Vanilla Bean Creme Frappuccino

My husband loves coffee and likes to occasionally stop at a popular coffeehouse for a large, steamy, freshly-brewed cup.  On the other hand, I'm not much of a coffee drinker so I order a small, icy, vanilla cream beverage.  It's a very simple treat, but they're not cheap so I decided to come up with my own version that I can make at home for a fraction of the cost.  For the best results, be sure to use premium quality ice cream, vanilla bean paste, and vanilla bean powder.  

Let me show you how it's done. 

Start with ice, whole milk, and your favorite premium quality vanilla ice cream.  We like to use premium vanilla ice cream such as Haagen Dazs.

We'll also need a little sugar, the best pure vanilla bean paste, and pure vanilla powder.

Place everything in a small blender that can handle chopping ice cubes.  I really love this model - have had it for years, it's not expensive, and it works great!  

Pour the liquified mixture into a glass and top with copious amounts of real whipped cream.  To keep things on the light side, use canned whipped cream, but if you want to be extra indulgent...

...make your own.  

In a small mixing bowl, combine heavy whipping cream, confectioners sugar, and pure vanilla bean paste (it tastes so good and adds those lovely specks of vanilla seeds).

Use a hand mixer to whip everything together.  If yours has a whisk attachment, that works very well, but the standard beater attachments will work too.

When you start seeing tracks in your cream, it's almost done.  Just a few seconds longer.

Now for the fun part - putting the whipped cream into a large disposable piping bag fitted with an open star tip.  Today I used this tip to pipe my whipped cream, but this is another one of my favorites.  

Recommendation:  When purchasing disposable piping bags, I suggest you get large bags (like these) instead of 8 to 12-inch bags, which are more common.  The small bags are hard to fill, they don't hold very much, and they're nearly impossible to refill once they've been used.  The bags I recommend are much easier to use, fill/refill, and you can always cut them down if you find yourself in a situation that requires the use of a smaller bag.  Just saying.

Fill the disposable pastry bag with the whipped cream and pipe a mountain of swirly goodness on top of your frappuccino.

Add a green straw if you have one and go for it!  Mmmm.

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• personal beverage blender https://amzn.to/3soFRXB

• small food processor https://amzn.to/3HDO3cQ

• pure vanilla bean paste https://amzn.to/3HhfWXZ

• pure vanilla powder https://amzn.to/3HDNQ9y

• my favorite ice cream scoop https://amzn.to/3Gz0OEg

• wilton 1M https://amzn.to/3HCHWWb

• ateco 826 https://amzn.to/3HDO7t6

• large piping bags https://amzn.to/3rI618R

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Vanilla Bean Creme Frappuccino

makes 1 serving

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole milk

• 1 large scoop vanilla ice cream (premium quality)

• 4 ice cubes

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla powder

• whipped cream for topping

Directions

1. Place all the ingredients in a personal blender and pulse to break up the ice cubes, then blend until mixture is smooth.

2. Pour into serving glass and top with whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Roasted Blueberry Ice Cream with Balsamic and Goat Cheese

I have to give full credit to my oldest daughter, ButterYum Jr, for making this amazing ice cream after finding the recipe by Kayley on a wonderful blog called Kitchen McCabe.  Roasting the blueberries with really good quality balsamic vinegar intensifies their flavor and adding goat cheese gives the ice cream a tangy quality and satisfying chewy texture.  It's brilliant.  

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• my favorite ice cream scoop https://amzn.to/3fBZyUI

• ice cream storage container https://amzn.to/3fB5gGj

• ice cream maker https://amzn.to/2YQdmFh

• microplane grater https://amzn.to/2SSGxng

• mesh sieve https://amzn.to/3cmchbY

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Roasted Blueberry Ice Cream with Balsamic and Goat Cheese

makes 2 quarts

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries

• 1 tablespoon very good quality balsamic vinegar

• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided

• pinch of fine salt

• 3 large egg yolks

• 4 ounces goat cheese, room temperature

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.

2. In a 1 or 2-quart oven-safe casserole dish, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and the balsamic vinegar; toss well and roast, uncovered, for 30 minutes, then remove from oven and set aside until needed.

3. In a medium bow., beat egg yolks and set aside until the milk mixture is warm (step 4).

4. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 1 cup milk, salt, and remaining sugar until the milk begins to steam.

5. Slowly pour about half of the milk mixture into the beaten egg yolks, beating constantly to prevent the yolks from curdling.

6. Pour yolk mixture into the the saucepan containing the remaining milk mixture and return to heat; whisking constantly until it thickens.

7. Remove from heat and pour into a large mixing bowl; whisk in the goat cheese, remaining milk, cream, and lemon juice until fully combined.

8. Puree roasted berries (including all their juices) in a blender or food processor until smooth; whisk into custard base until fully combined.

9. Pour ice cream mix through a sieve to remove any residual solids; chill in an airtight container for at least 4 hours or overnight (mixture should be 40F or less before processing in an ice cream machine.

10. Process mixture in ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions; transfer to a freezer-safe airtight container for storage.

11. Allow ice cream to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before scooping.

recipe adapted from The Kitchen McCabe