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"When life gives you graham crackers" by Kimi Nettuno (CatholicMom.com) Copyright 2018 Kimi Nettuno. All rights reserved.[/caption] We all have those lingering graham crackers from the family campfire, spontaneous craft project, or forgotten kiddo lunchbox addition, so what to do? Make Citrus Marscarpone Cake with Cinnamon-Graham Gelato, of course!

Citrus Mascarpone Cake with Cinnamon-Graham Gelato

For the Cake

Ingredients:
For the Base:
55 g butter - melted
100 g cinnamon graham crackers
1/2 Tbsp raw turbinado sugar
For the cake:
1 navel orange
1 lemon
1 lb (450 g) mascarpone cheese
125 g sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 medium-sized farm eggs + 1 yolk
100 g plain Greek-style yogurt
For the Topping:
75 g plain Greek-style yogurt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp lemon/orange juice
Procedure:
For the Base:
 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of a 7 1/2 inch clip-sided pan with nonstick parchment or wax paper.
 2. In a food processor, pulse butter, graham crackers, and sugar until crumbly.
 3. Spoon into the clip-pan and press down to form an even, thin layer across the bottom of the pan.
 4. Bake in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes.
 5. Remove and allow to cool while you prepare the cake.
For the Cake:
 1. Increase oven to 450 F. When clip-pan is cool enough, butter the sides.
 2. Zest the lemon and orange. Set aside.  Juice the fruit and set aside separately from the zest.
 3. In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, Beat the mascarpone cheese until creamy. This process should take about a minute.
 4. Beat in the sugar, cornstarch, 1/2 of the zest, and 1/2 of the juice, followed by the eggs, one at a time, and finally the yolk.
 5. Stir in the yogurt.
 6. Pour the cake mixture into the buttered clip-pan and bake for 8 - 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 250 F and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. The edges will be set, but the center will still jiggle when you shake the pan.
 7. Lower the oven to between 150 - 200 F. If your oven will not go this low, turn it off and leave the door slightly ajar. Leave the cake in the oven for 1 hour to set completely.
For the Topping:
 1. Mix the yogurt with the sugar and juice.
 2. Spread evenly over the top of the cake.
 3. Sprinkle the remaining zest over the cake.
 4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

For the Gelato

Ingredients:
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 large-sized farm egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1 generous Tbsp cinnamon
1 cup of crumbled cinnamon graham crackers
Procedure:
 1. Combine the almond milk and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.
 2. The milk mixture needs to be checked with a thermometer and stirred occasionally until it reaches 170 F.
 3. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolk and the sugar vigorously with a whisk until thick and pale yellow.
 4. When the milk has reached temperature, begin to temper the egg mixture by adding small amounts of milk to the mixture and whisking after each addition. Continue this process until all milk is incorporated.
 5. Pour the tempered mixture back into the saucepan and continue cooking over low heat, frequently stirring with a wooden spoon.
 6. Continue heating until the mixture reaches 185 F. DO NOT BOIL.
 7. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean ceramic bowl and let cool to room temperature, frequently stirring while cooling.
 8. Once cooled, cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours.
 9. Remove mixture from refrigerator and add 1/2 to a blender with the cinnamon. Pulse into well-incorporated.
10. Add remaining mixture and pulse again until uniform in color.
11. Pour into ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer directions.
12. 5 minutes before freezing cycle is complete, add cinnamon graham crackers to the ice-cream maker.
13. Serve immediately alongside cake or freeze until ready to eat.
Enjoy!

Copyright 2018 Kimi Nettuno