Kieranm

There's a nice one in the Milltown church in Milltown, Co. Kerry, that's open most days. Also, Clodagh McKenna just published a book The Irish Farmers' Market Cookbook that should interest anyone interested in this thread...

I agree with first post. Sant Eustachio in Rome has my vote. One thing I'm noticing in Europe is that the taste of coffee is declining as the presentation improves. Baristas, I think, are burning the coffee in attempts to get the perfect crema...

Thanks, guys! We've been killed for Easter but I look forward to trying some of this as things become a bit quieter!

If you're serious about making ice cream commercially, the Penn State ice cream course is helpful although mostly geared to large scale production. Still, there is much that can be learned there. If you're going commercial, I would suggest working with a stabiliser whatever kind of ice cream you're making. It helps with the shelf life. There's lots of information out there, but what you really need to figure out is what your market is and what kind of ice cream you're going to be making. There's no point making superpremium ice cream if you plan on only charging a small amount for it. You'll never make it pay. Anyway, once you have that figured out, you can start making small batches and figure out what you like best... Gelato is possibly something to look into since you save a fortune on cream...

As pointed out before pasteurisation involves both a temperature and time element. In other words, you have to hold whatever it is you're treating at a certain temperature for a certain length of time. The higher the temperature, the shorter the time needed. I guess the standards vary somewhat across different countries but if you're pasteurising at a low temperature (which you need to do with eggs or they will scramble) the standard we work with here is 65C (149F) for 30 mins. However, that's the commercial end. When I'm tucking into chocolate mousse at home, I wouldn't dream of heating the egg whites! I get fresh eggs off a local farm, whip it up, and tuck in...

Thanks so much Wendy for all your suggestions. Lots of ideas there. I do make fudge from time to time. I like the simple tasty things! And I guess I'm going to have to go making nanaimo! Never heard of it, but that is a tempting recipe all right! I haven't seen graham crackers around this part of Ireland, but will have to try to lay my hands on some. If not, is there a substitute I can use?

Thanks again, everybody! We always have sixteen flavours in each shop - the usual: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry - the popular: cookies, Baileys, caramel, mint, coffee/kahlua - sorbets: raspberry and a second which could be mango, peach/passionfruit, lemon-lime, guinness/black current etc. - The unusual: green tea/ginger, goats cheese/caramelised fig, honey/lavender, chocolate/chilli pepper, etc. It's an upscale shop and our ice cream is very expensive. Both, ideally. Scones are out because it tends to bring in the wrong type of clientele (the type who arrive on a tour bus, bring their own tea bag, pick out the currants, and complain bitterly about the price). Muffins, I think the same... It's a weird balance we need between accessible and haute... Good idea. They are tasty as well. Still, I think having the pastry separate allows customer to pair with ice cream or not depending on their whims...

Thanks for suggestions and threads! Single serving desserts like mini pies, flans, etc. (except the cookies and brownies) have never worked that well for us for some reason. I don't know why. Crepes work well but are too labour intensive at the prep stage. Biscotti certainly are an interesting idea. Can anyone point me to a good recipe?

We are looking for suggestions for other sweet treats to serve in an ice cream shop/café. We make a range of cakes in addition to the ice cream but are looking for smaller, more nibble-like options. Chocolate chip cookies and brownies have worked well for us, and we are having trouble thinking up other options that have as wide an appeal and a decent shelf life (at least a couple of days, so no fresh cream!). Your input would be most appreciated!

Definitely would be a cool thing to do. I went to a chocolate course at Valrhona and that was a big issue with most of the chefs along, even when they understood it there are still lots of questions/issues. I certainly would be happy for such a demo!

I can attest to that. We make a white chocolate and rosewater ice cream that goes down a treat with our customers. I'm back from Morocco recently, and there's lots of rose in pastry there - some really good, some really awful...

Very cool thread to get the brain going. Just found it, so talk about late to the party! Anyway, as to the above we have done caramalised fig and goats cheese. Very good. You have listed so many good ones. Here's a few I missed: White chocolate and rosewater Ginger and rosemary Passionfruit and peach Mango and jalapeno Marsala wine with just about anything

Very cool, everybody. Definitely some inspiration to start working with the stuff. Thanks!

Good to be here. I hope that I'm not the only one holding up this side of the country...

Annascaul black pudding is good indeed. Don't forget the chocolates - Skelligs Chocolates and Cocoa Bean are worth a nibble and are very popular with our customers. Wicklow Fine Foods do some good biscuits and sauces.