When it comes to ice cream, I used to think that it should be all chocolate, all the time. I even joked that dessert wasn’t allowed to call itself dessert if it didn’t have chocolate. Now that I am older and don’t expect dessert after each meal, I don’t believe that as strongly – EXCEPT when it comes to ice cream.

Now that I think about it, in addition to chocolate, I love sprinkles, hot fudge, almonds, and some cookie dough. But eating ice cream outside during a hot summer afternoon means that my ice cream sundae will melt before I can even take a picture. Which means I have to try something else.  

Clover Sonoma Ice Cream + Birthday Presents = Summer Fun

When Clover Sonoma connected with me to create a summertime recipe with thier new-ish line of Clover Sonoma Ice Cream –  made from fresh milk and cream and blended with rich egg yolks to provide the perfect creamy texture – I jumped at the chance to try to think outside the carton (sorry for the bad food pun).

The Sonoma County family-owned brand has been around for over 100 years, but their line of Clover Sonoma Ice Cream (which has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives) was introduced when I was pregnant with Ryeson back in 2015. I remember trying a bite of their limited release (alcohol-free) craft beer ice cream they did in partnership with the Bear Republic and absolutely loved the subtle hop flavor.

For my husband’s birthday, I got him a wood (and propane) fire pizza oven for the backyard (it’s called Roccbox and it is AMAZING), so we wanted to invite friends over for a backyard BBQ to be our guinea pigs for a few dessert recipes with the oven and Clover Sonoma Ice Cream.

My husband’s first thought was to make some sort of dessert pizza, like a giant chocolate chip cookie, baked in the wood fired oven, topped with some chocolate peanut butter ice cream. I knew I wanted to try an adult version of an ice cream float, with a chocolatey porter beer and a scoop of sweet cream ice cream. While visiting the grocery store we saw that white peaches were in season.… Since Clover Sonoma Ice Cream has 11 different flavors to choose from, we decided to try out three different recipes, and the desserts were huge hits with both the adults and the kids.

Craft Beer Floats

As a kid, one of my favorite summertime treats were root beer floats. As an adult, I now know that craft beer and ice cream is even better (and more fun). Although, you have to know which beers pair best with ice cream. The potential for matching flavors like chocolate, malt, and coffee with sweet desserts can be delicious.

There are a few rules when it comes to craft beer pairings in general:

1. Match intensity; if you have an intense flavor profile beer (usually higher alcohol content), than some people believe you cannot have a wimpy dessert. Go for full flavor on both sides and they will balance each other.

2. Or… test out contrasting flavors to see what you like.

3. Eating is about texture also. If you’re making a craft beer float, don’t use ice cream with chunks.  

4. At the end of the day - do your homework and pair different craft beers and desserts together to see what YOU like. Remember, food is such a personal thing. If you like something and no one else does, that doesn’t make you wrong!

Porter Beer Float with Sweet Cream Ice Cream

You will need:

• Pint glass or craft beer tulip glass
• Ice Cream Scoop

Ingredients:

• 1 pint of Barrel Brothers Porter or Sonoma Springs Cookies & Cream Ale
• 1 sco op of Clover Sonoma Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream or Sweet Cream Ice Cream

Directions:

1. Pour your beer into a cold pint glass.
2. One scoop of ice cream (pro tip: try two scoops if you really love ice cream)
3. Be prepared for the beer to fizz up.
4. Grab a straw or a spoon and enjoy!

Dessert Pizza in the Wood Fired Oven

My husband has been a home brewer for most of his adult life, but once we had Ryeson, he needed to find a new hobby. Spending hours and hours and hours in the garage over the weekend didn’t work with the new baby’s schedule. So, Jeff turned to baking as a way to still geek out over making something with his hands, and, trust me… I am LOVING the outcome of his baking projects.

After watching the first episode of Ugly Delicious, in which David Chang goes to Brooklyn to see how Neapolitan Pizza was made, Jeff decided that he needed to perfect his pizza dough making skills. He turned to Alton Brown, his baking mentor, and found The Only Pizza Dough Recipe You Need. We tried the recipe for dessert pizza 3 different times! The first - in the pizza oven outside, but the marshmallows instantly caught on fire and entire pizza went up in flames. The second time we tried it in the kitchen oven with a super thin layer of all the toppings, and baked on low heat for longer but it never really melted the flavors together (kinda like having a cold s’more). The third time we tried it back out in the pizza oven at a lower flame and it charred JUST ENOUGH to remind me of a true s’more that you eat while camping. With a toasty marshmallow flavor, I knew that we needed Sweet Cream Ice Cream to pair with it vs. a heavier Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream. So, just like an apple pie, we added a scoop of ice cream to the side of our slice of pizza.

S'mores Pizza with a Side of Ice Cream

You will need:

• Large surface or wooden cutting board to flatten out dough
• Pizza Stone for baking in oven or on the grill (we bought our 13 inch pizza stone on Amazon)
• Pizza cutter or large knife

Ingredients:

• 1 ball of Pizza Dough (via Alton Brown, or your local organic grocery store)
• Flour
• Hazelnut spread
• Small marshmallows
• Nuts or other favorite toppings like crumbled graham crackers (optional, but yummy)
• 1 scoop of Clover Sonoma Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Directions:

1. If you are taking the pizza dough out of the freezer, or making it from scratch - make sure to let it sit for 24 hours to let the dough rise.
2. Flatten dough out with your hands to make one pizza that fits on a pizza stone. Use lots of flour on the bottom.
3. Transfer the dough to a pizza stone, spread a thin layer of your favorite hazelnut or chocolate spread.
4. Add a small amount of your favorite toppings like marshmallows, nuts and/or graham crackers.
5. Bake on medium heat for 8 minutes (don’t let the marshmallows burn too much) - this step is dependent on which oven you use, so practice what works for you!
6. Add one scoop of ice cream to the top and serve!

Stone Fruit, White Wine and Ice Cream

One of my favorite desserts (now that I am an adult) during the summer is grilled peaches and white wine, like a Red Car Chardonnay. The dessert is super simple to make, healthier than the other desserts above, and pretty impressive to guests. If I do say so myself...

Grilled Peaches with Sweet Cream Ice Cream and Honey

You will need: 

• Grill pan, backyard BBQ or a griddle (some of my favorite grills are cast iron grills from Target)
• Tongs
• Sharp knife

Ingredients:

• Butter (or olive oil)
• 3 Peaches, cut in half
• Honey
• Nuts (optional)
• 1 scoop of Clover Sonoma Sweet Cream Ice Cream

Directions:

1. Heat grill to medium heat.
2. Cut peaches in half and and spread a thin layer of butter or olive oil to both sides.
3. Slowly grill peaches for 4-5 minutes, starting with cut side down until they have those beautiful grill marks.
4. Turnover and grill the skin for two minutes longer.
5. Place grilled peaches on a serving tray.
6. Add a drizzle of honey and sprinkle walnuts for some texture.
7. Add scoops of ice crea m and serve right away!

No matter what recipe or flavors of Clover Sonoma Ice Cream you try, these desserts are best paired with good friends on a hot summer day. Enjoy! This blog post is sponsored by Clover Sonoma, but the recipes, pictures and ideas are mine.

xo,

Shana