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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My New Toy

Ain't she purdee????

My new Kitchen Aide Pro mixer.  

And in my favorite color RED!

I'd been thinking about a new one for a little while now.  My old girl has been working just fine.  She put in a lot of good years.  Almost 25 without a single problem (except for a little cord issue - see that bit of black electrical tape on the cord?).  But this flashy, new lovely was a great deal.  I snagged her up as a QVC TSV (today's special value) last week.  

Couldn't beat the price. 

I think it's time for her retirement.  Actually, I'll pass her on to Son No. 2 if he wants her.  He's my boy that's an aspiring home chef.  

He loves to cook!  

Now I just have to find a home for her.  She's too tall to stay on the countertop under the wall cabinets.  I don't like appliances on my kitchen counters anyway, but, for her, I might have made an exception.  

Guess I'll have to do some rearranging in the lower cabinets so this tall beauty can have a safe place to hang out when she's not hard at work.

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Homemade Orange Infused Vodka

Vodka is so hot right now, as I'm sure you've all noticed.  Just look down the shelves in the vodka section of any liquor store.

There's an absolute myriad of flavors to choose from.  The flavors I've purchased from time-to-time, or on a pretty regular basis ;o), are orange, lemon, raspberry and strawberry.  

This year I decided to try infusing vodka myself.  Based on the research I did, it's not that hard.  You pretty much pick a fruit, or even a vegetable, and let it macerate in vodka for several weeks or more.  When using citrus for infusion, be sure to get just the peel with no pith.   A bitter flavor will result if too much pith is left on the peel. 

Some resources I found used the actual "meat" of the orange, and others did not.  I decided to add the orange sections.  I can only imagine it might add a bit more flavor.  

Strain it through cheesecloth, and bottle it up.  

That's it.  

Certainly not rocket science!

I learned that expensive vodka isn't even necessary.  A moderately priced one will do.  Well, I'm a self-proclaimed vodka snob.  

Usually, my vodka of choice is Ketel One.  I think it's a smooth, light-tasting vodka that's well priced.  A 750ml bottle in my area usually runs under $25 a bottle.  But, a few years ago I discovered a vodka called P.I.N.K.  

It's an ultra-premium vodka from the Netherlands that's distilled five times, and infused with guarna and caffeine.  When choosing a good premium vodka, it's good to look for one that's distilled at least three times.  It usually sells for $30 to $35.  When it was first introduced, I think there were hopes of it being a hot new club vodka ~ most likely because of the additions of the guarana and caffeine.   Oh, and if you happen to accidentally over-indulge just a bit, I think those additions help ward off a bit of yukiness the next morning . . . if YOU know what I mean!

As luck would have it ~ for me, anyway! ~ a nearby liquor store over purchased this vodka buying a ridiculous amount.  And since their inventory was not moving as quickly as they would like,  almost two years ago they started selling P.I.N.K. half price.  WooHoo!!!!  I've been buying bottles, usually several at a time, for $11.99.  Can't beat that for premium vodka.

Annywaaay . . . when infusing my vodka, I decided to use P.I.N.K.  

It's good stuff, and the price is right.  

Now, once the infusion is complete {sheesh, I do sound like rocket scientist!}, and I've strained the vodka, I'll be pouring it into these recycled bottles.  

Aren't they cute?!

Another yummy liquor found a few years ago.  In the past, I would always a cheaper orange liqueur when making my cosmos ~ usually DeKuyper's Triple Sec.  Then I discovered Patron's Citronge orange liqueur.  It's comparable to Cointreau, but a few dollars less.  It runs around $22 for 750ml, and it's delish in my cocktails.  And look and at the super-cute bottle you're left with?  And the cork . . . I love it.  

It looks like a mushroom. 

I have saved a few of the empty bottles thinking I could certainly use them for something.   

Well, maybe more than just a few . . . ;o)

Once the infusion is complete, hehe, I'll be sure to report my findings.  

I'm thinking these would make nice hostess gifts.  Of course, I'll jazz up the bottles with a handmade label or tag, making sure the recipient knows this vodka was infused with fresh citrus especially for them.

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A Tasty Afternoon Treat

A seasonal favorite.

Fresh apple cider (of course the cider I shared yesterday) and spiced wafters.

Icey cold milk would be wonderful too.

Sweetzels Spiced Wafers to be exact.  

And they're only available from August through November.

You see, there is some controversy in these parts on which company produces the best spiced wafer.  Some swear by Sweetzels, self-proclaimed as Philly's original ginger snap since 1910, and is manufactured in a suburb of Philly.

While others owe allegiance to Ivins.  

According to this blogger, who actually conducted his own side-by-side taste test, Ivins is produced in Minnesota, but uses Philadelphia molasses.

I've had both, and I do prefer Sweetzels.  And they're quite affordable at $1.99 a box.  

The only thing that could make this snack a little over the top would be a yummy, sweet, creamy pumpkin dip to dunk these cookies into.  But that wouldn't be a good idea for me.  Gotta watch that kind of stuff these days since having to cut back my workouts due to this blasted back injury.  

I should mention I did not eat that entire plate of cookies, nor drink that tall glass of cider.  I had one cookie and poured all but a gulp of the cider back into the container ;o)

In addition to dipping ginger snaps into pumpkin dip, there's a few other yumalicious things you can do to jazz them up.  Like, making ice cream sandwiches with them or topping them with
melted white chocolate.  

mmmmmmm . . . . 

Photo from "Let the Feasty Begin"

Photo from "Let the Feasy Begin"

 That's what Debra from Let The Feasty Begin did.

And this blogger also created some ice cream ginger snap cookies, below, and included his positive review of Sweetzels brand.

Photo from "Endless Summer"

Sweetzels might not be available where you live, but if you'd like to try them, you can order them online from the Pennsylvania General Store.  But ya better hurry!  They won't be around much longer.

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Hoot for Owl Cupcakes

As mentioned a few posts back, I was making a batch of surprise cupcakes for Son No. 3's girlfriend's birthday.  I had to keep it hush hush, though, so as not to spoil the surprise.  

We were invited to her house this past Sunday evening for a small family gathering to celebrate her 21st.  Her whole family is so nice, and always makes us feel so welcome.  To include us in a small, intimate gathering really made us feel like part of the family.  Quite frankly, I think we'll all be family someday.  Those two are pretty committed to one another.

Anyway, she loved the cupcakes! Owls are so popular right now, and she's into them.  They weren't difficult to make at all.  A little time-consuming, but once I got all the components ready, I worked on them in an assembly-line fashion. 

Duncan Hines' website has pretty good instructions on how to put them together.  You can find them here.  The best tip, I felt, was microwaving the Oreos a few seconds to soften them so they would separate easier.  When I separated them, however, I wasn't entirely successful in keeping all, or even most, of the cream on one side.  I used a small off-set spatula to carefully scrape the cream off one side of the cookie and put it on the other side that had the majority of the cream filling.  Then, using that spatula (having the small off-set spatula ~ you know, the kind for smoothing frosting on cakes, cupcakes ~ really made this job easy) I smoothed the cream as best as possible.  

Another thing I did that wasn't mentioned in the DH's instructions was when it came time to push the Junior Mints into the cream to create the center of the eye, I put the Oreos back in the micro for a few seconds again so the cream was soft and would allow the candies to be pushed down into the cream to stay put better.

I also found the above baking cup helped in building these owls.  It's Wilton's ruffled baking cup. I made two batches of cupcakes, chocolate and vanilla.  One batch I backed in regular, decorative cups, and the other in the ruffled.   Because of the little edge all around, it held the eyes and ears up a little better.  I really wished I'd used this type of baking cup for all of them.

To go along with the "owl" theme, I also created a little owl softie using a free tutorial I searched for online.  You can find that tutorial here.  As I mentioned, she's into owls, and had pinned the cutest owls at Pinterest.  So I took that idea and went with it.  She turned out so cute.  I had a blast making her.  

 Actually, I found quite a few different and cute free patterns online for all kinds of owls.  

One of the best things about getting together to celebrate Shannon's birthday with her family, besides the fun and great company, is that her Aunt's family owns an orchard in Bridgeton, New Jersey,

  Sunny Slope, 

and they kindly send us home with an assortment peck of their delicious, crunchy, crisp apples and a gallon of the best apple cider you've ever tasted.

To me,  that's a gorgeous site.  All those wonderful apples piled high in my Hubby's Grandmother's huge blue-banded yellow ware bowl we inherited.  Besides just enjoying munching on those delicious apples,  I'll be busy making apple crisp, apple pie, apple butter . . . 

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