Grapefruit Cinnamon Ricotta Ice Cream + Vitamix Giveaway!!!
Happy Friday! Does anyone else love ice cream pretty much year round – even when it’s freezing outside?? I appreciate the contrast of ice cream on a hot humid day, but I will eat ice cream in every season. Just thinking about seasonal flavors of ice cream gets me giddy – I mean, you can’t make fresh pear ice cream without ripe pears, can you? I’ve got a recipe for grapefruit cinnamon ricotta ice cream, but also a few other bits of happy news!!!
I’m teaching at a photography workshop in April 2017 in Crete, Greece!!!!!
December is giveaway month. Yup, you heard me – a month of giveaways!! A lot has happened in 2016 – I won’t go all sentimental right now (that’s for the new year post :)), but from workshops to being a finalist in Saveur to features on Instagram – none of these would’ve happened without you and this lovely community, so as a thank you, I personally selected pans, ceramics, appliances, linens – all products I trust and use and would wholeheartedly recommend, to give away. Every week there will be new giveaway items, so there are plenty of chances to enter. They’ll be split between Instagram and here on the blog, so make sure you follow me at @bliu07 and subscribe to my mailing list!
- I started this yesterday on Instagram, where I’m giving away one of The Freaky Raku’s ceramics!!!! If you saw my last post, you’ll know the fascinating process behind making these, and here’s your chance to get your hands on one of them. More info here.
- Today, I’m giving away a gorgeous copper Vitamix Professional Series 750 ($599 retail)!!! To enter, simply fill out the form at the bottom of the post, and leave a comment telling me what your favorite ice cream flavor is (difficult decision, I know).
I had a completely different ice cream flavor planned – involving ripe hachiya persimmons and cardamom, but then… well, two things happened. I went to Select Oyster Bar and had an interesting sounding cocktail involving gin, grapefruit, and cinnamon!!! I was intrigued and Alex ordered it. I tried one sip and was instantly riveted. Grapefruit and cinnamon are two flavors I would never have imagined together. Apple and cinnamon; pear and cinnamon; persimmon and cinnamon – yes. However, grapefruit and cinnamon were such great complements – a tangy sunny flavor melded with a warm, subtle cinnamon. Oh yes. I went home, felt my hachiyas, which were NOT ripe enough, and that did it for me. I wanted to explore grapefruit and cinnamon in ice cream.
I whipped up a grapefruit curd via Joy the Baker (who else?). From previous citrus ice cream experimentations, I’ve realized that for the citrus to be the primary flavor, just zest won’t cut it, and citrus juice has too much water content to make a creamy ice cream. Curd, though – thick, tangy, delicious curd, is the perfect element to incorporate to make a rich, creamy ice cream. I added in some ricotta too, because ricotta ice cream is my new favorite (thank all the ricotta gelato I had in Italy). The combination is heavenly. So often, I see grapefruit in sorbets or shaved ice or frozen yogurt. The only places I really had creamy grapefruit was in Italy – grapefruit gelato! It was my favorite flavor five years ago when I first went to Italy, and every time I went back I hunted down this flavor.
This ice cream is creamy, tangy, with the warm notes of cinnamon throughout. The heavy cream is infused with cinnamon sticks, so the cinnamon flavor is very much secondary, taking a step back from grapefruit but still present. I love it. This encourages me to explore other seemingly unlikely combinations – and hey, if it fails, well, that’s what experimentation is all about right?
I love having something crunchy with my ice cream, so I whipped up a quick chocolate-cinnamon crumbles to hold the ice cream. Optional, but recommended 🙂
The recipe is below – enjoy! And good luck with the giveaway!
GIVEAWAY!!!
UPDATE: giveaway closed. Congrats to Sam!
This giveaway is sponsored by Vitamix!! All opinions expressed are purely my own, as always. Thank you so much for supporting the companies that support this blog!!!
RECIPE: Grapefruit Cinnamon Ricotta Ice Cream
Notes: grapefruit has a soft pink color, and the grapefruit I used were quite vibrant, so the curd turned out a nice pink, but the ice cream dilutes that color with the ricotta and cream, so don’t be alarmed if your ice cream turns more light pink or yellow-ish, like mine is here. It’s still grapefruit flavored, and there’s no need for food coloring (unless you really want to!!)
Grapefruit Curd
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
½ cup sugar
1 ¼ cup fresh grapefruit juice
5 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
pinch sea salt
In a small saucepan, simmer grapefruit juice and reduce to half volume. Let cool. In a metal bowl, whisk together butter and sugar until fluffy. Whisk in egg yolks and eggs until combined. Whisk in salt, and stream in grapefruit concentrate.
In a medium saucepan, bring some water to a simmer. Place metal bowl over it to create a double boiler, making sure the bottom does not touch the water at all.
Whisk continuously until sugar is dissolved and mixture beings to thicken, around 10 -15 minutes. Once texture is thick, pudding-like, and coats the back of a wooden spoon thickly, remove bowl and transfer. Let cool in fridge – it will thicken up more.
Cinnamon Ricotta Ice Cream
1 cup cinnamon infused heavy cream
2 cinnamon sticks
1 cup grapefruit curd, chilled
½ cup sugar
pinch salt
5 large egg yolks
2 cups whole milk ricotta
Heat up heavy cream until just before boiling. Add in cinnamon stick and turn off heat. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, whisk yolks with sugar until thick. Gently stream hot heavy cream mix into yolk/sugar mixture, whisking constantly after each addition.
Pour mixture back into a saucepan and heat until custard is thick. I like to use the spoon test – dip a wooden spoon into the mixture, and remove it. Draw a line down the back of the wooden spoon. If the line remains visible, then the custard is thick enough. Blend with ricotta and grapefruit curd. Cover with plastic wrap and immediately chill in fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Pour into ice cream maker and churn according to instructions. (20 minutes for my ice cream maker).
Pour churned ice cream into an airtight container and freezer for another few hours.
Chocolate Cinnamon Crunch
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour
1.5 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Mix everything together until a dry crumble forms. Place in baking sheet and bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes.
Sprinkle crunch on a plate, then scoop ice cream over it.
Woah, what a unique combination of flavors you’ve got going on here! I can’t imagine what it tastes like so I’ve gotta try it to find out!
Strawberry with basil and balsamic reduction
This recipe is awesome!! I haven’t made ice cream this way before can’t wait to try it!
Chocolate, especially Haagen Dazs. Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
amazing post – can’t wait to try this flavour combo!! one favourite flavour… impossible!! But in love with pistachio anything… and coffee/mocha with cacao nibs or a dark chocolate stracciatella 🙂
My favorite ice cream flavor is marionberry pie ice cream.
My favourite ice cream flavour is probably chocolate chip, or caramel – nothing beats the classics!
Gorgeous photography, as always; so excited to try this recipe.
I am so thankful that I discovered your blog and now subscribe. I would make nut and seed butters,various vegetable hummus concoctions, and any suggestions that i might find on your blog. Season’s Greetings.
Favorite flavor is brown butter brown sugar. Sooo goooood
Ooops! Forgot to mention that pistachio gelato (preferably eaten in Italy) is high on my list, but I would love to experiment with out-of-the box ingredients (e.g, vegetables and herbs/spices to make ice cream if lucky enough to win the Vita-Mix blender.
So much ice cream, so little time. I have always enjoyed Mexican Chocolate ice cream with chiles and/or cinnamon. Hmm…can my craving for uni and ice cream be uni-ted to create a luscious frozen treat?
Delicious ice cream and the combination is stellar!
I love your photos!!
How do you get to do that mate finish? I’m very curious. Thank you!!!
Happy Weekend!
This looks amazing, I love the recipe and grapefruit curd looks absolutely delicious.
I love pumpkin flavored ice cream!
My favorite ice cream flavor is Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia — I’d totally love to make a copy.
However, if I were to win this Vitamix, it’d get used a lot to make West African peanut stew. It’s the best– spicy, creamy, warm and comforting.
I love chocolate ice cream. The creamier the better.
I love ricotta in desserts!
My favorite flavor? Gosh, it’s so hard…I love peculiar combinations and I never find anything (since I don’t eat cow dairies now). But I made a cashew-açai-berries vegan ice-cream for my cookbook and I loved it 😀
Hard choice- I think I’d have to go with salty caramel…or cookies and cream…or peanut butter fudge 🙂
I like strawberry.
My go to is stracciatella, but this flavor sounds delicious – grapefruit is one of my favorite foods. What a unique recipe!
Hard to pick a favorite ice cream flavor, but I already know–mint chocolate chip! And not any mint chocolate chip, but the one that has large CHUNKS of chocolate, not those itty bitty square chips. It was a childhood fave and I still love it more than anything.
My favorite ice cream flavor is deep chocolate with peanut butter. Once it is in my freezer I can’t resist.
Miso flavored was the most unique and tasty one I’ve had in a while!
Green Tea (matcha) flavor is my favorite 🙂
wait the hachiya flavour sounds dreamy too! and the colour of that grapefruit curd is SO pretty.
Earl grey!
This sounds absolutely delicious!!!
Since rainbow sherbet doesn’t count as ice cream, I’m going to have to go with pralines and cream!
What great flavor combos you come up with! I’m so excited about the year you’ve had. You seem to have found your stride and to really be enjoying it. Your photography is beautiful and your personality seems to come out through the food. xo
Strawberry balsamic
Some kind of pureed soup like potato or cauliflower!
I love butter pecan!
Betty! I love everything in this post – and goodness is that copper blender GORGEOUS. And this ice cream flavor? Don’t you just love when little flavor discoveries like that happen out of the blue. The best. Also, this month of giveaways you are doing is so exciting! Love and appreciate you friend, happy flipping December <3.
Mint chip!
Looks gorgeous!
All of Gracie’s fluff cones are phenomenal, but I love toasted almond. 🙂
I love local infused flavors, so I would go for vanilla icecream with pumpkin seed oil 🙂
Love mint cookie 🙂
Oh, gosh… I think my favourite cold weather ice cream is pistachio!
Congrats on a flourishing 2016!! xx
I think chocolate is My favourite, Oldie but Goldi lover
My favorite ice cream is vanilla. I know, boring, but no matter how many flavors I try and enjoy vanilla is always the most satisfying. As for the blender, there are a number of soup recipes that I’ve pinned and would love to try once I purchase a more powerful blender.
favorite ice cream is chocolate chip cookie dough
I’m obsessed with this ricotta-cinnamon-candied orange peel flavor my local gelateria has – will definitely have to try this recipe out!
My favorite ice cream flavor is green tea!!
So hard to choose, but I’ll have to go with coconut milk chai ice cream!
I love cookies and cream!
My favorite ice cream is pistachio, but I love brandied cherry too!
Vanilla bean pistachio ice cream is just heavenly. I could eat it all through winter. I would love to experiment with some more of the amazing suggestions here though. And soup, always soup.
If I see hazelnut on an ice cream menu that’s it! Hazelnut & chocloate even better together!
I love to make smoothies, blend soups and whip up hummus in my standard blender. A beauty like this vitamix would open a whole new world to me with all its possibilities! Beautiful post and the grapefruit ice cream flavor sounds intriguing. 🙂
Soooo hard to choose a favourite! Currently it’s dark chocolate…but it’s subject to change at any time 😉 Love the idea of grapefruit and cinnamon, so unexpected! <3
My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip.
Black sesame ice cream! The answer is always yes.
Ahh I’m sitting outside right now, sun beating down, and could so do with a massive scoop of this! Need to try it this summer. And I’m the same – can always do with a little texture alongside creamy ice cream.
This looks so amazing!!
My favorite ice cream flavor is jasmine milk tea 🙂
Oh this ice cream looks divine! My all time favorite flavor has to be grapenut. Sounds strange if you’ve never had it but it totally works.
Love this! Mint chocolate chip… but really any flavor!
Mint chocolate chip!!
lemon ricotta
My very favorite is fresh Banana Ice Cream, I love making it with both mashed up and cut pieces in the mix
okay, seriously?! grapefruit cinnamon ricotta ice cream?! this is why i read food blogs. hahaha. so much beauty and creativity that i would NEVER be able to come up with on my own. props to you <3 (and joy the baker. i'm also a fellow fan of hers!!) i feel boring in comparison saying chocolate peanut butter is my favorite, but i gotta stick to my guns here. 🙂
I love all types of sorbets, though the one I’ve loved most since childhood is mango!
Black Raspberry. Can’t say no.
My favorite ice cream flavor is pistachio, so nutty and creamy!
My fav icecream is mocha ! 😊
Strawberry, cream & rose. Just a hint of rose water!
I am also a big fan of grapefruit gelato! And your combination with cinnamon is so creative – sounds like something I would definitely love. I think my favorite ice cream flavor is a toss-up between mint chocolate chip and green tea.
Dark chocolate. Always. No exceptions.
I have so many favorites – it just depends on the brand/recipe. I usually buy Strawberry most often.
my Favorit ice cream is beetroot and Grapefruit 🙂
My favorite is strawberry!
That ice cream sounds so good! My favorite is mint chocolate chip.
I’ve never seen this flavor combination before but I’m very intrigued. Miiight have to get an ice cream maker to try it out!
Oh and my favorite ice cream flavor is Tillamook’s Tillamook Mudslide. So. Much. Chocolate.
My favorite ice cream flavor is Butter Pecan. Thank you for the chance! 🙂
I have several favorites but honey lavender is my often go to ice cream flavor!
That looks like an amazing combination! My favorite is black raspberry, I love the black raspberry chocolate chip flavor that Talenti has
Dippin Dots Cookies n Cream. Can’t deny my love for ice cream of the future. But any other Cookies n Cream will do as well.
I have a few favorite but the one I love the most is pumpkin
my favorite flavor of ice cream is creamy mandarin which they make in the winter time in a little ice cream shop in Mexico City. This grapefruit ice cream that you made looks amazing also, would love to try it!
If I had this sick vitamix I would make homemade almond milk for myself and smoothies for my malnourished boyfriend who thinks eating one monstrous meal a day is sufficient.
i’m not sure if my first comment posted so i’m submitting it again…my favorite flavor of ice cream is creamy mandarin which they make in the winter time in a little ice cream shop in Mexico City. This grapefruit ice cream that you made looks amazing also, would love to try it!
Ahh that sounds so good! I love artisanal ice creams! I once tried a Chinese 5 spice ice cream before and it was so good!!! Definitely my favorite flavor I’ve ever had for both the nostalgia and the unique-ness!
I love vanilla bean with some floral flavors!
I love mint and chocolate chip ice cream!
Raspberry chocolate chip!
My favorite ice cream is olive oil ice cream!
Guilty pleasure ice cream is Milk & Cookies flavor from Ben & Jerry’s
Favorite flavor is Sicilian Pistachio with the nuts blended into the cream and also left whole!
Wow Betty! Your 2016 has sure rocked! So glad for the the Crete workshop. It’s gonna be awesome!
As for ice creams, (I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Sorry, couldn’t help it hihi :D), it makes me feel so cooold to write about it right now, but I’d say lemon. A strange choice, but I swear if you taste the gelato at Amalfi coast made with their local HUGE lemons, you’d convert to it too! <3
I would definitely have to say pistachio…. or maybe olive oil. Hm I guess it’s a tie.
Such gorgeous photos + food styling! My favorite ice cream is sweet cream + berry 🙂
UM, YUM.
So many exciting things for you this year interspersed with all the crappyness!
I am an early grey girl for sure! even better if theres hot fudge sauce somewhere nearby.
xx
I live me some rocky road!
I actually love some home made vanilla ice cream. Thanks 🙂
Mint chocolate chips for me! Would love to win the vitamiX!
I like so many, but my favorite to make is mint chocolate chip steeped with real mint.
That Vitamix is oh so pretty! I love cookie dough ice cream.
Don’t make me pick one flavor! I’d swoon over keylime coconut, tropical rainbow sorbet with mango, passion fruit, and guava, or just reliable cinnamon chocolate chai. I’ve had my eye on a copper Vitamix for a year now – I hope I win! <3
What I would make with this vitamix are smoothies! I love making smoothies with
1. fresh fruit
2. oatmeal or yogurt (plain on vanilla)
and
3. almond milk
I find having a healthy and filling morning smoothie gets me through the day till lunch and it feels great!
looks yummy!
I love lavender ice cream!
My favorite flavor is French Vanilla
what a beauty that blender is! my favorite ice cream has to be the B3 from Toscanini’s in Cambridge. who can say no to brown sugar, brown butter and brownies. yum!
My favorite ice cream is good old Rocky Road! Your blog is amazing as is your photography. Thanks for the Vitamix giveaway!
Almond brittle ice cream is my all time favorite ice cream!
Ginger ice cream is my favorite. Thanks for the giveaway!
Peanut butter chocolate!!
My favorite ice cream is grape from Palateria LaReyna in Wichita, KS. When I can’t get that – I’ll take peanut butter and chocolate.
What a wonderful combination! I bet it would taste delicious with Meyer lemon and blood oranges!
PISTACHIO
I love anything chocolate! But mint choco chip is my fav!
Chocolate chip!!
I love vanilla bean!
I don’t think i would have ever thought to use curd!! I love trying fruity flavored ice cream, but definitely prefer vanilla and chocolate. Chocolate is by far my favorite!
I love raspberry chip!!
Mint chocolate chip!
i love honey lavender <3
So many favorites but my absolute must-have is lavender earl grey!
I like rocky road!
I love all ice cream, salted caramel and just about anything with almonds!
My favorite ice cream color is lavender. mmmmmmm.
I love love a good pistachio ice cream or gelato! But can’t ever go wrong with anything chocolate!
Favorite ice cream is cookies and cream!
Passion fruit ice cream is so amazing.
My go-to ice cream flavor is cookie dough, but I love more unusual flavors, too! Salt and Straw had a honey vinegar milk sorbet during their fermentation series that I couldn’t get enough of!
Wow! What interesting flavor combination, I love grapefruit.
My favorite ice cream is Baskin Robbins pistachio ice cream 🙂
Meyer lemon is my fav!
I love pistachio ice cream!!
My favourite ice cream flavour is dark chocolate – like those super dark Italian sorbet style dark chocolate ice creams!
I love fresh mint ice cream!
I love pretty much anything worth chocolate but to be simple, chocolate ice cream 🙂
Looks delicious!!!!! I love anything coffee-flavored 🙂
I love red bean ice cream
First of all. Your photography is beautiful. I absolutely love the way you style your photos. Second of all. Ice cream. I have many favorites, but think with the season I’d choose a cardamom flavor – thinking of vanilla cardamom pistachio with fresh vanilla bean. But I absolutely adore chocolate ice cream, and I’d love to find a creamy, chocolate version – one that is a fudgy consistency, but doesn’t lose the soft nuttiness of the pistachio and cinnamon-y spice of the cardamom.
Uhm, it’s hard to choose just one flavor! But if I must, a simple and classic vanilla bean ice cream would be my pick. Which would surprise my friends seeing how I love chocolate. But the vanilla just pairs well with so many other delicious things (hello, pie a la mode!).
I love lemon ice cream, sweetened with honey alone. It makes an especially creamy ice cream. Your ice cream looks very special, too and I will look forward to trying it when the weather turns warm again. Reading all of your readers’ favorites is a treat, too.
Looks sooooooo yummy! I will have to try making it. I like Jeni’s honey & pistachio with her dark chocolate, heaven!
I’m the worst at picking favorites!! But pumpkin ice cream with ginger snap crumble is high on the list 😍
I love chocolate chip cookie dough.
I’d love to use it to make hummus for the holidays.
Favorite ice cream gotta be cinnamon.
My favorite flavor Ice Cream is Vanilla. It is simple but delicious.
My favorite ice cream flavor is strawberry cheesecake!
My favorite ice cream is Passion Fruit Sorbet by Ben and Jerry’s. Sadly it is discontinued.
Meyer lemon ice cream is what started my own experiments in ice cream making. Other favorites are salted brown butter and earl grey/lavender with olive oil and sea salt.
Favorite is lavender honeycomb! So delicious!!! I’d make soup in the vitamix because it still blows my mind that a blender can heat up food!
The first time I visited Portland, I went to Salt & Straw and had their NW Wild Berry Pie ice cream and it was glorious.
I LOVE grapefruit ice cream. The first time I had it was in DC and it was amazing. So excited to try your version. I’d have to say grapefruit and pistachio (real pistachio not the neon green kind) are my two favorite ice cream flavors.
What a beautiful post, Betty! I’m one who can eat ice cream at any season, you’d be weird not to 🙂
My fav ice cream flavor is definitely stracciatella — I order this every singe time it’s available.
Ciao!
Did I mention gianduja or dulce de leche?
Gosh this recipe has me craving ice cream now. I am and will always be fond of raspberry ice cream. Where I use to live, there was this ice cream shoppe that had the best and smoothest raspberry ice cream. I frequently have dreams of it. Thank you for this great recipe! I hope to try it out soon. Best wishes!!!!
I like fudge brownie ice cream, closely followed by mint chocolate chip.
Pistachio is my favourite ice cream flavour
Coffee is my favorite flavor for ice cream.
Oh my that looks so delicious and look at how pretty the photos are! I am quite simple when it comes to flavors but when in season I love blood orange and if now strawberry is my go to. My birthday was yesterday so this would be perfect!
AHH VITAMIX!!! fave ice cream is mint choc chip hands down!!
As a kid, my favorite flavor was pistachio!
This local ice cream shop makes a goat cheese and red cherry ice cream that is divine!
Roasted chestnut ice cream is like nothing I’ve ever tasted, but I must say, this grapefruit combo sounds so intriguing!
I love chocolate!
Can’t go wrong with lemon custard.
I love coffee ice cream! And I’d definitely use this vitamix to make soup for the winter.
Oooh so dreamy! I would definitely utilize this baby to make seed and nut milks since I was advised by my naturopath to go that route and avoid cold dairy, especially this winter. I recently discovered organic California-grown macademia and would combine them with a few Brazil nuts (doctor’s orders!) to make a creamy treat- no straining! Just a thick warm base for herbs and spices for a morning tonic.
Favorite flavor. Yogurt!
I adore chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream! I would use this Vitamix for endless stores of homemade almond flour for frangipane tarts.
My favorite is makgeolli ice cream which is Korean rice wine!