Frozen Creole Cream Cheese
- 2 1/4 cups Creole cream cheese, recipe follows
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur
- 1/2 cup fig preserves
- 1 gallon skim milk, at room temperature (between 70 and 80 degrees F)
- 1/2 cup cultured buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon rennet (6 to 8 drops)
- 6 to 7 cream cheese molds (2 cups each)
- Cheesecloth
- Into a large bowl, force the cream cheese through a strainer to eliminate any large curds.
- Add the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of the orange liqueur remaining ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar.
- Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- (Note that the mixture will not freeze like ice cream, but instead will have a lighter, more slushy consistency.
- Don't worry, it will set up after some time in the freezer.)
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the fig preserves with the remaining 3 tablespoons of orange liqueur.
- When the cream cheese mixture is slushy and somewhat firmed, pour into a large plastic container or metal bowl.
- Add the fig mixture, and fold to create swirls but not completely incorporate.
- Cover tightly and place in the freezer at least 2 hours before serving.
- In a large enameled saucepan, glass, or plastic bowl, combine milk, buttermilk, and rennet and stir constantly for one minute.
- Cover the container with plastic wrap or cheesecloth and allow to stand at room temperature (between 70 and 80 degrees F) for 16 to 24 hours.
- Do not stir again, or you will break the curds.
- The longer the mixture sits, the firmer the cheese will be.
- Carefully ladle the curds into cheese molds lined with cheesecloth.
- (These could be plastic containers with holes punched in the sides and bottoms if you have no cheese molds.)
- Place molds inside a baking pan to catch the excess whey that will drain off of the cheeses.
- Place molds in the refrigerator for at least 6 to 8 hours, longer is fine (cheese will become firmer as more liquid drains).
- The cheese is now ready to eat and will keep, refrigerated, for at least two weeks.
- Yield: 6 containers cream cheese, about 1 1/2 cups each
cream cheese, milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, orangeflavored liqueur, preserves, milk, buttermilk, rennet, cream cheese molds, cheesecloth
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/frozen-creole-cream-cheese-recipe.html (may not work)