Recipe of the week: Simple desserts: Cheesecake vs. ice cream

Dessert recipes don’t get much simpler than my no-tech ice cream, said Harold McGee in The New York Times. My method uses the flexibility of a plastic bag to expose as much of the mix as possible to the surrounding cold. The key is to use salted ice, thereby steeply lowering the freezing point of the water. The result is an ice cream with “a smoother texture than you usually get in unstirred ice cream”—all in less than an hour, and without any special apparatus.

Recipes of the week

Ice Cream in a Bag

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3 to 4 lbs ice (10 cups or more)

½ cup table salt or 1 cup kosher salt, plus a pinch

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

Pour ice into large glass or plastic bowl, cover with salt, and stir. In a bowl, mix milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt until sugar dissolves. Pour into sealable 1-gallon freezer bag, push out as much air as possible, and seal.

Place wide plastic bowl with lid (such as a salad-spinner bowl) on kitchen towel. Fill bowl with about half the ice. Lay freezer bag on ice and flatten with hand. Dump rest of ice, along with any melted water, on top of bag, leaving zipper edge exposed. Place lid on bowl. Let rest for 15 minutes, shaking once or twice to redistribute ice and brine.

Pour about half the ice and brine into another bowl. Lift bag out by zipper edge, and lay it on towel. (Avoid touching ice or brine, which are cold enough to cause frostbite.) Cover hands with another towel, gently knead frozen areas for about a minute to mix with liquid.

Return freezer bag to bowl, laying it flat on ice. Cover with reserved ice and brine. Put lid on bowl, freeze as above for another 15 minutes. Remove bag and carefully towel off brine. Serve ice cream, or keep bag in freezer until ready to serve. Yield: 1 pint.

No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

This no-bake cheesecake recipe may be even easier to make, said Mark Bittman, also in The New York Times. At least, “I think it qualifies as a cheesecake.” After all, it uses a traditional graham cracker crust, the filling is deliciously creamy, and after chilling, the entire confection becomes sturdy enough “to sit up straight on a plate.” Add fresh blueberries and this quick dessert looks even more “like the ‘real’ thing.”

16 graham cracker squares (8 whole crackers), crushed

¼ cup ground pecans or walnuts, optional

3 tbsp melted butter

One 8-oz package cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 tbsp honey, or to taste

Rind of a lemon, freshly grated

Pinch salt

About 1½ cups blueberries

Combine crushed graham crackers, nuts if using, and melted butter. Press evenly into bottom of 8- or 9-inch square pan to form crust about ¼-inch thick. Put in refrigerator until ready to use. Using a standing or hand mixer, or a whisk, combine cream cheese, ricotta, honey, lemon rind, and salt. Blend until smooth. Spread cheese mixture carefully and evenly over crust, using spatula or butter knife to smooth top. Cover with fresh blueberries; chill at least an hour, or until set. Cut into squares or bars to serve. Serves 8 to 12.