I don't encourage you to skip past any of the articles in Lucky Peach's most recent pho-themed issue. BUT before you spend time with the long reads, flip to the back of the magazine and gawk at the recipe for Nicole Rucker's Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream Pie.
You plop no-churn condensed milk ice cream, swirled with Vietnamese coffee powder, into a baked and cooled crust of espresso-flavored crushed cookies. Then, you freeze the pie for 6 hours. Then—as with many ice cream pies and frozen desserts—you struggle to slice it, anxious to cut it up before it melts, but struggling to force your knife through a veritable ice cube.
But wait! Lucky for the integrity of your dessert, Nicole offers a tip: "When you're ready to serve, soak a kitchen towel in very hot water and then unfold the towel so it lays flat. Place the pie on top of the towel—this prevents it from slipping and also releases the pie from the bottom of the frozen pie plate. Slice the pie with a hot, wet knife."
See, you don't have to throw in the towel (you just have to soak it—har, har, har...).
You'll have to get your own copy of Lucky Peach for Nicole's recipe, but here are a few other, just-as-tasty frozen desserts you could apply her smart tip to:
Do you have a tip for slicing cold desserts? Tell us in the comments!
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