they don't make it) and they always give you a free brownie when you get delivery.  

The dessert in question is the Simply Burger Cookie Cheesecake, and it's pretty good.  It's a lighter cheesecake with a cookie bottom, chocolate cookie bits throughout it's light cheese cake center and it's topped with a chocolate frosting.  The only thing that I didn't like about it was the size of two of the cookie bits in the cake.  For the most part I really enjoyed the fact that the cheese filling has a great variety of sizes of cookie bits floating in it.  The problem was I got two bits that where huge, and that threw off the texture and flavour balance a little.  Since the bottom is made up of cookie as well, when you have a piece of cookie in the cake that is too large you're pretty much getting a mouthful of cookie with little cream.

I have to say that this is really a small problem and nothing to avoid this cake over at all.  I also look forward to this new trend at Simply Burgers and hope to see more of their own desserts hit the shelves.  Anybody else know a good dessert at a burger place?

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Candy Corn Cooking Part 1

Most people's opinion about candy corn is extreme, you either love it or hate it.  The popular opinion I find is to hate it, however I've decided to help out my candy corn loving friends out there by presenting you fun ways cook with, or in honor of, candy corn with a link to a new recipe every day this week.

Today's recipe for Candy Corn Cheesecake Mousse looks tasty, I particularly like the addition of a real candy corn on the top.

Click here to check out the recipe.

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Polish Cheese Cakes

One of the suggestions people had for us when we told them we where visiting Poland was that we should make sure to have a slice of cheese cake.  Seeing as Allison and I love cheese cake, it instantly became a priority.

We tried several cheese cakes in many different restaurants and cafes, but each one really didn't impress us at all.  We soon realized that Polish cheese cake really wasn't our thing.

The problem we found is that the cheese part of the cheese cake was really gelatinous, and very often over flavoured with citrus.  Now don't get me wrong, I like a little citrus in my cheese cake, it adds a nice zing.  The think about all of the cakes we ate in Poland is they had an orange or lemon flavour, instead of just a bit of a tart aftertaste.  They where all really spongy as well, and me, I like a nice heavy cheese cake that weights you down a little.  Did we just happen to visit several restaurants with lousy cheesecakes, or is this the way they do it in Poland?

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Chicago Treat Tour

This article below features a tour of some Chicago spots to feast on treats. Eli's Cheesecake World and Long Grove Confectionery Chocolate Factory seem particularly interesting to me.

Click here to read the whole article.

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Details About IHOP's New Treat

Check out this very detailed description of IHOP's new "Cheesecake-Stuffed Pancake Stackers". Or get into your car and drive to an IHOP and try it for yourself. I'm sure one is healthier than the other however one is much more satisfying.

Click here to read about it.

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