We all scream for ice cream!

Summer is here, and with it comes the joys of eating ice cream . . . in all its forms! There’s 1,001 ways to enjoy refreshing summer treats: ice cream, sorbets, sandwiches, pops, and frozen yogurts, not to mention chilled summer fruit. Yum!

Ice cream

Traditional ice cream contains whole milk (3.25%), cream, sugar, and natural aromas. The mixture is churned before freezing, preventing the formation of crystals and resulting in a rich, creamy treat. And the more fat the ice cream contains, the fewer crystals there are! Chocolate and vanilla are classics, of course, but there are so many varieties out there.

Laiterie Chagnon has a new take on the ever-popular Neapolitan ice cream, making it with fresh cream to turn it into Neapolicream. Theirs comes in the classic strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate combo, but they also offer another delicious trio: cherry, vanilla, and pistachio! Finger biscuits are the perfect accompaniment for a three-coloured slice of this ice cream!

Ice cream desserts

So easy to make, and they look great! Bring out your inner pastry chef and make Stefano Faita’s Chocolate Baked Alaska, great for any celebration and sure to please and impress everyone!

These blueberry and almond sundaes are also easy to make and absolutely delicious. The combination of blueberries, vanilla, and almonds is just scrumptious!

Or, you can take it up a notch and make a decadent S’mores-style ice cream cake. With Graham cookies, chocolate chips, fudge, and mini marshmallows, it’s bursting with flavour!

Sorbets

Did you know that sorbets originated from Ancient Persia, where they would make drinks by mixing juice with fruit? The actual sorbet, or sorbetto, was developed in Italy. This palate cleanser does not contain any cream or egg yoke, but it can have egg white meringue and, sometimes, even milk. Sorbets can also be made from wine, liqueur, alcohol, or herbal tea. If the mixture takes on a granulated consistency once frozen, it then becomes a granita.

Sorbet is not as rich as ice cream, but it can be sweeter, and it likes fruit. You can buy smooth, tasty sorbets from Quebec, like those by Fontaine Santé and Solo fruit, at IGA. These quality desserts are very tasty—perfect to end your meal on a high note!

Sorbet for dessert!

There’s nothing like a homemade sorbet to impress your guests—especially this raspberry sorbet.

You can also try this more refined berry and red wine sorbet—the perfect ending to a hearty meal. You can replace the red wine with orange juice—the kids will love it too!

Ice pops

The easiest frozen treat, everyone remembers having ice pops as a child. In ice pops, everything goes: fruit, yogurt, juice. Plus, you can make them in a variety of shapes and colours! Super healthy, they can be made from water or juice, or for a more decadent option, with cream and whole milk, coated in caramel or chocolate!

Treat yourself to fruity rainbow ice pops, a unique recipe that will turn snack time into tropical time. And here is a classic watermelon-mint ice pops recipe that’s both refreshing and thirst-quenching. These easy-to-make snacks are sure to please young and old alike!

Frozen yogurt

If you’re trying to make healthier choices, try frozen yogurt, which contains less fat than ice cream. However, you should know that it offers less calcium and protein, and contains more sugar than its non-frozen counterpart. Froyo comes in every flavour you can think of. Indulge in Laiterie Chagnon’s vanilla, Mokaccino, apple pear cranberry, black cherry, or field blueberry varieties. They’re so good, you’ll want to eat them right out of the tub! But you can also serve them in bowls, with fresh fruit and a few mint leaves (for fruity flavours), or with a chocolate coulis (for vanilla and coffee flavours).

Ice cream sandwiches

In North America, ice cream sandwiches bring back fond childhood memories: a thick layer of ice cream between two cookies, to be enjoyed in a few bites! For an original snack, create your own take of the ice cream sandwich. Take two Dulce Leche cookies by Chocolat Favoris and add a layer of Laiterie Chagnon vanilla ice cream between them. You can also try Laiterie Chagnon’s brand new ice cream sandwiches: thick and round, these new desserts come in strawberry, chocolate, or vanilla flavour, and they’re sure to take you way back!

How to turn fruit into frozen treats

Berries

Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries . . . all berries can easily be turned into sorbets. As a frozen coulis, berries turn into granita, making for a delicious ice cream topping.

Here’s an easy homemade coulis recipe:

Carefully mix frozen or fresh fruit with a little icing sugar, a little water, and some lemon juice.
Strain and store in the fridge or freezer.

Freeze your coulis in ice trays to use them as ice cubes for cocktails, sangrias, and other summer drinks!

Pitted fruit

Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, and cherries are sure to brighten up your summer. To turn them into frozen treats, it’s best to choose very ripe fruit that have had time to develop all their aromas.

Fruits also play a part in concocting desserts where assembling flavours means finding a nice balance, like these vanilla ice cream cups with peaches, nuts, and white chocolate, a recipe by Trois Fois par jour. You can also puree the fruit and create a sorbet, like this oh-so-refreshing mango-lemon minute sorbet.