Ice Cream + Tacos = a very happy Mary

Homemade Choco Tacos

On warm summer evenings as I sit in my apartment, there is one guarantee: at some point, the slightly spooky sounds of two ice cream trucks battling for the same neighbourhood will drift in our windows.  Always playing creepy versions of knockoff childhood classics, the sound of one ice cream truck will spark excitement in pretty much anyone.  For me, as soon as I hear a faintly off-tune rendering of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I dash about trying to find some change so that I can score a swirly cone rolled in chopped peanuts.  When a second truck rolls around however, with its music playing overtop, it starts to sound like a weird dystopian battleground… Rather than choose sides, I figure I might as well just make my own novelty ice cream treats…

Here is my version of an all-time fave, the Choco Taco.  It’s this wonderful concoction by Klondike that I can seem to only find at US gas stations. 

The ice cream here is so simple, you’ll feel like a culinary maven, the sugar cone taco shell can easily be made into a cone or edible dish, and the chocolate shell makes you feel like a real pro.

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Ice Cream Tacos

Makes 6

Ice Cream Cone Taco Shells, recipe follows
No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream
Magic Chocolate Shell
½ cup roasted chopped peanuts

To assemble an ice cream taco, fill a shell with a good helping of no-churn vanilla ice cream.  Make sure to fill it to the brim and smooth the top out using a spoon.  Dip the open sides of the taco into the chocolate shell making sure to cover all of the ice cream and roll in the chopped peanuts.  Place the finished ice cream tacos into a loaf pan standing them upright, cover with plastic wrap, and pop back into the freezer to firm up.

These can be made ahead and stored in the freezer for up to two weeks.

Ice Cream Cone Taco Shells

Makes 6

1 egg white
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch fine sea salt

Preheat your oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set out a standard muffin tin.

In a small bowl, beat together the egg white and sugar, followed by the butter and vanilla.  Finally, stir in the flour and salt just until combined.

Drop the batter by two tablespoonfuls onto the parchment lined baking sheet, being sure to leave lots of space between each so there is room to spread the batter out.  Using a butter knife or offset spatula, spread each little mound of batter into a thin circle about 4-5” across.

Bake for 4 - 8 minutes or until the edges just start to turn brown.  Remove the tray from the oven and set next to an upside down muffin tin.  While still hot, remove the rounds from the parchment one at a time and curve into a taco shell shape.  Place in between two of the upside down muffin cups and repeat until all of the shells have been formed.  Pop back into the oven for 3- 5 minutes to firm up the shells and allow them to cool on the upside down muffin tin until room temperature.

Fill with ice cream and top with chocolate shell!

*Note: these can easily be made into traditional cones by rolling into a cone shape or even made into little edible ice cream bowls by using the muffin tin right-side-up and pressing the par-baked rounds into the cups.

Ice Cream is always the answer

No-Churn Ice Cream (vanilla, strawberry, and a mishmash of the two)

No-churn ice cream should be in everyone’s summer recipe repertoire.  It has only four ingredients and literally takes about 5 minutes to put together.

Pair it with some homemade magic chocolate shell and you’ve got one heck of a treat.

Rather than blather on about its wonders, I’ll keep this short and sweet… just like the recipe!

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No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

 1 – 300ml can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch fine sea salt
1 ¾ cups whipping cream

Place a loaf pan in the freezer while you prepare your ice cream base.

In a large bowl, mix the sweetened condensed milk with the vanilla extract and fine sea salt and set aside.  In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks.

Using a whisk, fold about half a cup of the whipped cream into the condensed milk mixture.  Follow with one more half cup to lightened the condensed milk then, switching to a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whipped cream.

Retrieve the chilled loaf pan from the freezer and pour in the ice cream base, levelling the top with the back of your spatula.  Press a layer of plastic wrap directly on top of the ice cream base and pop it into the freezer for at least 6 hours to firm up.

Enjoy any which way your heart desires though I'd recommend a good drizzle of chocolate shell and a scattering of sprinkles!

Bannock: The quickest of quick breads

Bannock

Bannock is kind of the perfect cross between a biscuit, a pancake, and an English muffin.  It’s amazing plain fresh out of the frying pan, smeared with lots of butter and jam, served alongside a saucy dinner used to swipe up every last tasty morsel, or even as a sandwich or burger bun.

It takes about as much work as pancakes so you’ll be able to impress your family and friends with pretty much zero effort on your part!

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Bannock

Makes 12

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping bannock
2 teaspoons salt
2 ½ tablespoons baking powder
¼ cup melted butter or lard
1 teaspoon honey
1 ½ cups warm water

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder; make a well in the centre.  In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter with the honey and pour into the dry ingredients.  Add the water and stir just until a loose dough forms. 

Dust a clean work surface with flour, dump the dough out, and knead 7 or 8 times or until the dough is no longer sticky on the outside, adding a scattering of flour as needed.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and flatten into 1”-thick rounds.  This should leave you with rounds that are around 3-4” across.

Heat a cast iron skillet or frying pan over medium heat and add enough canola oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  When hot, fry the bannock a few at a time for about 3-4 minutes per side or until deep golden brown.  If your pan starts to look a little dry, add a bit more oil and allow it to heat up before frying more bannock. 

Allow the bannock to cool slightly and enjoy with anything your heart can imagine – or, if you’re feeling extra snazzy, split the bannock down the middle and use it as a bun for Bison Burgers!

D'ough Canada 150!

Canoe Paddles (aka those flat doughnuts that you know and love but they have a trademarked name so here's my take!)

Is there anything more Canadian than eating a Beavertail during Winterlude on the slick icy surface of the Rideau Canal?  Now, if you’re pretty much any other Canadian out there, you’d probably also have a pair of skates on as your turn triple axles on the frozen river but I am a rather blasphemous countryman as I never learned how to skate.

So, for me, Beavertails still call to mind our nation’s capital but instead of slipping around on the Canal, you’ll find me nibbling away on this wonderful confection as I meander through the Byward Market or dancing terribly at one of Ottawa’s many music festivals.

Here’s my take on the classic.  I've dubbed mine Canoe Paddles, a name drawn up by my husband after he had scarfed down about seven. 

If you’re like me, nothing beats fried dough with cinnamon sugar and a squidge of lemon but feel free to slather on chocolate hazelnut spread, ice cream, strawberry jam, or whatever else you can think of!

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Canoe Paddles

Makes 16

¼ cup warm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
½ teaspoon + ¼ cup sugar, divided
2 ¼ - 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Topping Options:
Cinnamon Sugar (1 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon)
Lemon juice
Chocolate hazelnut spread

In a small bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, and ½ teaspoon of sugar and set aside to bloom.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the 2 1/4 cups flour, salt, and remaining ¼ cup of sugar.  Make a well in the centre and set aside.

In another small bowl, beat the buttermilk with the egg and vanilla.

Pour the yeast and buttermilk mixtures into the well of the dry ingredients and stir until a shaggy dough forms.  If using your hands, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead, adding additional 1/4 cup of flour if needed, for about 8 minutes or until the dough is soft and no longer sticky.  If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook and knead for around 6 minutes.  Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow it to rise for 40 minutes.

Punch the dough down and divide into 16 golf ball sized portions.  Flatten each into an oval that is around ½” thick and place on a baking sheet while you preheat 4” of oil to 385F in the bottom of a large heavy bottomed pot.

When your oil is up to temperature, stretch an oval into a thin canoe paddle shape (the edges will be a bit thicker than the middle) and carefully place into the oil.  If you're looking for a little extra info on shaping these tasty treats, check out my segment on Your Morning for Canada 150!

Stretch and fry about 3 pieces of dough at a time and fry, flipping halfway through, until both sides are golden.  Remove the canoe paddles from the oil onto paper towel then, while still warm, toss in cinnamon sugar if desired.  For my favourite, I add a squidge of lemon to the cinnamon sugar coated canoe paddles just prior to eating.

If you want to top your canoe paddle with chocolate hazelnut spread, feel free to leave them plain and top just before serving.