Ice Cream--Simply Delicious as a Plain or Fancy Warm-Weather Treat : Variations From Berries to Chocolate Cherry

Warm summer weather and cooling ice cream make a great party combination. Simply scooped onto cones or combined with other ingredients for more elaborate desserts, ice cream will find favor with guests of all ages.

Crushed Italian biscotti cookies, coffee ice cream and sliced peaches flavored with almond liqueur can be combined in dessert dishes or layered into parfait glasses in minutes. Another advantage, Biscotti Latte Parfaits and the other recipes included here can be prepared ahead of time.

More complicated, but certainly worth the effort, French Frozen Berry Cream has a ribbon of berry cream layered between extra rich vanilla ice cream. Strawberries, raspberries or blackberries may be used in the dessert, as well as in the French Berry Sauce that is spooned over each serving.

For True Purists

A chocolate cookie crust, chocolate ice cream filling and coffee-chocolate sauce make Chocolate-Cherry Torte a chocoholics’ dream. True purists can even substitute chocolate chip ice cream for the cherry vanilla called for in this recipe.

Lemon Praline Ice Cream Pie adds a sweet, nutty praline crunch to lemon ice cream. Sweet bits of the praline are blended into the lemon custard ice cream filling, which is mounded into a pie crust made from shortbread cookies.

BISCOTTI LATTE PARFAITS

1 quart coffee ice cream

1 (8-ounce) package biscotti cookies

4 medium peaches, sliced

2 tablespoons sugar, optional

3 tablespoons almond liqueur, optional

Allow ice cream to soften slightly. Crush half of cookies into small pieces. Toss peach slices with sugar, then liqueur.

Layer crushed cookies, peach slices and ice cream in 4 to 6 dessert dishes or parfait glasses. Freeze until serving time. Serve with remaining biscotti cookies. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

FRENCH FROZEN BERRY CREAM

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract or 1 tablespoon almond liqueur

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

1 basket strawberries, raspberries or blackberries

French Berry Sauce

Add almond extract to whipping cream. Whip until stiff. Place 1/3 of mixture in small bowl and refrigerate. Fold remaining whipped cream into ice cream. Spoon half of ice cream mixture into 2-quart souffle dish. Freeze souffle dish and remaining ice cream.

Puree berries. Combine with reserved whipped cream. Spoon over ice cream layer and return to freezer.

Slightly soften remaining ice cream. Spoon over berry layer and freeze until firm. Serve with French Berry Sauce. Makes 8 servings.

French Berry Sauce

1 basket strawberries, raspberries or blackberries

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons raspberry or blackberry liqueur

Puree berries, sugar and liqueur. Strain, if desired.

CHOCOLATE-CHERRY TORTE

1 (16-ounce) package chocolate cream sandwich cookies

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 quart chocolate ice cream, slightly softened

1 quart cherry vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

Coffee-Chocolate Sauce

Crush cookies into crumbs. Mix in butter and cinnamon. Press half of mixture into 9-inch spring form pan. Spoon chocolate ice cream over crust and freeze until firm.

Layer cherry vanilla ice cream over chocolate ice cream and top with remaining cookie crumbs. Return to freezer until firm. Cut into wedges and serve with Coffee-Chocolate Sauce. Makes 12 servings.

Note: Strawberry vanilla, strawberry or cherry marble, raspberry vanilla or chocolate chip ice cream may be substituted for cherry vanilla.

Coffee-Chocolate Sauce

4 ounces semisweet chocolate

3/4 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

Cut chocolate into pieces. Combine with whipping cream and liqueur and stir over low heat until chocolate is melted and sauce thickens slightly.

LEMON PRALINE ICE CREAM PIE

1 (12-ounce) package shortbread cookies

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 gallon lemon custard ice cream, slightly softened

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Butter

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

3/4 cup almonds

Crush half of cookies. Combine with melted butter and press onto bottom of 9-inch pie plate. Stand remaining cookies around edge.

Combine ice cream and lemon zest. Spoon half over crust. Freeze. Reserve remaining ice cream in freezer.

Butter baking sheet and set aside. Combine sugar and water in heavy saucepan. Simmer, without stirring, to hard crack stage (300 degrees on candy thermometer) or until drop of syrup solidifies immediately when dropped in cold water.

Add almonds. Pour onto prepared pan. Let stand until hard.

Crush praline with rolling pin. Reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons. Sprinkle remaining over lemon ice cream layer. Top with remaining ice cream and garnish with reserved praline. Freeze.

Remove from freezer 10 minutes before cutting. Makes 8 servings.

Note: Vanilla ice cream and 2 tablespoons lemon zest may be substituted for lemon custard ice cream and 1 tablespoon lemon zest.