Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tuesdays With Dorie 7: Chocolate-Banded Ice Cream Torte



Oh dear... it seems that all of my post titles contain the words "Tuesdays With Dorie" lately!  Between Tuesdays with Dorie and Daring Bakers I don't find much time (or reason) to bake any more than that.  I promise though, I will try my best to add a few of my own things here as much as I can!  

Anyway, this week's recipe was chosen by Amy of Food, Family, and Fun.  Well, when I saw this recipe was chosen I was ecstatic!  I flip through Baking: from my home to yours, quite frequently, and this is something I always drool over.  For some reason I thought it would be on the difficult side to make, but in reality it is very simple (just time consuming).  I love the visual impact of this dessert too and also the endless possibilities of flavour creations!  When Summer comes around I'm sure I'll be making this all the time.

As always, I decided to go with mini sized ice cream tortes.  It would be fine to make the full size torte as you can just slice off pieces as you need them, but mini desserts are just so damn cute.  I also planned to make them for friends coming to dinner, so the individual portions seemed appropriate (even if the minis were still too much for one person; us girls went halves in one, while the boys almost exploded trying to finish their individual tortes!).  

At first I was going to use Dorie's Burnt Sugar Ice Cream, but I wasn't sure if our guests would like the taste (we personally love it), so I went with the original recipe suggested and made Raspberry Ice Cream.  I left out the raspberry liqueur though.  Next time, if I made raspberry again (so many flavours, so little time) I would probably omit the raspberry seeds.  S said they added to the texture but I prefer my ice cream to be as smooth as possible.  I would just make up a raspberry compote and discard the seeds. 

The chocolate truffle layer was so delicious!  I was initially concerned with the recipe but got over that pretty quick once I tasted it.  Yum!  We were saying we would even just like to eat it like chocolate custard.  The only annoying thing with the chocolate truffle cream was that it melted so quickly!  It was hard to get the base of the springform cake tin off the bottom of the truffle cream whilst still keeping it in tact.  Maybe it would work better if the ice cream was on the bottom... wouldn't look as good though!

To get really smooth layers with no bubbles I think the ice cream and the truffle cream need to be quite soft when layering them.  I was worried about melting my ice cream too much as I didn't want it to go icy.  So it was hard to make each layer really smooth.  Dorie suggests you leave at least 30 minutes in the freezer between doing each layer, but because I was quite busy the day I made it, I just kept adding layers when I got home/had time.  So don't feel you need to do it all at once!

Wish I had got an inside shot of the torte but the truffle cream melted too quickly for the slices to look decent.

Might I just add that it was also the first time I have ever used my hairdryer as a kitchen appliance (worked a treat though).

22 comments:

The Food Librarian said...

Yours came out great! Who knew the hair dryer was so versatile! :) Great job!

Jessie said...

Your torte looks beautiful. I found the hair dryer very effective as well.

Unknown said...

That looks amaaaazing!

And I can just imagine you in your kitchen with a hair dryer :p... The only time I've had my hair dryer in the kitchen was to help speed up the defrosting of my freezer...

Jayne said...

Beautiful job! That torte looks perfect!

Engineer Baker said...

With how pretty the outside is, I have no doubt the inside is perfect too - great job!

Bria said...

Thanks everyone! I am really looking forward to making this again. Its great for when people are coming over because you can make it so far in advance :D

chocolatechic said...

You are the first one I have come across that used the hair dryer.

It looks wonderful.

TeaLady said...

This looks really good. Great job!

Peggy said...

Looks really good.

Rebecca of "Ezra Pound Cake" said...

Beautiful torte! The colors and layering are gorgeous. Way to work that hairdryer!

Maria said...

Love that you used the hair dryer! Your torte looks awesome!

Christine said...

I used the hair dyer to and it worked perfectly. Your torte looks beautiful and next time that is what I am going to use!

Kana said...

pretty!!

Anonymous said...

i used the hair dryer too, it worked great. your torte looks beautiful. :)

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Your torte is beautiful! Lovely colors and perfect layers.
Nancy

Jacque said...

Mmmm, yours looks terrific... so perfect. I like the look of the mini version too.

Teanna DiMicco said...

Your torte is gorgeous! There are some successful minis out there (mine not being one of them!)

Unknown said...

Nicely done!! Great job!

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

Parchment paper! Torte lifted right off the pan bottom. Your minis look wonderful

Bungalow Barbara said...

Lovely! Yum, yum, yum!

Marthe said...

Your torte looks gorgeous!!
I also used the hairdryer, it works like a charm!

Eleganza Strings/ The DeLadurantey Family said...

Great looking torte! Creativity abounds when Dorie is involved@