Scrumptious homemade chocolate ice cream

How my scrumptious chocolate ice cream looked like after staying in the fridge for over 24 hours. As tasty as fresh + Very scoop-able.

I have made at least 10 batches of ice cream since the purchase of my ice cream maker last year. While I loved every single batch, something is just not right:

• While they are all smooth and rich when freshly made, the texture become icy and hard once frozen overnight! 
• I used the best chocolate, different mix-in, but they taste nothing like Haagen Dazs. 
• I might not have the patience for that egg yolk cooking process. I've thrown out many batches of overcooked egg yolk since. What a waste!

What is missing? I've read so many "scientific" ice cream making articles. I tried different ideas.  The best texture, best tasting ice cream I made was the one I made with sweetened chestnut cream (creme de maroon) so I didn't have to add white sugar. But making ice cream with liquid sugar doesn't seem to make that difference.

Finally I read the Kitchn "Best homemade chocolate ice cream" article which was just posted last month. It has condensed milk in the recipe, which is also an ingredient on the Haagen Dazs box! Haagen Dazs is my favourite store brand ice cream.   I think I found the holy grail. I made it immediately this weekend. O dear! This is just how Haaden Dazs belgium chocolate ice cream tastes like. That rich chocolate flavour with a hint of caramelised taste. That is it! That is the secret I have been searching for! 

A few tips/reminders on ice cream making:

• Use condensed milk!
• Whisk the heavy cream until standing, then add/fold it in the other ingredients gently as per recipes. That seems to make the product more fluffy and less dense/hard. 
• Dutch processed cocoa powder really make that chocolate flavour stands out
• Whisk the custard for the one last time before putting in the ice cream maker
• I reduced the sugar content but added more chocolate than the recipe called for. The product seemed fine

Scrumptious chocolaty chocolate ice cream

1. Melt 200g chocolate in a bowl sitting on top of boiling hot water. I used Callebaut semi-sweet chocolate, 54% cocoa.  (original recipe called for 6 oz or 170g chocolate - mix of milk and dark)

2. Whisk 1 cup of Heavy Cream until standing

3. Add the 1 cup of cream (whisked), 2 cups of fresh milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup condensed milk, 3 big table spoons of dutch-pressed cocoa power.  (original recipe called for 3/4 cup of sugar)

4. Heat on medium-high until simmering for 2-3 minutes. Continue whisking occasionally 

5. Gradually add the hot dairy mixture into the melted chocolate. Blend throughoutly. 

6. Put in freezer until cooled (approx 1 hour?)

7. Whisk the mixture again before putting in the ice cream maker. 

8. Pour the mixture in the ice cream maker. I churned it for at least 50 minutes. 

9. Move the churned mixture into a pre-frozen container.

VIOLA!! This is how it looks after 10 hours of freezing. I was in such a rush to try out the new recipe that I forgot to add any mix in. 

This will be my go-to recipe. I will try condensed milk on other flavours ice cream =)))))

I'm so excited!

Gluten free bakery in HK!

Great news!
A new bakery in Hong Kong that sells gluten free bread!

Saffron Bakery
http://saffronbakery.com/organic-natural-breads/
Quoted from their website "We have therefore sourced what we feel to be the best gluten free flour on the planet. Doves Farms in the UK have developed an award winning range of Gluten Free Flours. Their Gluten Free Brown & White Bread Flours are a blend of naturally gluten free and wheat free ingredients and natural gum for an alternative to wheat bread flour."
They prepare brown and white gluten free loaves on the weekend at all their outlets.You may also contact them if you would like to place an order for other gluten free bakery products.

You could find them at:
- Sheung Wan, 24 Square Street (830am-6pm)
- The Peak
- Stanley
- Repulse Bay
- Gold Coast

Gluten free Shanghai

Thanks Jaclyn for sharing the following article with us!
Although in China, you can always stick to plain rice.. (I used to bring my own instant baby food japanese curry to mix with plain rice when travelling in China / Asia.) but it is better to have more options when you actually move to the city.

Shanghai gluten free: http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/shanghai/articles/blogs-shanghai/health-beauty/health-matters-going-gluten-free-shanghai/



Below is an extract from the article:
Spaanjaars suggests checking City Shop, which stocks German brand Schar’s and Bob’s Red Mill brands, along with a small, assorted selection of gluten-free pasta and cereals. The bakery at the Hilton on Huashan Lu has gluten-free bread, but Spaanjaars says it’s “very dry and a bit like cardboard.” Sunflour has recently started offering a gluten-free loaf as well. Baker & Spice has a gluten-free orange cake, but because it sits in the display next to all the other cakes, contamination is an issue. For gluten-free truffles—available in coconut, chocolate, hazelnut and sesame flavors—email heavenlytreats12@gmail.com or call Amy at 186-1689-6014. Online, FIELDS, sells gluten-free chocolate chop cookies and flour, Taobao has a handful of Bob’s Red Mill products and iHerb.com ships to China

Gluten-free dining in Germany (Munich, Augsburg, etc.)

Munich - fresh fruit
Fresh fruits are always the best gluten-free snacks. These 1EUR a pint strawberries are some of the sweetest I've had since I last berry-picked in Ottawa 10+yrs ago. I got them from Munich... I should have taken a pic of the stall cuz I tried berries from other fruit stands and they are not half as good!

Augsburg - hotel breakfast

We stayed in Augsburg the first few nights when we travelled to other -burgs during the days. We also got ham and cheese with hot chocolate and fruit as we did in Switzerland but the feel is different... Cheese & milk just don't taste the same in this Germany town than fresh in the Swiss mountain!

Augsburg - Mark's

After many days of sausages and cheese, I decided to have something light and order fish for dinner. I'm not sure if the balsamic vinegar dressing is gluten free (seems so according to the University of Chicago site but I've heard the opposite.).... but you can order to have the sauce on the side.

MARK`S Gasthaus im Weissen Hasen

Location: Annastraße 486150 Augsburg, Germany0821 518508

Augustiner, Munich. The infamous beer house. A very plain dinner we got after being overfed potatoes and pork knuckle/sausages.... Roast chicken and roast pork. These should be naturally gluten-free.

Bayerischer Donisl:

Got its name from the Celiac handbook. However the server was quite clueless about gluten-free. So I got myself a feast and hoped it'll be alright... At least he advised me against those potato dumplings which he said should contain wheat flour.

Address: Weinstrasse 1, D-80333 München

Pork knuckle the Gluten free way:
To ensure gluten free, you can order plain brined pork knuckle with plain potatoes, wherever you go in Germany.

Nuremberg:

I had plain sausages with sauerkraut. Sauerkraut, or sour cabbage, is supposed to be gluten-free. Sausages... not sure what additive/preservative they used...

I only had a temporary "gluten freee allergy". I'm not a celiac and I could tolerate a bit of gluten even back then. This article is solely a report of my own travel experience... I know how hard it is to find GF info on the internet in English. So I'm posting this even though I cannot confirm 100% the gluten status. It took me a long time to find the "celiac handbook" link above, so my trial of that restaurant listed in the handbook is hopefully useful to other GF travellers - that, the restaurant, despite being listed in the celiac handbook link, is sadly clueless about what is "gluten free".

Gluten-free Switzerland - Interlaken & general

Zurich airport
While waiting for sf in the Zurich airport, I strolled around the supermarket Migros. With the help of the store manager, I found this Farmer Crunch Corn Flakes bar that is gluten free. I'm not a corn flakes fan but this is quite a good breakfast bar. It is intended for everyone, just they processed the corn flakes in a manufacturing line with no cross-contamination from wheat.

I was planning to search further for gluten free snacks in Switzerland but didn't find much. Though, most of the times I had fruits like apples as snacks and I also had my supplies from home. So it wasn't a big deal.


Grindelwald, Hotel Derby
When picking hotels in Europe, I always pick the ones closest to the train station to avoid tugging our suitcases a long way. We stayed at Hotel Derby in Grindelwald which is literally right on the platform of the Grindelwald station.

Breakfast: They don't serve gluten free bread but I had cheese, ham, yogurt, apples, and hot chocolate for breakfast.

Dinner: Since they claimed that they have the best fondue in town (well the town is small and not many others served fondue) and we were too tired to shop around for food, we decided to eat at the restaurant.

We told the waitress that I'm on a gluten free diet and he recommended dishes accordingly. I dount that they checked with the chef for the exact ingredients..... but I didnt get allergy reaction in Grindelwald.

The cheese fondue for sf is amazing but the cheese sauce contains wine and other ingredients, and the key food in a cheese fondue is bread, so I had to skip that - but I tried a bit of the cheese fondue with potatoes, it was really yummy. Some of the best fondue I've had! I had a rosti myself. This is not the best rosti... cuz it was soaking in grease. But the potatoes, egg, cheese and bacon very fresh and delicious...

It is still a restaurant worth visiting given the location, fresh ingredients, and yummy fondue (for your non gluten free friends).

Location: Hotel Derby, right next to the Grindelwald train station.


Interlaken
Given the not-so-satisfying rosti experience in Grindelwald, I ordered rosti again at Interlaken's Chez Pierre. The restaurant is about 5 min walk from the Ost train station. sf had dried beef which sadly I've also given up. I had rosti with sausages. When I checked with the waitress, she went right to the kitchen to check with Chef Pierre and confirmed the rosti can be made gluten-free. Again, I can't guarantee that they verified the ingredient list of the sausages.... I didnt get much allergy reaction in Swiss =) [I'm not sure what is my tolerance level but my face would be covered with rashes after a MSG-flavoured meal] It was a tasty rosti. I highly recommended this place.

Location: in Hotel Carlton Europe, Hoheweg 94, 3800 Interlaken. 5 min from Ost Train Station


I miss Switzerland where the trains are always on time and well-connected, food is sweet, breeze is sweet, weather is perfect!

Gluten-free Switzerland - Bern

Still a huge back log to write...

Gluten-free life in Switzerland is not without challenge but it is relatively easy compared to Asia. Although, people understanding the term "gluten-free" doesn't mean they are serious enough to look through the ingredient list of every single item used in a dish.


We went to Bern for a day trip. With the tips from the waiter at another restaurant, we located this hidden pizzeria. We were very uncertain about this place cuz the door is in a back street and when we peeked in, we only saw 2 people sitting there. But then we saw that they also have an upper level. As we were heading up, we started to hear people chatting... It was half full at around 6, 7pm =)

Thanks sf for sharing the GF pizza with me so that we can both try another flavours =) Ok, the pizza is not those super crusty crispy flour ones. But it is more than acceptable. We got the magarita (? ) and curry chicken. The toppings are fresh. Service is friendly. Atmosphere is very warm. We were really surprised that the place was fully packed, despite the inconvenient location (while other restaurants on the main street are half empty). So if you are travelling with some friends on a normal diet, they will enjoy it as much as you do. Yuummy!

La Pizzeria

Address: Käfiggässchen 26 or 10 (?), 3011 Bern (Barenplatz)

Tel: 031 311 69 46

Fresh gluten-free bread on HK Island!

** 11/10 Update **
I warmed the bread in oven and had it with lotus spread (hint: mooncake) today. It smelt and tasted as good as fresh.

** 8/10 Update **
I picked up my order today. Texture of the bread is a bit dense compared to the usual wheat ones. It is not fluffy but it is soft and moist. However it has the eggy bakery smell. I had 2 slices of my ordered bread toasted warm (pic to the right, $20). It was a bit awkward to have it with jam and butter as I did.

Pic to the left shows the bread I brought home =) The $68/4 slices. Lemme try them tomorrow and update you =D

I'll pre-order gluten free sandwiches for lunch some time soon =)

(9/10 sweet, 10/10 savoury)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I checked with the Mandarin Oriental cake shop when having lunch there today. They do not have GF cakes, but they do sell gluten free bread at $68/4 slices. You have to order one day in advance, which means they are freshly baked.
Will order some and report back!
=D

Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop Hong Kong
5 Connaught Road, Central
Phone: 2522 0111
Direct: 2825 4008

Gluten free fusilli pasta (Carbonara)

I don't know why my photos get rotated automatically by blogger... And sorry, pic of the final product is missing.

Gluten Free Fusilli pasta is from Toronto. Gogo Quinoa, made with Rice and Quinoa.

Casa Rinaldi Cabonara sauce is from Il Bel Paese on Queens Road East, Hong Kong. It doesnt say gluten free but it listed rice starch in ingredient list.

I cooked it for ~ 15+min. And then mix in the Casa Rinaldi sauce.

Pasta: (8/10). It looks a bit whiter than wheat pasta. Texture is bit chewy as regular pasta. But most pasta broke into smaller pieces. Cooking time seems a bit longer than regular cuz they are kinda thick. It tasted good. No particular strong egg or rice flavour. Overall a decent to nice pasta. =) Your family probably can't tell that this is GF.


Side note: Il Bel Paese in Hong Kong sells gluten free (corn) pasta for about $69 500g =) But since I got so many from Toronto & Germany. I'll try Il Bel Paese's later.

Grindelwald Switzerland trip

See update from after the trip here.

I'll be staying in Grindelwald this time.

General guide from CeliacTravel on Switzerland

Seems that various hotels/restaurants in Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald offers gluten free dishes: (I didn't try any of these)
Hotel Hirschen - Im Tuftli, 3818 Grindelwald
Hotel Jungfrau Lodge - Postfach 70, Grindelwald 3818, Switzerland
Hotel Sunstar - Haupstrasse 15, Grindelwald 3818 (A la carte meal cost: Approx. Sfr50 per person excluding wine)

Hotel Belvedere - Galliweidli, Wengen, Jungfrau Region, 3823, SwitzerlandHotel Oberland - Fuhren, 3822 Lauterbrunnen

For update, please refer to my postings:
Germany Reformhaus
Switzerland - Bern
Switzerland - Interlaken

Gluten free Germany (Munich)

I'm travelling again, to Germany and Switzerland.
Will keep updating with information I find online.

Restaurants:
Il Salento Ristorante Pizzeria - didn't try
(M-Sa 1130-230, 530-11, closed Sun)
Hess str. 15 (corner of Luisenstr)

Le Meridien Munich - stayed there but too full to order/try =b
Restaurant manager replied saying that they always have gluten free bread in the house and their chefs can prepare other gluten free meals =)
Bayerstraße 4180335 München

Bayerischer Donisl - dined there but waiter was clueless about gluten-free. I had the most plain dish in the restaurant. Yummy meal.
Traditional , authentic Bavarian cuisine
Weinstrasse 1, D-80333 München, right near the Marienplatz
Telephone: 49 (0) 89 29 62 64
Menu

Taverna Athen Greek and Mediterranean cuisine in Schwabing, Munich - didn't go

Buxs, Vegetarian restaurant, Frauenstraße 9, 80469 München - didn't go

Mercado de Mexico Schulstrasse 38, München - didn't go


Key forum: Toytown Germany (Eng speaking crowd in Germany)
Society: German Celiac Society
Blog reference: Gluten free snacks from Germany
GF Restaurant listing: Celiac handbook (Germany)


My postings:
Germany Reformhaus
Switzerland - Bern
Switzerland - Interlaken & Zurich airport

Japanese Gluten Free Snacks and Foods

From my Tokyo trip, I find two Japanese brands that care about different kind of allergies. They have product search tool on their websites through which you may select your allergens and search for products without them. I believe most of these products can be found in Sogo supermarket and probably City'Super.

Nagatanien 永谷園 product search You could use google translator to help you pick your allergens (小麦 is wheat). They'd then show you all prodcuts without the specific ingredients. One of their products I always get is the GF curry sauce. As with most GF products, it is targeted towards babies and kids... but who cares as long as it is tasty.


One of their labels, A-label's instant curry is available at Little Giant. I like to serve it on rice for a quick and easy meal.


Another GF product they have is this japanese flavour topping you add to your rice for taste. They usually have sesame, seaweeds, and other flavouring inside. I believe I've seen this in Sogo. Next time if you just want a simple dinner, or a soup base, this flavour topping should help! Update: the ones at Sogo do contain flavour enhacer (E6???) so it may contain gluten afterall?


kamedaseika 亀田製菓株式会社 is another brand that allows you to do a product search on their website based on the key allergy ingredients like egg, wheat, dairy, beef, etc. Again, you may use the google translator to help. Below are some products I got from Japan. I will confirm if they are available in Hong Kong.


Other brands: In Japan, many products start to have allergy information on their packaging now. Below are some Pokka brand soups that do not appear to contain wheat. The one to the left has the "allergy table" on the package (see below). I believe they are gluten-free by just reading the kanji 漢字. I bought them regardless.

Same for these Calbee Vegips and the potato cubes. Their ingredient list is relatively short including just the veggie and salt. No gaurantee on cross contamination though.


The guide: Indeed, for some Japanese products, they have a table on their packaging listing the key allergy ingredients. Look for your allergens, 小麦 wheat in our case (third to the left, top row). As it is not highlighted, the product does NOT contain wheat. As Japanese seems to be some very careful people, I hope by saying no wheat, means it is also free of wheat related MSG. =)


Also see my other post for the GF soy sauce from Japan.

S. Komatsu - Tokyo GF restaurant

My favourite GF restaurant in Tokyo Japan. It was pretty easy to find, right around the block when I got out of the Hibiya Line Roppongi station Exit 2.


We got the ~5000yen set dinner. So we don't need to choose the dishes - it was almost like omakase. I love surprises =) The first appertizer was a tofu which is really thick with strong soy flavour.

The second appertizer is as below. Yummy little fishes. I guess because I had too many allergies, one of the dishes is a chicken breast ham but very interestingly done regardless.


Next is a dish of very fresh sashimi. I just feel so delighted to be able to eat everything without worrying about anything.


This next dish is really interesting. It is a mushroom soup served in a teapot. A very interesting traditional Japanese dish you can't find in many places. You pour the mushroom soup in the tiny cup, and squeeze 1 drop of lemon in it. It is heavenly.


Next dish is a miso grilled white fish. I liked the hint of sweetness in the miso sauce.


The tempura is another of my favourite!!! Being on a gluten free diet, I almost thought that I could never taste deep fried food again! But this tempura is perfectly fried even in a normal diet person standard! And it comes with a black volcano salt instead of the usual soy sauce based dipping.


The final main course is a small bowl of rice with pork and miso soup. They came out to ask if I could take calm before making the soup. So I know for sure the soup was freshly made. Yummy! I was pretty full by now but I was still able to finish the whole thing.



Dessert is a very refreshing Perilla leaf （紫蘇葉） sorbet with pear & grapefruit. It is nothing like what I've tried before. The perilla leaf makes it really refreshing without reminding me of toothpaste or mint gum.


The service was attentive. Waiter super friendly and helpful. The food was fresh and tasty. It made my night a perfect evening! Even my non-GF friend tremendously enjoyed the meal.

The gluten free soy sauce I bought from there. I've never tried the GF tamari sauces so I can't tell the difference but this one by Ichibiki is very good. I'm not sure where else you could find this product except for pre-ordering through Komatsu.


I pre-ordered a loaf of bread. They made it that evening when I was there! When I got it, it was right out of the oven still warm! Such amazing service. Loved them.


Websites:
Tabelog review (Japanese restaurant review website)
Restaurant homepage (with English)

Address:
106-0032 Kawahara Bldg, 1F 7-15-24 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
It is right around the corner of the Hibiya Line Roppongi station Exit 2

Reservation:
Their online booking system is currently down, email them to make reservation if you are overseas. s.komatsuj@nexgeneats.com

Special thanks to from japan with love blog for the recommendation!

Update: They just posted on their website that their gluten free menu is temporarily suspended. However, please see my updated post for their feedback on this matter =) We can still visit them for a carefree delicious traditional japanese dinner (actually this is the only GF restaurant in Japan!). It was my favourite dinner in Tokyo =)