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Roasted White Chocolate and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Good morning, chefs and spice lovers! 👨‍🍳 The fall and winter season is upon us, and with the cooler weather comes a shift in flavors. Kitchens and restaurants alike are filled with the scents of cloves, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon, blending beautifully with savory notes of bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and rich umami aromas.

Today, we’re resharing a sweet favorite: Chai Spice No-Churn Ice Cream! This creamy treat features a warming blend of ginger, green cardamom, clove, cinnamon, and just a hint of black pepper. If you’re looking for a dairy-free option, use the same spice blend with your favorite dairy alternative and a thickening agent for a luscious non-dairy version. To top it off, drizzle with cashew milk chocolate for an extra layer of deliciousness!

The recipe is below, but feel free to follow the link to get more details or visit our online spice shop to grab the ingredients.

Happy spicing and enjoy the season! 🍂🍨

Here is one of our absolute favorite recipes. A reverse Rocky road ice cream popsicle. We added double the chocolate, vanilla bean paste and a pinch of green cardamom to really round out the flavor. Enjoy!

Read the whole recipe and watch the video in the link below

Brown Butter Madeleines

Madeleines are scallop-shaped tea cakes that get their shape from the special pan that the batter is baked in. At their most basic they are nothing more than butter, sugar, flour, eggs, and vanilla, but we’ve stepped them up considerably for this recipe. We started by browning the butter. If you’ve never browned butter, you are in for a real treat. Butter is cooked beyond the point of melting, till it reaches a state of golden, nutty deliciousness. It adds a subtle yet distinctive flavor to any baked good and requires just a bit more time (but no extra work). Next, we glazed the madeleines with a white chocolate ganache, made “extra” by infusing the cream with whole cloves. The spice infusion lifts the often one-note flavor of white chocolate and complements the cookies beautifully.  

Green Cardamom infused macarons with vanilla bean and orange butter cream filing 

20 cardamom pods

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, divided

1 cup almond flour

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Grated zest from 1 large orange

1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

1 tablespoon milk or cream

Procedure

Make the macaron shells: Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods by crushing the pods with a rolling pin or large chef’s knife. Discard the pods.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and fit a large pastry bag with a 1” plain tip.

Place the egg whites and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt in the bowl of a standing mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-low speed until frothy and no longer translucent. Raise the speed to medium and add the granulated sugar very gradually. Once all the sugar has been added, raise the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form – the tip of the meringue should not move a bit when you remove the whisk and turn it upside down.

While the meringue is beating, place 1 1/2 cups of the confectioner’s sugar, the almond flour, the reserved cardamom seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor. Process until very fine, then pour through a sieve into a medium bowl.

Scoop one-third of the meringue into the flour mixture and use a spatula to fold it in. Once it’s completely incorporated, repeat 2 more times with the remaining meringue. Continue to fold the mixture with the spatula until you can lift the spatula and the mixture pours slowly off – like ribbons of lava. Immediately transfer to your prepared pastry bag and pipe small circles, spaced about an inch apart, onto your baking sheets. Rap the sheets a few times on the counter to eliminate any air bubbles and let sit for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 300°F. clean and dry your mixer bowl and piping tip. Place the tip in a clean pastry bag.

Bake the shells for 15 minutes; then, remove from the oven to cool completely on the pans.

While the shells are cooling, prepare the buttercream: Place the butter, remaining 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar, orange zest, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt in your mixer bowl. Scrape the seeds from the halved vanilla bean and add them to the bowl. Using the paddle attachment, beat on low until the confectioner’s sugar is completely incorporated. Raise the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides, add the milk, and beat again. Transfer to your prepared pastry bag.

Mexican Horchata, yes please

Cinnamon-Clove Eggplant Jam - Murabba El-Batinjan (Eggplant Jam)