Category Archives: Cakes

Classic Ice Cream Cake + 5 Ice Cream Cake Links

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cic0028I turned 36 last week and suddenly it feels like I am on a fast train to 40. One of my best friends called to wish me a happy birthday and said “I can’t believe we are 36.” I hear ya, Bethie. Didn’t we just turn 30? Part of me would love to be 30 again; mainly because I looked a hell of a lot less tired. At this point, my exhaustion feels like a chronic illness. My 36-year-old self has dark circles under the eyes which, luckily, a good Laura Mercier concealer hides. Each baby has left their mark on my body. C-spider veins. G-bulging belly button. N- thinning hair, and I’m anticipating breasts that point due south once I stop nursing. My stomach and butt are less taut than they were six years ago despite running religiously several times a week and eating quinoa. (Thanks for nothing super grain! Somehow, I thought eating gobs of quinoa and kale would make my ass tighter. No such luck!) Despite my physical changes over the last six years, I’m much happier in my skin today. I get know myself a little more every year. I have things to work on, things that will never change and I ok with it.

On my 36th birthday we went to the beach; me, Bubba and the kids. We played in the water and we looked for treasures. I left them at the shore and took a swim in the ocean and it felt so good, 62 degrees good.  I swam to the sand bar that had formed and stood up. I took a big, deep breath of the salty, warm air and stared out at the horizon for a minute. I always think at moments like this, alone, staring out at the ocean, I’ll have sort of epiphany about life, but I never do. I turned back to see my sweet family waving from the shoreline, calling me back. I swam back feeling exhilarated from the freezing, take your breath away, cold water. We left the beach tired and happy. Bubba made fish tacos for dinner and they were awesome! He offered to make me a cake, but I insisted it wasn’t necessary. Cake not necessary? I know, it sounds crazy. I said that, because I wanted to make an ice cream cake to share with you. I can’t handle to much cake in the house. I just don’t have that kind of will power.

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Just like a Carvel ice cream cake, the center is a thick layer of crunchies.  My “crunchies” are a combination of dark chocolate and chocolate wafer cookie crumbs. This my favorite part of the entire cake. In fact, I could eat just this layer and be happy. The cream frosting tastes just like the frosting you find on store-bought ice cream cakes, except fresher.

This cake is so easy to make and the flavor combinations are endless! I used a combination of vanilla and strawberry ice cream. The only down side to this cake, as with many cakes, you need to plan ahead of time. So plan ahead, be creative and enjoy!

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Classic Ice Cream Cake

barely adapted from Kinfolk Magazine

Serves 10-12, makes a nine-inch cake

Ingredients:

1 quart vanilla ice cream

1 recipe Chocolate Crunches (see recipe below)

9 ounces  chocolate wafer cookies, crushed

1 quart  of a different flavor ice cream, whatever you like ( I used strawberry.)

1 recipe Cream Frosting (see recipe below)

*This cake takes time to freeze so plan ahead before serving!*

Directions:

Place a 9-inch cake ring on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in the freezer for at least 2 hours. Remove the vanilla ice cream from the freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes or until a bit soft. Remove the vanilla ice cream from the container and using a spatula spread it evenly across the bottom of the chilled ring.  Freeze ice cream in its ring until completely hard, about 2 hours.

Place 9 ounces of chocolate wafer cookies in a Ziploc bag and seal the bag. Using a rolling-pin crush the cookies. Place the wafer crumbs in a medium bowl and stir into the chocolate topping until the crumbs are completely damp.

Remove the cake ring from the freezer and spread the chocolate crunchies over the vanilla ice cream. *Remember to work quickly!* Freeze for another hour.

Remove second ice cream flavor from the freezer and allow to soften a bit. Remove the ice cream from the container and spread quickly over the chocolate crunches. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to freeze overnight or for a few days.

When ready to serve, remove the metal ring from the spring form pan.(If it is really hard to get off you could use a blow dryer for a few seconds to loosen the ring.) Freeze the cake for another 30 minutes. Decorate your cake with the cream frosting. You can place it back in the freezer until ready to use or serve it immediately. Run your knife under warm water and then cut into the cake. Enjoy!!

Recipe for Dark Chocolate Crunchies

chocolate sauce recipe adapted from This Homemade Life

Ingredients:

2/3 cup good quality dark chocolate chips

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1, 9 ounce box of chocolate wafer cookies, crushed

Directions:

Place chocolate chips and butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the chocolate chips and butter in the microwave in 10 second intervals. Stir after every ten seconds until melted and smooth. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature. When ready to use, stir in chocolate wafer crumbs. Spread evenly over vanilla ice cream layer. (**Do not place sauce in the refrigerator because it will harden!** Can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for several days.)

Recipe for Cream Frosting

recipe from Kinfolk Magazine

makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. powdered gelatin

2 tbsp. milk

food coloring – optional

chocolate jimmies or sprinkles optional

Directions:

Chill your mixing bowl. Once the bowl is chilled beat the cream, sugar and vanilla in the chilled bowl until firm peaks form.

Using a small saucepan, soak the gelatin in the milk. Once all the milk is absorbed, heat the gelatin over low heat until it melts. Gently but quickly fold the gelatin into the whipped cream. Use immediately or tint it with a food coloring. Spread over entire cake. If desired, sprinkle with chocolate jimmies. Enjoy!

5 Ice Cream Cake Links

If you love Chipwich ice cream sandwiches, you should make Bon Appetit’s ridiculously good chocolate chip cookie ice cream cake with butterscotch sauce. I made it last summer and it was a huge hit!

Want to make go all out and make an ice cream cake your loved one will remember for years? Check out Heather Cristo’s recipe for Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake! Chocolate brownies, strawberry cake and cookies and cream ice cream all covered in chocolate ganache frosting-wow!

I love Oreos and so does Bubba. For Bubba’s next birthday, I am making the Ktchn’s frozen chocolate oreo ice cream cake. Yum!

Brownies and ice cream are so good together. Zoe Bakes makes an ice cream cake that incorporates brownies and 3 different layer of ice cream. Her cake looks beautiful and I bet tastes even better!

So your best friend is a vegan and she prefers to eat only raw food. Making a birthday cake for her may sound impossible, but thanks to This Rawsome Vegan Life, it’s not. Emily created a beautiful banana chocolate caramel ice cream cake that will make your friend swoon! Check it out!

Blueberry Buckle + 5 Coffee Cake Links You Should Check Out!

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bb0019“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The door bell rang the other day. A casually dressed woman with short, dark hair stood at our door. She wore a pretty, white summer skirt and a black top. She was tan, tan enough that I thought: you don’t live around here. We don’t see that kind of sun. I said hello and she smiled easily. She seemed comfortable standing on our porch, like she had stood in that exact spot many times before. She quickly blurted out: “I don’t mean to bother you, but my grandmother lived here. She passed away in 68′ I have so many wonderful memories of this house.” She told me she lived in North Carolina (that explains the tan) and was up visiting a friend. Her daughter and grandson were waiting in the car. Before she could ask, I asked her: “Would you like to see the house?” She smiled so widely that her eyes smiled as well. “Yes. I’d love to!”

Her daughter and infant grandson joined us. We walked through the house, pausing in each room. She seemed overwhelmed with memories. She touched the banister as we walked up stairs not for support, but because she had to feel it again. She told me how much she loved the curve in the stairs as a kid. She pointed out her grandmother’s room, which is now N’s room. “I loved her bedroom.” As we walked downstairs she touched the knob at the bottom of the banister, and said “I can’t believe this is still here.” We stepped out, on to the wrap around porch. She looked around and smiled. Tears welled up in her eyes. It seemed the memories were too much for her to carry around anymore. Before she left she said, “If you find pink irises, my grandmother planted them. After she passed, I took some and planted them at my house. I still have them. They remind me of her.”  She and her daughter thanked me. “Enjoy this house!” she said just before getting in her car.

I never caught her name, but I have thought about our meeting every day for the last week. I thought of my grandmother and her house: the smells, the rooms, the big yard, her garden and the countless dinners. I picked up the phone and called her because I can: “Hi, Jer. Hi, Kel.” We spoke only briefly, but it was nice to hear her voice. I need to see her and be in her house again, soon. Someday, I will be that woman, asking to see my grandmother’s house.

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The recipe I have today is for a coffee cake called Blueberry Buckle. This recipe originally appeared the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook. My grandmother, Jerry, made this a lot when I was a kid. In fact, my oldest and dearest friends have tried her blueberry buckle. This is the kind of coffee cake people remember, and for good reason. It is dam good! I tweaked this recipe only slightly by reducing the sugar a bit and adding lemon zest for brightness. If you don’t have a lemon on hand, leave it out. This cake is just as good without it. Enjoy!

 

Blueberry Buckle

Recipe adapted from my grandmother, Jerry, and Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook

Makes 9 3 inch squares

Ingredients for Cake:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract

zest of 1 lemon

2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen do not thaw)

Ingredients for Crumb Mixture:

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 375. Grease  and flour a 9 inch square baking pan and set aside.  In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the blueberries and gently toss to coat. Set aside. Using your fingers, combine the ingredients for the crumb mixture in a small bowl and set aside. You will top the cake batter with this mixture before it goes into the oven.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the egg and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Slowly add the milk.

Gently fold the dry ingredients plus the blueberries into the wet ingredients until combined. A few flour streaks is ok. Do not over mix! This batter will be dry and tacky. This is ok too.

Spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the cake and bake for 40-45 minutes. I baked my cake for 45 minutes,  and it was perfect, but start checking at 40 minutes.

Allow to cool in pan on wire rack. Once cool, cut into squares and serve at room temperature or slightly warm. Cake will last well wrapped in an air tight container for a couple of days. Enjoy!

5 Coffee Cake Links You Should Check Out!

If you are a butterscotch lover, you should check out this sweet treat over at The Galley Gourmet.

Looking for a coffee cake that uses Greek yogurt instead of sour cream? Oh, and do you want a cinnamon streusel filling and a cream cheese glaze? Head over to Two Peas and Their Pod for their amazing Yogurt Coffee Cake recipe.

Need a gluten-free option for your next brunch? Head to Bakers Royal for a gluten-free blueberry coffee cake recipe. Have I mentioned how much I love Naomi’s photography? She is incredibly talented both as a photographer and baker!

Take advantage of strawberry season and make a strawberry and cream coffee cake. Averie Cooks has the recipe for you.

Want a traditional coffee cake in muffin shape form? The Sugar Hit has a great cinnamon coffee cake recipe for you.