Coolish, Melon Soda Japanese Ice Cream in a sachet tube.

Coolish, Melon Soda Japanese Ice Cream in a sachet tube.

Coolish is another ice cream that is really easy to eat. I wish we had ice cream that was easy to consume in the heat and for little children since it is so clever. The Coolish ice creams are available in a variety of tastes, including vanilla and Calpis (which is a Japanese soft drink that just about every store in Japan and a lot outside of Japan sell). 

This one was only available in the spring and was flavoured with Melon Soda. It was a little strange, but really it was more like a thick shake or smoothie drink, not really an ice cream. Actually its meant to be like an Ice Cream Spider (some would call it and Ice Cream Float) and the picture on the package does show that. It's not fizzy, though, almost as if the soft drink sode had became flat and the ice cream melted but was re-frozen. I don’t know how to accurately sum up the flavour but it is like sugary melon and cream. Like a creamy soft drink I guess. It was nice, and I'd suggest it.

Like a lot of ice Creams, this is made by Lotte and was around 150yen, something like that.

 

Really easy Japanese Red Bean Ice Cream Recipe to make at home - Adzuki bean ice cream

Really easy Japanese Red Bean Ice Cream Recipe to make at home - Adzuki bean ice cream recipe

I reckon Adzuki Red bean is one of the most popular flavours in so many Japanese sweets and desserts.  Its importance in lollies and sweets is just like our love for chocolate in Western desserts.  Even though I have been in Japan for a few years now I miss the red bean taste in so many desserts, reminds me so much of holidays there in Japan.

To be truthful, there is variety of beans to make Anko but if you say Anko in Japan, most of people will imagine red bean paste because red bean paste is most commonly used in a wide range of confectionery.

A lot of factory-made red bean ice creams are just your normal mass-produced ice creams made with cheap ingredients and thickeners, with a tiny blob of the red-bean paste (also called Anko https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_bean_paste) mixed into it.

But this Red Bean ice cream recipe has a good amount of the adzuki bean paste so that you really get both its flavour and the extra creaminess from its starch. You can add a little vanilla if you want but that is completely optional; I like the full on red bean flavour but some may think the vanilla enhances it.

If you want to go all artisan ice cream with this one, serve it in scoops sprinkled with a little matcha powder (brightly coloured green tea powder).

Ingredients

• 100 g Adzuki red beans

• 100 ml Water

• 250 ml Coconut milk

• 250 ml Thickened cream

• 5 g Corn flour

• 200 g caster sugar

• pinch salt

Servings would be at least 4-6 people.

Directions

1.     Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cool water.
2.     The next morning, drain off the water, rinse the beans and drain again.
3.     Place the beans together with the water in a pot.
4.     Bring to boil, and then turn down the heat.
5.     Cover and simmer slowly for approximately 1.5 hours until the red bean mixture is reduced to just 2 cups.
6.     Add sugar and stir while bringing mixture to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer again.
7.     Mash the beans against the side of the pot with a spatula or spoon until the texture of the red bean soup is thick and lumpy. Kind of a red bean (adzuki/anko) jam.
8.     In a bowl, add salt and corn flour to coconut milk and cream and stir thoroughly until there are no more lumps.
9.     Add the coconut milk/cream solution gradually into the red beans, stirring until well-mixed. Remove from heat.
10.     When the mixture has cooled down, give it a thorough whisk, then pour into ice cream molds and freeze for 6 hours or until firm.

note - This ice cream is best served when just frozen. If its been in the freezer too long it becomes too hard, let it soften slightly in the fridge or at room temperature for a little before consuming.

Adzuki red bean paste (anko) jam for ice cream

A Japanese Ice Cream for Valentines Day

A Japanese Ice Cream for Valentines Day. I have been thinking about what type of Japanese Ice Cream could be good for Valentines day. It would have to be luxurious and delicious. This ice cream is both.
Japanese Haagen Daz Rare Cheese Cake ice cream. I don't usually like Haagen Daz but this one is fantastic.

It tastes exactly what the name says - each mouthful tastes like a little piece a cheesecake in my mouth, with a slight hint of lemon and sweet honey. Then you can taste the biscuit base with more lemon taste.
Just perfect.
Happy Valentines day everyone.
And below is a recipe to make your own Cheesecake Ice cream

This is how the company describes it and truly that's what it is like. Ice cream with cream cheese, from Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan, soft lemon sauce, and fragrantly mixed texture with flaky and buttery biscuits. Glamorous honey with a refreshing lemon-scented honey source and combined with rich cream cheese ice cream, Haagen- rare cheese cake.

Japanese Cheesecake Icecream Recipe just like Haagen Daz.

175 ml Full cream milk 
200 grams of caster sugar 
I packet (125 grams) of cream cheese 
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract 
1 medium egg
Juice of a lemon
350 ml double cream 
50 grams crumbled digestive biscuits

Heat the milk in a pan, and while it's warming up, beat the sugar, cream cheese, egg and vanilla together in a bowl. Keep beating and pour the hot milk into the cream cheese mixture and then pour it all back into a  clean saucepan and cook till a smooth custard. Don't bother with a double boiler, and actually don't even keep the heat very low, but you will need to stir it constantly, and if you think there's any trouble ahead, plunge the pan into a sink half filled with cold water and whisk like mad and it will become smooth. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, this way, for the custard to cook. And when it has thickened, take it off the heat, pour into a bowl and let it cool, at which time add the lemon juice and then the double cream. Freeze in an ice cream maker or place into a covered container, stick it in the freezer and whip it out every hour for 3 hours as it freezes and give it a good beating, folding in the crushed buiscuits before the ice cream is set solid.
 Yum.

Not a bad ice cream at all - Japanese Dango, red beans and vanilla ice cream

Japanese Dango, red beans and vanilla ice cream.  This wasn't bad ice cream, just that it is plain vanilla.
It did have a lot of extrad goodies like red beans in the middle (you can just see them in the photo) and Dango. In case you don't know, Dango is a Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour) like Mochi.

Cute Japanese Ice Cream Cupcakes, I would love to make them

Ice Cream Cupcakes with bear faces. Cute Japanese Ice Cream Cupcakes, I would love to make them. Don't they look great. It has Strawberry ice cream for the head and vanilla ice cream for the bears nose.
These are all real ice creams made to look like cup cakes (my mum calls them patty cakes) , read below for how to make your own cupcake ice cream cones (cupcakes made to look like ice creams).

 

Ice Cream Cupcake Recipe
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes and their holders are so simple to create. All you need is some cake mix, frosting or icing and some ice cream cones and that is it. The exciting part comes after the baking is done and it's time to decorate the tops however you want. And I am sure this is a baking job for kids too, seeing it’s so simple and easy. You can even learn how to make some ice cream cone cupcake holders .

Here is the simple option on how to make cupcake cones. Stand cones upright in cupcake cone . Fill cone about 2/3 full of cupcake batter. Then simply bake and decorate.
Here is how to make a cheap and easy ice cream cone cupcake holders, simply cut some holes in a aluminium baking tray

ice cream cone cupcake holders

ice cream cone cupcake holders with cones inside

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes in the r holders ready to cook

And the finished Ice Cream Cupcakes (yes I know these don't have any real ice cream in them)

cupcake ice cream cones finished product, yum, best ever

Cantaloupe or Rockmelon ice cream in Japan

Yummy Cantaloupe Ice Cream soft serve in Japan.
I have always wondered what the difference was between Cantaloupe and Rockmelon, I always thought the 'webbing' on the skin was different but apparently there is no difference at all, just different areas of the world call them by different names.
Here is a good post from an Australian talking about it. What do you call it Rockmelon or Cantaloupe?

Cantaloupe or rockmelon from Australia and its cross section (Photo credit: Wikipedia

How To Make Japanese Creme Brulee Ice Cream Recipe

Japanese Creme Brulee Ice Cream Recipe.
I just wrote about a cup of creme brulee ice cream that you can buy at a store but why not make your own.

Ingredients 
375 ml (1½ cup) normal full fat milk
375 ml (1½ cup) cream
1 whole vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon high-quality vanilla essence if you want)
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
150 gram (3/4 cup) light brown sugar
150 gram (3/4 cup) granulated raw sugar

Instructions 
Pour together the milk and the cream in a saucepan. Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla seeds and the pod to the milk and cream mix and bring to an almost-boil.

Mix the two types of sugar together. Measure half (3/4 cup) of the sugar mix to be used for the crunchy Brulee. To caramelise the sugar, melt in a saucepan until golden, then pour onto tin foil or similar. Let the sugar form a rather thin layer and wait for it to cool. Then crush up the sugar layer into smaller pieces of caramelised sugar. Put these aside for now because these crunchy pieces will be added towards the end of the ice cream churning. You should have around 4 tablespoons of caramelised chunks of sugar; the rest of it can be used to sprinkle on the top when you serve the ice cream.

Beat the eggs, egg yolks and rest of the sugar mix (3/4 cup) really well together. Take 250 ml (1 cup) of the heated milk/cream and, while whisking continuously, slowly add it just a little by a little into the egg and sugar mix. Add the egg mix to the cream mixture and blend thoroughly. Pour everything back into the sauce pan, and while stirring constantly bring the mixture to about 84 degrees Celsius (180º F) on low-moderate heat. Quickly take off from the heat and cool as quickly as possible in an ice bath.

When cooled down, chill the ice cream base in the fridge, if possible, overnight but at least for a few hours. Afterwards remove the vanilla pod. Churn the ice cream base in your ice cream machine. Towards the very end of the churning, add about 1/4 cup of the caramelised Brulee sugar pieces. When churning is finished, put it in a freezer-proof container, cover it with plastic film and seal it with a lid. Place it in the freezer.

The next day it will be perfect to serve.
Enjoy.

Japanese Ice cream - creme brulee ice cream cup

Japanese Creme Brulee Ice cream in a cup. yummo, with a crunchy burnt sugar top. Real creme brulee is a set custard with a burnt sugar top, it's great to crack the top with a spoon.
This tastes like the nice burnt sugar ice creams I have looked at before.

Gran Milk Japanese Ice Cream

Gran Milk Japanese Ice Cream Direct from the Japanese manufacturer. The series is a premium ice cream to maximize the use of various technologies that brings together the company has cultivated through the dairy industry ever "Gran formula milk", the original taste of milk. Has realized a gentle taste to highlight the "natural sweetness and rich flavor" of milk, a refreshing yet rich, and it is the perfect dessert, to relax in the evening. It was released on August 27, because it was to order far exceeding initial sales plan, we had been temporarily suspended the sale from September 12.

Gran milk vanilla ice cream
In order to realize that the taste was extremely milky, not to just taste vanilla dare, and I milk. It is a commodity that is the basis of "Gran Meiji The Premium".

Gran raw milk and caramel ice cream

The caramel sauce, use the raw materials made ​​in Hokkaido milk outstanding compatibility with the "Grand milk." Enjoy a delicious harmony of the "Grand Milk" as the source and slightly bittersweet, sweet and savory raw caramel. 

What flavour soft ice would you choose?

What flavour of ice cream would you choose?

Just a heap of Japanese ice cream

Nice photo of ice cream. These are all plastic models in a display of course.

Soft cream in a cup.

Strawberry, mango and chocolate sundae. I like how sauce is spelled – source.

Japanese Lavender Ice Cream

A nice Japanese softcream. It didn't have much flavour though, more like vanilla.

Japanese Haagen Dazs Crispy Sandwich

I think I have mentioned before that I don’t really like Haagen Dazs ice cream in Japan. It is just another mass produced ice cream that, to me, isn’t very creamy or nice in flavour. Anyway, here is one more a bit like the Manako bars I like, they call it a Crispy Sandwich.

Green Tea and Sakura Ice cream from Kyoto

Green Tea and Sakura Ice cream from Kyoto.

I have this marked as Sakura (cherry blossom) but I think it was actually Red Bean (azuki). It was a while back and I don't remember.

Chocolate and Vanilla Soft Cream from Japan

Nothing nicer in Summer than a nice Japanese softcream and one of the best would be this chocolate and vanilla ice cream cone.

Lavendar soft cream

One of my favourite ice cream flavours. Lavender soft cream.

This was really mild, just a hint of flavour of the vanilla taste.

Haagen Daz Crispy Sandwich ice cream

I had a Haagen Daz Crispy Sandwich ice cream that was Green Tea flavour. I don’t like Haagen Daz ice cream very much but this looked nice so I tried it out. It was OK , nothing great, just OK. I was a bit disappointed but that's how I find Haagen Daz ice cream.

Green Tea Ice Cream flavoured Cookies

These are not little ice creams but they are cookies that are green tea icecream flavour with chocolate chips.

I didn’t like them much.

Green Tea and Sakura ice cream from Kyoto

Green Tea and Sakura ice cream from Kyoto.