We all SCREAM for Red Currant Ice Cream!

 

It’s hard to admit defeat when you’re a slight perfectionist.....

Like the time I wasted an entire kilo of flour on Christmas men cookies that tasted like a salt lick and looked like a steamroller had driven over them. Or the time I baked my husband what I thought was a traditional Norwegian apple cake for his birthday and realized one of the ingredients was rotten after the first bite. Or this past week, when I found a great recipe for honey apple ice cream infused with rosemary. Some things sounds like such a great idea- right up to the point that you find yourself flushing the whole batch down the toilet.

Defeat. 

It’s something that happens in life. More often to some than others. But what separates the strong from the weak is a little thing called perseverance. Starting over. Wiping your tears and trying again. Then buying more eggs and cream.

Some of you packed up your ice cream machines on labor day. Others will with the first frost. Me, I wouldn’t dream of placing my machine in storage alongside the Coleman grill and summer tent. Ice cream is a year-long pleasure and I’m not embarrassed to say that during some weeks (or trimesters) it’s a daily pleasure.

Which is why I was tickled with glee when a fellow food blogger asked me to team up with her on a collaborative ice cream post. A talented photographer, great writer, and overall wicked-clever person, Megan from Feasting on Art is one of those people that you wish was your next door neighbor. Unfortunately, she lives in Australia. Maybe it’s a good thing Megan lives about as far away from Norway as possible; I would surely be packing on the pounds if we shared anything more than a cyber ice cream potluck (cyber potluck...does that sounds as nerdy to you as it does to me???)

Feasting on Art is Megan’s outlet for uniting fine art, food, and fotography. She takes a food-related art work and recreates it in her kitchen before photographing the results and sharing it with us lucky readers. Here are a few of my favorite examples of some of her past artsy treats. Did I mention that the girl is clever?

Since I try to associate myself with clever people as much as possible, it was a quick reply “yes, please!” when Megan emailed asking if I was interested in an ice cream post collaboration using Norwegian painter, Munch’s very famous painting Skrik, better known to the world outside of Norway as “The Scream”. Of course, look as you might, there is no food to be found within the painting. Instead, we decided to play up our cheekiness and go with a play on words.

You know: I scream,  you scream, we all SCREAM for ice cream!

 

Edvard Munch, Skrik, "The Scream", 1893

Oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard, 91 x 73.5 cm, National Gallery, Oslo

 

Check out Megan's site for her savory pink pepercorn ice cream and bittersweet sea salt cookies.

Originally, I chose to go with this recipe for my take on Munch’s "I-Scream". It sounded great in print and was particularly alluring because it used honey and apple syrup as its’ only sweetener and incorporated both the fantastic seasonal Norwegian apples and a touch of savoriness from fresh rosemary. But you and I both know that some things sound too good to be true. A sugarless ice cream? For a girl that’s neither diabetic nor watching her weight, this is a true lesson learned. Not wanting to disappoint Megan, Munch, much less my sweet tooth,  I ended up digging into my cupboards for another quintessential Norwegian flavor.

Rips! Home-canned red currant jam from this summer. Red currants grow like nuts in these parts and I spent a truly memorable birthday weekend this past August picking buckets full of the tiny ruby jewels just so we could preserve them for the berryless winter to come.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my version of an ice cream worth Screaming for!

This is an easy peasy recipe. Red currant jam isn't too difficult to find in most well-stocked grocery stores. However, if you do have trouble coming across a jar or just plain prefer to use a different type of berry, I think substituting a cranberry or lingonberry preserve would give great results! Just keep in mind that using an even tarter berry preserve may require increasing the amount of sugar in the recipe. And one last thing- not that it really needs and additions, but it wouldn't hurt to add some small bits of bittersweet chocolate to the ice cream before freezing. 

 

Red Currant Ice Cream

Ripsiskrem

*A Transplanted Baker original*

 3 egg yolks, beaten

1/4 cup (50 g) sugar

1/3 cup (80 ml) water

1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream, whipped with 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 cup (250 ml) red currant jam

Optional: a small handful of finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

1. In small saucepan combine egg yolks, sugar, and water. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, till thickened. Cool over a bath of ice water.

2. Fold in whipped cream. Fold in red currant jam. 

3. Now you have a choice: if you have an ice cream maker, you can freeze as normal. Otherwise: Pour into medium-sized loaf pan. Freeze 8 hours or until firm, stirring every few hours to prevent ice crystals from forming and to keep the ice cream light and airy. 

Comments

[Claire]

oh my gosh i love the little snail pictures

[Heather]

Me too! The little guy coming out of his shell is just adorable. Did he go into the ice cream, too?

[Murasaki Shikibu]

The red currants look luscious. I sure wish I could find an ice cream maker here as ice cream is expensive for some weird reason in Spain and not very good.

[Kirstin]

Love the snail pic. My family loves making ice cream all year round. This time of year we're usually making pumpkin but this looks like a definite one to try.

[Jamie]

Beautiful!!