Category Archives: Sweets

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!

Cherry Oat Crisp + 5 Summer Fruit Crisp Links Perfect for 4th of July!

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A 4th of July memory

I’m 10 and I’m bored. It’s 4th of July; my father’s favorite holiday to celebrate, and my mother’s favorite holiday to work. Mom is not home. She is covering the night shift at a nearby ER where she works as a nurse. (The next morning she’ll tell me stories about what she dealt with, stories meant to scare the hell out of me so I don’t make the same choices and end up in ER.) We spent the day swimming at my grandparents’ pool and now we are home with no plans to see fireworks. Dad doesn’t like crowds.

I sneak upstairs to my parents bathroom and slowly open the closet door. Inside sits an old army chest. They told me not to open the chest, but I am so curious to see what is inside and for some reason I’m not worried about getting trouble, mainly because mom isn’t home. My brother (R) and sister (J) are downstairs watching TV with Dad who is about a six-pack deep. He doesn’t notice I’m not with them. I open the chest and see brightly colored packages of all sizes and shapes. My dad’s fireworks collection, his most prized possession. I’m about to grab a handful of fireworks when he walks into the bathroom and asks: “Want to light off some fireworks?” I was so excited… and relieved he wasn’t angry.  I’m such a big kid now! I can light off fireworks, myself! I race downstairs to tell J and R. Dad races to the fridge and grabs another beer. We begin to follow him outside when he stops and tells us to wait inside and look out the back window.

But, I want to light the fireworks!” “Absolutely not, ya mothah will kill me,” he says in his thick Boston accent. I’m disappointed. I walk over to the window where J and R are excitedly waiting for the fireworks show. I watch him hang what looks like a pin wheel from our wooden swing set. (That’s right. Wooden. Swing. Set. Fireworks and wood. I’m guessing the 6 pack made that decision.)  I see a flash of light. The pin wheel whirls, spins and whistles. Bits of pink, green, gold and blue explode in the night sky. Dad is illuminated by the flashing light, beer in one hand, a smile on his face, laughing. He is happy.

His happiness, like the bursts of color from the fireworks, was fleeting.

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As an ode to the impermanence, including summer and cherry season, I made a cherry oat crisp. I love cherries. This crisp has a great balance of sweet and tart. A couple of squeezes of fresh lime juice compliments the natural cherry flavor. You can add a bit of sugar, but if your cherries are sweet enough, leave it out. The topping contains white whole wheat flour and oats. The whole wheat flour adds a subtle nuttiness and the oats give great texture.

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A scoop of vanilla ice cream is necessary. Grab a spoon, dig and enjoy the season while it lasts.

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Cherry Oat Crisp

Serves 6, 4 very  generously

Recipe inspired by Brown Eyed Baker, Crisp Topping adapted from Bon Appétit July 2014

Ingredients for cherry filling:

4 cups pitted and sliced cherries (I used Bing cherries.)

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp. sugar, if needed

1 tbsp. flour

pinch of kosher salt

Ingredients for Oat Topping:

1/3 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 cup packed, light brown sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup old fashion oats, divided

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted, chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Optional: vanilla ice cream

Directions for filling:

Pit and slice 4 cups of cherries. Place cherries in a medium-sized bowl and add sugar, flour, lime juice and a pinch of salt. Gently mix together and set aside.

Directions for oat topping:

Using a food processor, pulse together flour, brown sugar, salt and 3/4 old fashion oats. Add butter and pulse until no dry pieces remain. The mixture should look like wet sand. Transfer mixture to bowl and using your finger tips, mix in remaining oats. Set aside or chill in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. (It will last for a couple of days.)

Assembly:

Pre-heat your oven to 375F. Spoon cherry mixture into 6, 5 ounce ramekins or 1 8×8 glass baking dish. Sprinkle topping on top of cherries. Place ramekins on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and pop into the oven. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until cherry mixture is bubbling and the crisp topping is golden brown. Allow to cool for 1 hour before serving. Serve with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

5 Fruit Crisp Links For 4th of July

Looking for the perfect red, white and blue dessert for the 4th? Head to Food 52 for Joan Nathan’s fantastic mixed berry crisp.

Can’t decide between ice cream or a fruit crisp? How about Blackberry Crisp Ice Cream? Naturally Ella has the recipe for you. I love blackberries so I need to try this!

If love blueberries more than any other summer berry, you should check out Lemon Blueberry Crisp by Alexandra Cooks. I need to email this recipe to my sister. She loves blueberries.

Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars sounds like the perfect 4th of July picnic dessert.

5 steps for making any fruit crisp or crumble is here. Get creative!