Cafe Liz

We didn’t do very much for Valentine’s day this year, since both Eitan and I were studying for our respective tests, but I did manage to whip up a bunch of brilliantly pink strawberry spice ice cream, which seems to suit the spirit.

Strangely enough, I guess you could consider cranberry an exotic fruit around here — the climate is way too warm to grow cranberry bushes. This means I made this granita out of cranberry juice, which is readily available.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2010: This has become one of our favorite homemade ice creams. As with everything that passes through our kitchen, the recipe has been modified over time. Here’s the new version. For about 1 liter ice cream: 1 cup water 3/4 cup cocoa powder 1/2 cup sugar 2 cups coconut cream (200 grams/1 can) Refrigerate the coconut cream in advance. Mix the water with the cocoa and the sugar; heating the water may help the sugar dissolve. Cool the [...]

I was thinking of calling this a tropical fruit sorbet, but I guess there’s nothing too tropical about pomegranates and oranges, since they both grow locally in our lovely Mediterranean climate. Coconut, however, is another story. I’m finding coconut cream adds a nice texture to my non-dairy, vegan sorbets. In this case, it’s a surprising taste alongside our local fruits. As a bonus, this sorbet came out a gorgeous fuchsia.

We’re now the proud owners of a brand new ice cream maker, and I decided to try out our new toy by making a flavor you won’t find in any ice cream shop I’ve ever seen — Thai tea ice cream. The results were fabulous.