iron man birthday ice cream cake

My oldest baby Matthew is turning SEVEN next week! How did seven years go by just like that?!

Speaking of how fast time flies, it's been a year since his last birthday and I never got around to posting the cake I made him! In the past I've made him a Spiderman cake, as well as a Superman cake, and last year he had insisted on having an Iron Man cake! We ended up having just a small family get-together, so I made him a cookies-n-cream ice cream cake, with Iron Man piped on the top. Not my best work, but he still loved it!

The entire ice-cream cake recipe can be found in my new book (look for the Badtz-Maru ice cream cake), so I'll just do a quick summary of the steps. It started with homemade cookies-n-cream ice cream, which I churned in advance and then poured into an 8-inch round cake pan that I had lined with plastic wrap, before letting it set in the freezer. (You may have a little ice cream left over, but no worries you can eat it like soft-serve right away!)

Closer to the date of the get-together, I made the chocolate cake layer. Once it was cooled (you may want to stick it in the freezer for a bit so that it's nice and cold and won't melt the ice cream layer), I unwrapped my ice cream layer and placed it on top of the cake layer. Then I used an offset spatula to smoothout the sides where the two layers meet, and then let it chill in the freezer while I made my whipped cream frosting.

Once my whipped cream was ready, I set aside about a cup of it, and to the rest I added cocoa powder to make it chocolate whipped cream. Then I quickly frosted the top and sides of the cake, working as fast as I could so the ice cream wouldn't melt.

Next I filled my piping bag (fitted with a Wilton #21 star tip) with the chocolate whipped cream, then piped a shell border on the top and bottom of the cake. Then back into the freezer it went.

With the frosting that I had set aside, I divided it and colored it black, red, and yellow, leaving just a tiny portion of white. Then I piped my Iron Man face, filling it in with piped stars using a Wilton #16 tip. Then i added some rainbow sprinkles around the edges of the cake to make it look more festive.

When I was done it still didn't look complete. Something looked wrong with Iron Man's face. So I added some vertical lines to make him look more Iron-Man-y.

Hmm .. it still didn't look right, but oh well, I was out of time. Good thing 6-year olds aren't too picky about minor details!

Here's a shot of the inside ...

And here's the birthday boy and his cake :) He was so happy!

Stay tuned for details on this years's upcoming birthday cake!

easy brownie ice cream sandwiches

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to review these silicone baking cups by New York Baking Company, and I immediately knew what I wanted to make with them - ice cream sandwiches! That way I could use them both as a baking cup in the oven, as well as a mold for the ice cream in the freezer! I just love dual-purpose things!

I decided I wanted my ice cream to be sandwiched by chocolatey brownies, so I started by using this brownie recipe from Victoria Beckham I had been eyeing. The recipe sounded so easy and it was simple to divide the recipe in half, as I only wanted to make one dozen. (Although on a side note, these turned out not as chocolatey as I wanted. I think paired with the ice cream it was good, but on it's own I like the brownie recipe in my new book better - much more chocolatey and moist! Sorry, Victoria!)

Anyway,  I whipped a half batch up, lined my cupcake tin with the silicone baking cups (although they seem sturdy enough to be able to be used without a baking tin and just directly on a sheet pan), and divided the batter into my cups (I ended up filling them a litle less than 3/4 full). Then I baked them at 350F for about 20-22 minutes. Once cooled, I was able to pop the brownies right out of the silicone baking cups!

Then I cut each brownie in half horizontally, and popped the bottom layer back into the silicone baking cup.

Next I placed a scoop of softened homemade mint oreo ice cream in each cup (you could of course use store-bought ice cream as a shortcut, but I prefer to use homemade ice cream, mainly because I love making it!), and then used a small offset spatula to smooth out the ice cream.

Finally I placed the top of the brownie on top of the ice cream layer, and put it back in the freezer to set! So easy!

I would recommend serving these the day they are assembled, so that the brownie doesn't get too hard. But if you do leave it for longer than overnight, then before serving just leave them at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes to let the brownie layer soften a bit. Then just pop them out of the silicone cups (I found the easiest way was to turn the cups inside out!)



These turned out delicious and were super easy to make! Now if only New York Baking Company would make these in cute patterns or metallic colors! Fun!

hello kitty baked alaska ice cream bombe

For my birthday, the past few years I've made myself a Hello Kitty cake of some sort (see here and here). So this year, I decided to make a baked alaska / ice cream bombe, but in the shape of Hello Kitty, of course! I knew that there would be many components to make the cake (two different flavors of homemade ice cream, chocolate cake, and meringue frosting), so I started making the ice creams a week in advance. (By the way, while this cake itself is not in my new book, "The Hello Kitty Baking Book", the recipes for most of the components are in it - minus the almond ice cream. And instead of coffee oreo ice cream, the book does have a recipe for cookies-n-cream ice cream).

Anyway, things got so busy that I wasn't able to make the rest of the components in time for my actual birthday! Which was fine, since we didn't celebrate with my family until a week later, as my brother was out of town.

I wanted to create a take on the flavors of my favorite childhood ice cream flavor, mocha almond fudge!, So for the outside layer, I made a coffee oreo ice cream, which I churned and then froze in an 8-inch metal bowl (with another bowl on top to make the shape for the next ice cream layer). And for the inside layer, I made an almond-scented ice cream (made with imitation almond extract, because my daughter is allergic to all nuts), which I churned the next day and then poured into the hollow of the coffee oreo ice cream. (Note - to replace the crunch you would normally get from the almonds in mocha almond fudge, I used oreo cookie crumbs in my coffee ice cream layer).

For the cake layer, I made an 8-inch chocolate cake (the cake recipe itself is in my new book), which I also froze after wrapping it tightly in two layers of saran wrap and a large ziplock freezer bag. And when it was time to assemble, I unwrapped everything and placed the ice cream layers upside down onto my cake layer.

Next came the meringue (recipe also in my book!), which basically is a meringue made from gently-cooked egg whites and sugar,whipped up to form a frothy marshmallow-like frosting (this can be used as a frosting, or as the basis for meringue cookies baked at low heat in the oven).

I used an offset spatula to frost the meringue all over the cake, and then used a piping bag fitted with a small tip to pipe Hello Kitty's details on top. Then I let it set in the freezer until it was time to serve!

Right before serving, I used a kitchen blow torch (the same kind that you use for creme brulee) to brown the meringue all over. (Note, if you don't have a kitchen blow torch, you can also brown the meringue in your oven, on broiler setting, for a few minutes).

I made especially sure to brown Hello Kitty's details so that they would stand out against the rest of the white meringue.

When I had envisioned this cake in my head, I wasn't so sure how it would turn out looking. But I LOVED it. It looked like a giant Hello Kitty toasted marshmallow. :) Wheeee!

And the inside! I absolutely loved the combination of the coffee oreo ice cream and the almond ice cream! And even better with the moist chocolate cake and fluffy marshmallow-y frosting!

This is such an elegant and delicious make-ahead dessert, and you could even use store-bought ice cream to make things easier. I think it would be great at any dinner party, definitely a crowd pleaser!

Happy belated birthday to all those April babies out there!

funfetti cookies-n-cream ice cream

To go along with the blue funfetti cake that I made for my youngest son Micah's first birthday, I decided to make cookies-n-cream ice cream. But this wasn't just any cookies-n-cream ice cream ... I wanted to add lots of sprinkles to it, for a festive birthday feel that matched the confetti cake. And, when I went to the store to pick up Oreos, I found these - birthday cake Oreos! With funfetti in the Oreo filling! How perfect!

So I made my custard base as usual - I mixed egg yolks with sugar, tempered them with a hot cream and milk mixture, and then cooked it all over the stove until the mixture thickens. Then I strained it, added vanilla extract, and let it cool before churning (I typically let it cool overnight in the fridge). 

During the last 5 minutes of churning, I added a cup of chopped birthday cake Oreos, and finally a few handfuls of rainbow sprinkles. Once everything was all mixed in, I poured it into a container to let it set in the freezer overnight.

While I didn't totally love the birthday cake Oreos by itself (I prefer the original Oreos better), I absolutely LOVED it when paired with the ice cream. It added the perfect amount of "birthday cake" taste to the ice cream. And it was the perfect compliment to the funfetti birthday cake! I'll definitely be making this again!

blackberry oreo ice cream, and the newest addition to our family!

As some of you may already know, three weeks ago I gave birth to my third baby!  This explains why I've been M.I.A, in case you were wondering!  But in the weeks right before I gave birth, I became really obsessed with Oreo cookies.  Especially in ice cream.  Maybe it was because I was very pregnant!  Or maybe it's just because I love Oreo cookies.  In any case, I made lots and lots of coffee oreo ice cream, as well as mint oreo ice cream.  (Those are my two current favorites!)

But after making multiple batches of each, I wanted to try something new.  So I started flipping through my copy of Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones, Bi-Rite Creamery's ice cream book (which was given to me by my good friend - thanks, Diana!).  And that's when a recipe for blackberry ice cream caught my eye.  Now, I've made Blackberry Frozen Yogurt before, but for some reason I have yet to make it in ice cream form.  So I decided to try it out - with a twist.  I've heard of blackberry chip ice cream before, basically blackberry ice cream with chocolate chips or chunks in it, so why not try it with Oreo cookies instead?

I started by cooking my blackberries with sugar on the stove for about 10 minutes, until the berries broke apart and the resulting fruity syrup had reduced.  Then I pureed it and strained it, and then made my ice cream base (the usual egg yolks, sugar, heavy cream, and milk, cooked on the stove to form a custard).  Once that was ready, I combined the custard base with the pureed blackberries, and let it cool in the fridge overnight.

The next day, I was ready to churn my ice cream!  I added my chopped Oreo cookies during the last 5 minutes of churning, and then I let it set in the freezer overnight.  And then it was time to taste it!  The blackberry ice cream was smooth, creamy, and tart.  At first I wasn't sure if the Oreo cookies went well with the blackberry.  And then I decided, yes, Oreo cookies go well with everything!  Or maybe that was just my pregnancy taste buds talking!

And now for a few pictures of the newest addition to our family, baby Micah!  He joins his siblings Matthew and Melodie, and together they are now referred to as The Three Musketeers :)