Looking for a great way to use that bag o' cranberries taking up room in your freezer?
Have I got a surprise for you!
As you well know, I am a huge fan of the late, great Barbara Tropp. Her game-changing light ice creams have been in my repertoire since I first encountered her China Moon cookbook years ago. I make various citrusy versions using lime, lemon, orange, and blood orange, but over the holidays I thought I’d try a new variation...
Cranberry!
So I took a bag of frozen cranberries and cooked them with a small amount of sugar (about 1/3 C) and water (about 1/2C water, though you might find you need a bit more). Cook until the berries burst and the mixture turns “saucy.” Let it cool a bit and add 2C half-and-half, let it sit for a bit, and then strain through a fine mesh sieve. Freeze in an ice cream machine.
Now, this was my first attempt, and I discovered that this needed a bit more punch. Hmmmmmm… What goes with cranberries? Turkey was a no-go...
Wait... Oranges!
So I made a bit of simple syrup, boiling equal parts sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. But this simple syrup was full of microplaned orange zest! I let it cool, strained out the zest, and used this as a sauce over the ice cream... SUCCESS!!! This turned out to be one of those miracle pairings that made the flavors of each element more intense.
And it was really good! I’m going to continue to play with it next holiday season, so be sure to let me know what you think when you try it.
PS. Yes. It's REALLY pink.