DIY Ice Cream Cake

Yesterday was a special day here in our family.

It was Son No. 3's birthday!  He turned 14.  

How on earth did that happen???  

Time is flying by waayyy too fast.

For his special day, I decided to try a new - new to me - cake recipe.  He loves ice cream cake.  And frankly, they can be expensive and I'm personally not always fan.  For me, they tend to be too much ice cream and not enough cake.

Well, while perusing through some back issues of my Kraft Foods and Family magazines, a recipe caught my attention.  An ice cream cake made from ice cream sandwiches.  

It looked and sounded super easy.

I decided to give it a try.

Ice cream sandwiches, Oreo cookies, instant pudding, ice cream chocolate fudge topping and Cool Whip. Easy to find ingredients, and ingredients that have so many variations of themselves, one can create an ice cream cake to their liking. 

I stuck with the basics, for the exception of choosing chocolate and vanilla mixed ice cream sandwiches, and low fat and/or low sugar in as many of the components as I could find.  And, as you can see from the photos, I bought all store brand ingredients and they all worked out just fine.

I'm please to say this cake was a huge success!  Very easy to assemble, although, as you can imagine, you have to work pretty quickly so the sandwiches don't start melting too much.  

And it was extremely tasty!  Better then any ice cream cake I've ever purchased.  REALLY!!!

Below I've listed the ingredients and instructions, but if you'd like to view the info with video online, 

go here to Kraft's website.

Ingredients

1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed and divided (I bought two and used part of the second tub when frosting the finished cake.)

1 pkg (3.9 oz) Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

8 Oreo Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)

12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Instructions

Pour fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies.

Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long sheet of foil; top with half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining COOL WHIP. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.

Freeze 4 hours or until firm.

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English Sticky Toffee Pudding

Mmmmm . . . 

Looking for a rich, sweet, truly decadent desert?

You have to try this recipe.  

It's amazing.

The first time I had this fabulous treat was at the Swiss Woods Inn B&B in Lititz, Pennsylvania, where me and a group of girlfriends have had a winter retreat weekend once a year for the past six years.  I've talked about our great times there in several past posts.

It's really a very simple recipe, and it requires pretty basic ingredients.  The only ingredient I had to purchase that I don't normally stock in my pantry were seeded dates.  

The recipe also calls for heavy cream, which I don't usually keep in the frig.   I do always have either light cream or half and half, which may alter the end product a bit, I guess, but I didn't really see a difference in using half and half.

As you can see, my photos of the "pudding" {which is really more wet-cake, bread pudding then a traditional pudding}  aren't of the best quality, so I found some snaps of the pudding at different sites so you could see just how moist and delicious this desert can be.  It's not necessarily a pretty desert, but boy is it yummy!  It's one of those deserts where you can't help "mmmmm'ing" while you're eating it!

Browned Eyed Baker

Taste of Home

The Guardian UK

Three Many Cooks

Yumsugar

As you can see by the sample pics I posted, I didn't make up whipped cream for my pudding.  As I mentioned, I only had half and half in the house, and that doesn't whip up nicely for whipped cream.  Besides, I figured as rich and decadent as this desert is, we could all do without the extra fat and calories.  I have had it with the whipped cream at the Inn, and needless to say, it's totally divine!

I can't imagine any disappointments with this desert.  

Give it a try!

The Pudding:

1 cup plus 1 tbsp AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup pitted dates
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla

The Toffee Sauce:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

{When I made my toffee sauce, I had only half and half.  To up the fat content to make a rich toffee sauce, I added a few more tbsp of butter.}

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 10" round or square baking dish.  Sift the flour and baking powder.  Chop dates fine.  Place in a small bowl and add boiling water and baking soda; set aside.  With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla beating until blended. Gradually add flour mixture.  Add the date mixture to the batter and fold with a rubber spatula until blended.  Pour into prepared baking dish.  Bake until pudding is set and firm on top, about 35 minutes.  Remove from oven to wire rack.

Make the toffee sauce by combining all ingredients in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil gently over med-low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes.

Preheat broiler.  Spoon about 1/3 cup of the toffee sauce over the pudding.  Spread evenly on top.  Place pudding under the broiler until the topping bubbly, about 1 minute.  Serve immediately drizzled with extra toffee sauce and a dollop of whipped cream.

FYI  This pudding is just as yummy cold! ;o)

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Sweets and a Treat

Yummy cupcake sweets from me to my favorite men . . .

Red velvet and Sprinkle's strawberry cupcakes.

And a pretty little treat from me to me . . . 

A pot of mixed tulips in one of my favorite color combinations . . . 

pink, red and white.

Two new cupcake recipes tested.  Both came out very well with good reviews.

Pretty colored tulips from the grocery store I picked up as a treat for myself. 

Grandmother Paula's Red Velvet Cake

(Food Network - Paula Deen)

2 cups sugar

2 sticks butter (room temp)

2 eggs

2 tbsp cocoa powder

2 ozs red food coloring

2-1/2 cups cake flour (to make your own cake flour, take one cup AP flour minus 2 tbsp and add 2 tbsp corn starch)

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

In mixing bowl, cream sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.  

Mix cocoa and food coloring together and then add to sugar mixture - mix well.

Sift together flour and salt.  

Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.  Blend in vanilla.  

In small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture.  

Pour batter into three 8" round greased and floured pans.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  

**Note**  I halved the recipe to make about 18 cupcakes.  It worked very well.  I used a standard cream cheese frosting tinted with pink gel food coloring.

You can see the real bits of fresh pureed strawberry.
yummmmm

Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes

(featured on The Martha Stewart show February 2008)

2/3 cup whole or frozen strawberries (thaw if using frozen)

1-1/2 cup AP flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp coarse salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup whole milk, room temp

1 stick butter, room temp

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temp

2 large egg whites, room temp

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 12 cupcake liners.

Place strawberries into a small food processor and puree.  You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more berries if necessary or save any extra puree for the frosting.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla and strawberry puree.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy.  Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.  

With the mixer on low slowly add half the flour mixture.  Mix until just blended.  Add the mil mixture.  Mix until just blended.  Slowly add remaining flour mixture scrapping down sides of the bowl with spatula as necessary.

Divide batter evenly into lined muffin tins and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes.  

Sprinkles' Strawberry frosting recipe can be found here.

**Note** I added some of the strawberry puree to the leftover cream cheese frosting used for the RV cupcakes for the strawberry cupcakes.  

 Are you making some yummy Valentines goodies for your sweeties? 

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Sunday Morning Breakfast Muffins

"To Die For Blueberry Muffins"

That's the title of the blueberry muffin recipe I like to used.  I found it at one of my fave recipe sites, Allrecipes, years ago.

A vintage muffin/biscuit tin purchased in a sweet country shop in Strassburg, PA, many years ago.

The recipe calls for cinnamon-sugar streusel topping, but I was in a little rush this morning, so I just sprinkled some turbinado, natural brown, sugar on top.

Not sure I'd die for these muffins, but they are pretty darn tasty! :o)

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

1-1/2 cups a.p. flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease muffin cups or line with papers.

2.  Combine 1-1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.  Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup.  Mix this with flour mixture.  Fold in blueberries.  Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

3.  To make crumb topping:  Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.  Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.  

4.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until done.

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MONDAY RANDOM RAMBLINGS

Hi there :o)
Hope ya'll had a fabulous weekend!

Thought I'd post a little summin' to at least let ya'll know I'm still alive.  Can't say I've mustered much more motivation to get things done . . . I'm trying!  

I have the day off today, and I'm home alone, so I'm planning on getting some stuff done.  Guess we'll have to wait until the end of the day to see if I've accomplished any of it!

We drove Son No. 1 to the airport last night :o(  His Spring break is over, and it was time for him to return back to school in Charlotte, NC.  

He won't be home again until the end of the school year in the middle of May.  

For John's last days here this past weekend, I baked some of his favorite sweet treats ~ banana bread {using this recipe} and chocolate chip cookies.

Planning on spending some time today relaxing and getting caught up on a pile of magazines.  There's three months of Country Living that I haven't even glanced at.

The latest issues of Victora and Romantic Homes.

And two issues my new subscription ~ Phyllis Hoffman's Celebrate.

I'm also going to try to, hopefully, finish up work on my eggs for the Easter Swap I'm participating in at Thimbleprim's. 

LOVE Amy Butler's fabrics!

Oh, and I have to share Hubby's new toy.  We've been having some slight vehicle drama 'round here the past month or so.  Poor Son No. 2 was in an accident about a month ago.  His beloved red hot Monte was totalled. Thank God he was not injured, but naturally he was devistated the car was beyond repair.  It was his first car, and he loved it.  It was truly a sweet ride.  He's been driving our pick-up truck which pretty much never gets driven, except in the warmer months when I'm running around buying mulch, manure, plants, etc.  And because it doesn't get driven much, a few fairly major {and costly} repairs had to be made.  Needless to say, Colin's on the lookout for a new car.

Hubby decided this was a good time to get a new second vehicle.  He found a pre-owned Cadallic CTS {2005} in immaculate condition with super-low mileage, and a very, very fair price. 

It's one of his "dream cars".   Not sure how much I'll be driving it.  I think, for now, I still prefer my Honda Pilot SUV.  It'll be nice, though, when we want to go out,  just the two of us, for date night and ride in a nice, shiny luxury car ;o)

I'm hoping to be back tomorrow to share some fun things I've been working on the past few weeks!  In the meantime, have a great Monday!

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