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Leite's Culinaria

Straight from My Freezer. All 10 of Them.

Published 1 day ago • 2 min read

Hi Reader,

My freezer in late July is mostly ice cream. I am not going to pretend otherwise.
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Somewhere between the gelato I made because I bought a machine and refuse to let it sit idle, and the popsicles for when it is too hot to want anything else, there is barely room for a bag of peas.
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There is something about a homemade frozen dessert that store-bought never quite matches. You know exactly what went in it, you can make it as rich or as light as you want, and it tastes like the specific summer you made it in.
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This is the full contents of my freezer right now: the ice creams, the sorbets, the gelatos, and the cold things that get me through the hottest stretch of the year.

Everything in My Freezer

  • Chill the base completely before you churn. A cold base freezes faster and finishes smoother. Make it the day before and let it sit overnight.
  • Fat and sugar are what keep it scoopable. They stop a frozen dessert from setting rock hard. A leaner mix, like a sorbet, is best eaten sooner.
  • Sorbet wants more sugar than tastes right warm. Cold dulls sweetness, so the unfrozen base should taste a touch too sweet to taste right frozen.
  • Press plastic wrap onto the surface to store. It keeps ice crystals and freezer smell out. A shallow container freezes and scoops better than a deep one.
  • Make the one that suits the heat. Rich ice cream for a calm evening, a bright sorbet for the worst of it. The whole freezer is below.

WHAT'S INSIDE...

​Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream​

For this chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, milky vanilla ice cream and shards of edible cookie dough collide to create a truly exceptional frozen dessert.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Peanut Butter Ice Cream With Nutella Fudge​

This easy egg-free ice cream is made with a creamy peanut butter ice cream base that's swirled with ribbons of Nutella fudge. This also makes great ice cream sandwiches. Peanut butter lovers rejoice!
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Dark Chocolate & Tahini Ice Cream​

Toasted sesame tahini has a wholesome, nutty flavor that balances out the bitter intensity of dark chocolate. The cocoa solids and flecks of tahini throughout this ice cream mean that it’s rich, distinctive, and luscious to eat, and a small portion goes a long way.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Dark Chocolate Gelato​

Chocolate gelato is always a crowd-pleaser. It can be dressed up in a sundae or eaten by itself. Try it with fresh strawberries and warm chocolate sauce or drizzled with caramel.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Mango Gelato​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.82 from 16 votes

This mango gelato, made with mangoes, lemon or lime, sugar, and heavy cream, is just like ice cream. Except a little lovelier.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Creamy Pistachio Gelato​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.82 from 11 votes

Pistachio gelato, made properly, relies upon nothing but pistachio paste, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and salt for its flavor and color. That's why true pistachio gelato isn't Frankenstein green. Spoons at the ready!
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Watermelon Sorbet​

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.96 from 24 votes

This watermelon sorbet requires no ice cream maker. Just watermelon, lemon, sugar, mint, and surprisingly little time in the freezer. (Doesn't just looking at it make you feel cooler?!)
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Sparkling Lemon Sorbet​

Lemon sorbetto, or simply sorbetto as it is known here in Sardinia, is an example of one of the purest and simplest sorbets (originally made from just three ingredients: water, sugar, and lemon) that has become mass-produced.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Coconut Popsicles​

These coconut popsicles are homemade with coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla bean. Easy. Creamy. Healthy. Dairy-free. Vegan. And no artificial anything. Just unadulterated loveliness. Here's how to make them.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

​Rich Vanilla Ice Cream​

This vanilla ice cream makes something that's as tasty as the old-fashioned homemade classic. And it's easily adaptable to be obscenely rich or not. And you can make it without an ice cream maker. Here's how.
​☞ ​Try this recipe​

Leite's Culinaria

David Leite

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