ice cream Archives - Proud Italian Cook

Ice Cream Stuffed Panettone

Here’s a fun way to transform a traditional panettone into a spectacular dessert with no baking required. Panettone is an Italian Christmas cake that has a sweet buttery dough filled candied fruits and nuts, just the smell alone when you open the box will drive you wild!

Today we’re going a little over the top and using the pannetone for an Italian version of an ice cream cake. Basically you’re going to hollow out your favorite panettone and then stuff it with some ice cream or gelato.

I decided to do a mix of vanilla and chocolate this time, plus I added some frozen dark sweet cherries, because why not?

Leave the paper rim on for stability then either slice off the bottom or the top part right under the dome. Take a serrated knife and cut into the panettone leaving a border around the edges and bottom, scooping out the interior.

At this point you can brush the sides and bottom with some liqueur, but to me the panettone has so much flavor itself that it’s not necessary, but it certainly is an option.

Make sure your ice cream is softened but not runny then just fill up the cavity to the top. I did the vanilla layer first, added some frozen cherries then ended with the chocolate layer.

When the panettone is filled to the rim with the ice cream re-attach the lid or bottom back on then wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and stick it into the freezer. I find that overnight works best because you want the ice cream to really firm up so you can have nice clean wedges when cutting into it, so what’s really nice is that this can be made one or even two days ahead.

You can decorate the top anyway you want, I just melted some chocolate and made a quick frosting and added mini chocolate chips but you can be really creative and make it your own.

This is a pretty holiday dessert, nice and easy that will certainly wow your guests!

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Ice Cream Stuffed Panettone

You can use any size or shape panettone just use the same principle that I did filling it to the brim with ice cream.

Author: Marie

Ingredients

1 large panettone
2 pints of gelato, one vanilla and one chocolate, softened (feel free to use any flavor of ice cream or gelato)
a handful of frozen dark cherries (optional) You can also add nuts or any frozen fruit you like
liqueur to brush the interior sides ( like amaretto) also optional, definitely not needed.

Instructions

Take a sharp serrated knife and turn the panettone upside down and slice an inch off the bottom or if you prefer, make the slice on top right under the dome.You can leave the paper on for stability.
Then cut around the inside of the bread to hollow it out leaving ½ inch base and sides ( save the bread pieces to munch on).
Take your softened ice cream and fill the cavity to the top packing it down firmly, then re-attach the lid or bottom securely.
Wrap the whole panettone in foil or plastic wrap and stick it into the freezer. Best if overnight or even 2 days before so that ice cream is nice and hard.
Remove from the freezer, unwrap it, removing the paper that's attached to the panettone also, then place on a serving platter and decorate the top..
Slice into wedges and serve, you can serve with whipped cream, maybe a chocolate sauce, or just as is.

Chocolate Pistachio Tartufo For Two

What is tartufo you might ask? Well it actually has two meanings, it could be an edible fungus or an Italian dessert, in this case it’s dessert.

It’s an Italian frozen dessert usually composed of two or more flavors of ice cream and often with a strawberry, cherry or raspberry in the center and it’s usually covered in a shell made of chocolate, it’s divine! I’ve only had it once at a restaurant here in Chicago but it’s pretty popular in Italy, in fact if you Google it you’ll see many of the recipes in Italian. It’s also referred to as a chocolate bomb, and that it is!

I recently saw this recipe in the current February issue of Martha and couldn’t wait to make it, it’s the perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day because it’s meant to be shared. Put it on a pretty platter, grab a couple of spoons and dig in with your honey!

Here’s the ingredients I used, pistachio and dark chocolate gelato, chocolate wafer cookies, dark chocolate for melting, frozen cherries, (you only need two, Martha used maraschino, but I’m not fond of them) and chopped pistachios for garnish.

Basically you line a domed glass bowl with plastic wrap, that’s going to be your mold. Place your gelato or ice cream side by side, plop a cherry in the middle of each side, then wrap it up and stick it in the freezer for a couple of hours or more. Feel free to use any flavor ice cream combination you like, I’ve also seen cookies and nuts stuffed in the center.

In the meantime take your chocolate wafers and finely pulse them in a food processor, when the two hours are up unwrap the gelato mixture and place the crumbs on top of the mixture, this is going to land on the bottom when inverted and will give you a nice crunchy texture, then re-wrap and place the bowl back into the freezer for another couple of hours until nice and firm, I repeat, nice and firm! Very important!

When it’s completely firmed up, get your chocolate melted then take out your dome of gelato, fold back the plastic and invert on a wire rack, being careful to remove the rest of the remaining plastic. Pour the melted chocolate all over the dome then stick it back into the freezer so it can harden up. You can do this in advance and just wrap the whole dome in plastic until ready to serve, or serve it right after the outer shell gets nice and firm.

So if you’re staying in and avoiding the crowds this Valentine’s Day and making a special meal at home, here’s the perfect dessert to share with your loved one.

Here’s the link to Martha’s recipe. http://www.marthastewart.com/1140997/chocolate-pistachio-tartufo

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