Neapolitan Ice Cream Macarons

July: National Ice Cream Month

America is experiencing a freak heat wave this summer. Temperatures are at a record high, even in the northern part of the country (it is even more sweltering in southwest Texas where we live!). Time to cool off with ice cream—better yet with ice cream AND macarons or ice cream macarons!

But with so many ice cream flavors to choose from, how can we please the palates of finicky family and friends? Neapolitan ice cream has three popular flavors conveniently packed into one tub: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. So at least one of those should satisfy their taste buds.

Our tri-flavored/tri-colored macarons are inspired by the freeze-dried Neapolitan ice cream that Islander is always crazy enough to buy whenever she visits the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. The amusing “astronaut ice cream” is crisp and creamy—almost like a macaron!

We filled our chocolate and strawberry macaron shells with real vanilla ice cream (but with a special lactose-free brand because of Islander’s delicate digestive system) and, as a non-melting alternate filling, with Tahitian vanilla buttercream for a brown-white-pink palette. These Neapolitan ice cream macarons are our entry into this month’s MacAttack challenge with the “ice cream dream theme.” And they are a sweet treat to beat the heat and celebrate National Ice Cream Month in July!

Recipes

• For the chocolate macaron shells

https://hicookery.com/2011/04/11/hi-macs/

• For the strawberry macaron shells

https://hicookery.com/2011/02/27/strawberry-macarons/ 

• For the vanilla ice cream filling

Breyer’s brand lactose-free vanilla ice cream

• For the alternate Tahitian vanilla buttercream filling

https://hicookery.com/2010/11/10/tahitian-vanilla-cupcakes/

Directions

Make the chocolate and strawberry macaron shells. Match by size and pair a chocolate with a strawberry macaron shell. Quickly spread vanilla ice cream on one of the shells and sandwich with another. Freeze immediately to firm up the filling. Serve chilled.

Alternatively, generously fill a chocolate macaron shell with vanilla buttercream and sandwich with a strawberry macaron shell. Refrigerate to set.

Notes

• Look at the list of the 15 most popular ice cream flavors on the Food Channel site. Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry and Neapolitan are in the top five, according to the International Ice Cream Association.
• There are other flavors of the freeze-dried ice cream, including mint chocolate chip and chocolate chocolate chip. A freeze-dried ice cream sandwich is also available.
• Try our lactose-free vanilla milkshake recipe on June 20 (National Vanilla Milkshake Day). Search our blog for other recipes containing ice cream.
• The final photo above shows our Neapolitan macarons filled with Tahitian vanilla buttercream. It was too hot to fill and photograph the shells with the vanilla Lactaid ice cream on yet another scorching summer day in southwest Texas!!!
• “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” Check out more macaron ice cream dreams at the MacTweets site.

Monaco (Cocktail Drink)

July 1: The Royal Wedding Day of His Serene Highness Prince Albert of Monaco II and Charlene Wittstock

Less than three months after Prince William of Wales married Catherine Middleton in England on April 29, 2011, another royal wedding is taking place in Monaco, a little city state bordered by France. Prince Albert is marrying Charlene Wittstock, an Olympic swimmer from South Africa, today in a civil ceremony. Their union will be blessed at a religious ceremony the next day on July 2, 2011.

The Monegasque celebrations are not as big as those of the British royals. But Islander still enjoys watching their weddings—and preparing something special for our food blog to commemorate the regal occasion!

For the Monaco royal wedding, she made a mixed drink aptly called a Monaco, which is a popular cocktail among the principality’s northern neighbors. For this recipe, Islander used a Hawaiian beer, particularly Primo, because the logo for this lager features a silhouetted man with a mahiole (feather helmet). In ancient Hawaii, these crowned the heads of the high chiefs and King Kamehameha. So Primo is a perfect ingredient for our adaptation of a Monaco to toast the Grimaldi groom and his bride on their wedding day. Congratulations to the couple and okole maluna!

Recipe

(Adapted from 1001 Cocktails)

Ingredients

• Splash of grenadine syrup
• 1/3 glass lemon-lime soda (we used Sprite)
• 2/3 glass beer/lager (we used Primo beer/Hawaiian lager)

Directions

In a tall (or collins) glass filled with ice cubes, pour the grenadine first. Add the lemon-lime soda and beer. Stir until the flavors and colors turn into a pale pink.

Notes

• Grenadine adds a royal red color to the cocktail and a taste of the sweet life!
• The ratio of beer to soda may be adjusted to one’s personal tastes. Other recipes call for an equal amount of both liquids.
• The French use lemonade instead of lemon-lime soda in their version of the Monaco cocktail drink.
• Search our blog for more royal recipes.

Blueberry Clafoutis

July: National Blueberry Month

We get rave reviews on the recipe for raspberry-almond clafoutis that we decided to bake another one featuring the fruit of the month: blueberries! This is a simple summery dish from France, also called flaugnarde, which is like a cross between a custard and a cake. Although it does not look as attractive as other dishes, the sweet scent of vanilla and bursts of blueberry make this dessert as delicious as the raspberry-almond clafoutis. Taste why this is a French favorite—and why it has also become one of ours—and bake a blueberry clafoutis for National Blueberry Month.

Recipe

(Adapted from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck) 

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups fresh blueberries
• 3 eggs
• 1 ¼ cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup flour
• powdered sugar (for dusting)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk. Pour in the sugar. Add the vanilla and pinch of salt.

Mix in the flour until the batter is no longer lumpy. Pour the batter about ¼ inch thick into a pie dish. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 5-10 minutes to set the bottom of the clafoutis. Remove from the oven and arrange the blueberries on top.

Pour the remaining batter over the blueberries.  Return to the oven and bake for an hour or until the middle is no longer wet and wiggly. The clafoutis is cooked when it is puffed up and brown and a knife comes out clean after inserting into the middle. Remove from the oven and cool slightly (the dessert will deflate) before slicing into wedges. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on each serving. The blueberry clafoutis may be served hot or cold.

Notes

• Try the recipe for raspberry-almond clafoutis for July which is also National Berry Month. 
• Search our blog for more recipe posts containing blueberries as an ingredient.