Squarely at the top of the list, though, is this:

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Black raspberry chip has been my favorite ice cream flavor for as long as I can remember, but I have yet to find a passable version in NYC (sorry!) which means it was time to learn how to make my own.

A few weeks ago I set out on a mission to find fresh black raspberries, and after a few failed attempts, I finally found them at the Grand Army Plaza farmer’s market.

I must say: I am loath to share how much I spent on these. I knew it might be the only time I’d see them all summer and wasn’t sure how much I’d need for a single batch, let alone multiple recipe tests. So I panicked! Okay?! I’m not proud.

Either way, it was worth it. What followed might not be the absolute best black raspberry chip ice cream I’ve ever had (that title will always belong to Benson’s in Boxford, MA) but it more than filled the void, and I’ll be making this every summer from now on.

If you’ve ever made ice cream before, this is a pretty simple variation. It’s loosely adapted from Melissa Clark’s ice cream base and master flavor list – a great resource from the New York Times.

Before we jump in! This does require an ice cream maker – here’s the model I use. I bought it a few years ago from a woman in my neighborhood who listed it for $20 on Facebook Marketplace. This is the kind of thing I think is always worth trying to get secondhand. So often people buy an appliance like this and then realize they won’t use it often or just don’t have the space (guilty). If you can find something in good condition, it’s so much cheaper (and more sustainable) than buying brand new.

Now, without further ado:

Black Raspberry Chip Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 lb black raspberries, fresh or frozen

• Juice from half a lemon

• 16 oz heavy cream

• 4 oz whole milk

• 130 g sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 6 egg yolks

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 150 g dark or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

1. Make black raspberry puree.

   1. In a heavy-bottomed pot, set black raspberries over medium heat.

   2. Once berries just start to soften and release liquid, add lemon juice.

   3. Cook until mixture starts to bubble and berries can be easily broken apart by the back of your spoon. You’re going for a loose, jammy texture.

   4. Remove from heat and let cool for 5-7 minutes.

   5. Blend using an immersion blender or by (carefully!) transferring into a regular blender.

   6. Strain into a bowl using fine-mesh sieve and set aside while you make the ice cream base.

2. Make ice cream base.

   1. Whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl and set aside.

   2. Combine heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed pot.

   3. Cook, whisking occasionally, on medium heat until everything is melted and cohesive – about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.

   4. Pour about one-third of the cream mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks and whisk constantly until combined.

   5. Immediately add yolk/cream mixture back to original pot and cook gently on medium heat until it’s thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

      1. Be careful not to overcook, or the base will become eggy and you’ll need to start over.

   6. Strain into a large bowl using fine-mesh sieve and let cool to room temperature.

3. Add black raspberry puree and vanilla extract to ice cream base and whisk vigorously until combined. It should be a bright, vibrant purple.

4. Cover and chill for 6 hours or overnight.

5. Churn in an ice cream machine or attachment according to manufacturers’ instructions. You’ll know it’s just about done when it has a thick, soft-serve consistency.

6. Towards the very end of churning, add chocolate.

7. Cover and freeze ice cream for at least 4 hours before serving. (You can eat it immediately, of course, but for a firmer, more scoopable texture, it will need some time in the freezer.)

8. Enjoy :)

Notes

1. Finding black raspberries: Spoiler, it’s hard! They’re only harvested for a few weeks each summer (the exact timeframe depends on where you live) and aren’t something you typically see at a supermarket. You can buy them frozen online from farms like this one, though of course it’s pricey. The good news is that this recipe would work with raspberries, blackberries, or even a frozen berry blend.

2. Choosing your chocolate: Any kind of chocolate can be used here, but chunks > chips, in my opinion, and I wouldn’t go lower than 60% cacao. For this, I used a Valrhona 64% dark chocolate.

Until next time –

I hope you get to eat some black raspberry ice cream this week, homemade or not – you deserve it. Thank you, as always, for being here!

xo Ellie

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We wandered around Killarney National Park, watched dolphins race alongside our boat in Dingle Bay, and relaxed in the outdoor spa at Ballygarry Estate in Tralee.

Most of our time, though, was spent by the house we rented on the Iveragh Peninsula. We walked along the rocky beach and drank a lot of tea and watched the sun set at 11 pm.

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We passed horses and sheep during our 25 minute walks into Glenbeigh Village (population 426), which doesn’t have a lot of things but does have a bakery and a pub, which is kind of all a village needs.

And as I always do when I’m in Ireland, I ate as many scones as I possibly could.

On principle, I never say no to a scone. They can get a bad rap, especially the traditional kind you get in Ireland and the UK – crumbly and just a little sweet – but in my opinion it’s mostly undeserved. They can be dry, sure, but not if they’re fresh, and not if they’re covered in butter or jam or clotted cream, as they should be.

But I have to admit that my favorite scone of the trip wasn’t a traditional one at all – it was this little chocolate chip number from Bean in Dingle, a coffee shop we liked so much we went twice.

Crispy, full of chocolate, reminiscent of the ones I loved growing up. I knew I had to recreate it when I got home. As soon as I got over my jet lag, I did:

The resulting recipe includes some of my personal non-negotiables for homemade scones – grated butter, buttermilk, an egg wash before baking – but there’s lots of room for substitutions based on what you have on hand.

Obviously, the move is to find your way to Dingle to try the OG version (and get a scoop of ice cream from Murphy’s while you’re at it), but if that’s not something you can squeeze in last minute, this is for you.

Chocolate Chunk Scones

Ingredients

• 240 g all-purpose flour, plus extra for surface

• 70 g granulated sugar

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 stick (113g) butter

• 200 g dark chocolate

• 100 ml full-fat buttermilk, cold

• 1 whole egg + another for egg wash

• Optional: powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.

2. Grate the frozen butter (see notes).

3. Work the butter into the dry ingredients with clean hands until it looks like sand and only small clumps of butter remain. It should hold its shape when you squeeze it in your fist.

4. Add chocolate and mix.

5. Whisk buttermilk and one of the eggs in a small bowl or measuring cup.

6. Drizzle buttermilk and egg mixture over dry ingredients and mix with a fork until just combined. Don’t overmix; it should be shaggy and wet.

7. On a floured surface, lightly knead and form the dough into a ball before flattening into an 8 inch round.

   • This is meant to be a sticky dough, but if you’re having trouble working with it, you can always add a bit more flour to your hands and to the surface.

8. Cut into 8 equal triangles using a bench scraper or sharp knife.

9. Chill the scones for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

   • At this stage, you can also freeze them in an airtight container until you’re ready to bake – see make-ahead instructions below.

10. Preheat oven to 415° F and arrange scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

11. Make an egg wash with the second egg and brush onto scones.

12. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden, rotating tray halfway through to ensure even baking.

13. Let cool for 10 minutes and then dust with confectioners sugar.

Notes

• Prepping your butter: I freeze and grate the butter because I find it’s easiest to work into the dry ingredients that way. I use this box grater, but if you don’t own one, just cut your butter into very small cubes with a sharp knife and proceed with step 3.

• Managing temperature: It’s important to keep your ingredients cold throughout prep. If your kitchen gets as hot as mine does, you can toss the bowl in the fridge in between steps to prevent the butter and/or chocolate from melting.

• Making ahead: This is a great thing to prep ahead. I usually reserve and freeze a few unbaked ones from any batch I make so I can bake them off whenever I want.

  • Fridge: After step 8, cover and chill in the fridge for up to two days before baking. No need to add additional baking time.

  • Freezer: After step 8, pack scones in a single layer in a tightly sealed container (Ziplocs work well). These will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake straight from frozen but add a few minutes to bake time.

• Storing baked scones: Store any leftovers in a sealed container at room temperature. They will keep well for a day or two, but they’re really best the day they’re baked, hence the make-ahead instructions above.

• Substituting ingredients: This is a really flexible recipe – feel free to make any of the swaps below.

  • Buttermilk can be replaced with heavy cream or whole milk.

  • Dark chocolate can be replaced with any other kind of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Mini ones would be great.

  • Granulated sugar can be replaced with light brown sugar or a mix of both.

  • Egg wash can be replaced with heavy cream or skipped entirely.

Until next time –

Thank you for indulging my love of scones and of the west coast of Ireland, which is truly a very special place. If you have plans to visit County Kerry, let me know and I can share a few more of our favorites from this trip.

As a little parting gift, I’ll leave you with some of the other scones I ate last week. I miss them.

xo Ellie

But there’s one thing that never leaves my rotation, so when it came time to decide what to share first on here, I knew it was the only option.

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This tangy, velvety passionfruit curd has made its way into more of my cakes than I can count, and I don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon! It’s punchy and a little unexpected, the perfect way to balance out heavier flavors.

I didn’t invent passionfruit curd and won’t claim to have perfected it, but this recipe never fails me. The best part is that it’s actually quite simple to make – here’s how :)

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks + 1 whole egg

• 200 g sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 150 mL unsweetened passionfruit pulp (see Recipe Notes)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed

Instructions

Note on method: I always use direct heat when making a fruit curd, which is reflected in the instructions below. For a gentler, more foolproof cooking process, you can DIY a double boiler – just expect a few more minutes of cook time.

• Beat egg yolks + whole egg in a medium heavy-bottomed pot.

• Whisk in sugar and salt.

• Whisk in passionfruit pulp.

• Set pot over low-medium heat and whisk constantly until mixture thickens and just starts to bubble – about 8-10 minutes.

  • The curd is done when it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and holds a clean line if you swipe your finger through it.

• Remove from heat and immediately add butter in two additions, whisking until fully incorporated.

• Strain curd into a shallow bowl using a fine-mesh sieve.

  • It will look looser than you might expect coming off the heat, but the curd will thicken up as it chills!

• Let cool for at least 10 minutes before covering with cling film, pressing directly to the surface to prevent the curd from forming a skin.

• Chill for a few hours (ideally overnight).

• Remove cling film and give the curd a good stir before transferring to a jar or other airtight container.

Recipe notes

• Finding passionfruit pulp: While this recipe works with fresh passionfruit pulp, I prefer using frozen. It’s easier, more consistent, and much more affordable. If you live near a Latin grocery store, that’s the best place to find it. El Sembrador and Goya are both good brands for this.

  • If you choose to buy frozen like I do, melt it to liquid and let it come to room temp before starting this recipe.

• Choosing the right pot: Use a heavy-bottomed and non-reactive pot, like this stainless steel one. Since passionfruit is so acidic, something like aluminium or copper can leave a slightly metallic taste.

• Avoid overcooking: Be diligent with whisking, even if (when) your wrist starts to get sore. Otherwise you risk scrambling the eggs and will have to start over.

  • If the mixture hasn’t noticeably thickened after 10 minutes, you can turn up the heat a bit – but pay close attention, it’ll happen fast!

• Making ahead: If you plan to use this in a cake, it’s best to make the curd the day or night before.

  • Curd will keep, tightly sealed, for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

  • It also freezes very well. Just thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours before using.

How to use passionfruit curd

This recipe makes enough to (generously) fill a 3-layer 8” cake, which is great, because that’s my favorite way to consume it: sandwiched between layers of funfetti and salted vanilla bean buttercream, ideally on my birthday.

Other uses:

• Mixed into yogurt

• Layered on a pavlova with chantilly cream

• Drizzled on top of ice cream

• Swirled into a cheesecake batter

• Slathered on a biscuit or scone

…Basically, anything you might do with a jam. Go crazy!

Last week I added some to these mini chocolate olive oil cakes along with a cream cheese mousse.

Until next time –

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I do, and thank you for being here!

I’d love for you to stick around for more staple recipes, love letters to cake, and everything in between.

xo Ellie

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You might know me from TikTok as @alittlekneady, or because you’ve ordered a cake from me, or (most likely) from real life. Hi!

I’ve been posting baking content for a few years now, but despite how many times someone has commented “recipe???” on one of my videos, I’ve never shared a written recipe online. (I’ve never shared a written anything online.)

The reasons for this are a little unclear. It could have been the slight but inherent unease I’ve always felt about posting content publicly, or because I told myself I didn’t have the time.

If I’m being honest, though, I think it was mostly that I wasn’t sure I had anything worth sharing: anything to say about baking that hadn’t already been said a million times over, any recipes that were battle-tested or interesting enough to earn someone’s time, let alone their butter and eggs.

But now – 6 years after creating @alittlekneady, 5 years after going viral for leaving my job and flying to Scotland to go to pastry school, 4 years after I started taking cake orders out of my home kitchen, and half a year after trading my 9-5 for freelance gigs – I’ve mostly run out of excuses.

I have years of recipes and tips and opinions and recommendations, and they need somewhere to live.

So I will push through my internet-shyness for the sake of the people in my life who are sick of receiving them in the form of long voice memos and typo-ridden screenshots of my Notes app. Truthfully I know it will also benefit the recipes themselves. Nebulous steps like “add some salt” and “mix it until it looks right” have no place here.

Now, a disclaimer. To be a professional recipe developer is to be 50% scientist and 50% saint. I am neither of those things, so for every recipe I share, you can expect even more general baking tips, the best things I’ve been eating and exploring, and a rant every once in a while (scones aren’t bad, you just haven’t had a good one yet.)

Thank you for reading this, and, in turn, helping me become the person I have always dreamed of being: someone who replies “link in bio!” in her own comment section. God knows if the world needs anything, it’s another one of those.

I’m really so grateful you’re here and hope you’ll stick around by subscribing. It’s free. Tell your friends!

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Stay tuned for a recipe in the next few days :)

xo Ellie