TWD: Mrs. Vogel’s Scherben - FAIL

This week’s Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Mrs. Vogel’s Scherben, which is a deep-fried goody – a very bold selection for the second week of January when most people are attempting to eat healthy. I had never actually deep-fried anything until Sunday. I will happily scarf a side of French fries or crunch down crab wontons – actually, pretty much anything, as long as the frying is done by someone else and I don’t have to see all the oil. I wasn’t particularly excited about these cookies, but I figured deep-frying them might be the gateway to other fried treats. Like doughnuts. Josh gave me The Craft of Baking for Christmas, and there are several incredible-looking doughnut recipes in it calling my name. Anyway, it’s lucky that I tried these superfluous little snacks on a Sunday afternoon (my soon-to-be-posted birthday cake was made the same day), rather than attempted doughnuts for breakfast, because my first deep-fry experience was a disaster.



I totally burned the scherben! This week I really ate my words, rather than the TWD treat: just last week I was saying that my baked goods generally turn out nice and a few weeks before that I mentioned I had finally acquired a good candy/deep-fry thermometer. The oil was obviously way too hot when I threw the dough in, despite the fact the thermometer was not even at the prescribed 350 degrees. (If anyone out there can recommend a stellar thermometer, let me know. I’m sure it will pay given how many ingredients I’ve wasted in candy-making endeavors.) I turned down the heat and was going to fry up the rest of the scherben I’d cut, but the tray they were on fell off the counter and the dough landed on the floor. The good news? The frying part actually wasn’t scary, so there will be homemade doughnuts in my future. Many thanks to the uber-talented (not only is she a very ambitious cook/baker, her photos are stunning and she is a brilliant storyteller) Teanna of Spork or Foon for finally getting me to deep-fry something, even if it wasn’t very successful. The recipe can be found here on Teanna’s site and stop by the TWD blogroll to see some more attractive scherben.

Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

Have you ever heard of Dr. Bob’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream? I doubt it, because it was nearly impossible to find and I think it is now safe to say it has been discontinued. We bought it at Mollie Stone’s here in Marin two summers ago, and the last time I found it was over a year ago when I took a tour at the now-shuttered Scharffen Berger factory in Berkeley. Mollie Stone’s still carries some other varieties, but Mr. Penpen loved the raspberry flavor and was disappointed when it disappeared. So, of course, I did the logical thing and tried to make it for him myself last summer. It was my first attempt at custard-based ice cream, and the first try was an unmitigated disaster. I think I overcooked the custard, which ended up not mattering because I somehow lost control as I lifted the bowl of custard from the ice bath and it exploded all over the kitchen. Not only did I break my favorite bowl, but six cups of fresh raspberries down the drain is quite an expensive kitchen catastrophe.

I bought more raspberries and persevered the next day, with much better results. Amazing, actually. Since raspberries – regular, not black – are starting to be available at a reasonable price (Costco! They aren’t organic, but they are grown in the United States) and it’s warm out, I decided to make a batch last weekend. I used a recipe for raspberry ice cream from The Perfect Scoop and added chunks of chocolate.



Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream, adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
1 1/2 cups half-and-half (I used whole milk this time and it turned out great)
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1 ½ cups strained raspberry puree (from approximately six cups of fresh or frozen raspberries)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate

Blend the raspberries in a food processor, and then press the puree through a mesh strainer (note: this is a bit messy and I had to rinse the strainer a couple times in the process). Prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. Pour milk or half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium-low heat to warm. Pour the cream in a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and (still whisking) slowly pour the warmed milk over the yolks. Pour the egg yolk mixture back in the saucepan.

Using a heatproof spatula, keep stirring the egg yolk mixture over medium heat until the spatula is coated with the thickened mixture. (Note: The Perfect Scoop has a very helpful section on basic custard-making and also custard recovery.) Next, stir the custard into the cream after pouring through the mesh strainer, then add the lemon juice and raspberry puree, mixing until cool over the ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, but in order to preserve the fresh raspberry taste, churn in your ice cream maker within four hours. Five minutes before it should be done according to the manufacturer’s instructions, add in the chocolate.