I will apologize in advance because once again I am totally unprepared for this Sunday's baking - I think holiday madness has officially taken over - but never-the-less, here I am blogging! I am without Joanne again because as most of you know - School gets crazy with finals and papers right before the holiday break so she is focused on that!
Having a family party to go to is always fun because it gives me a purpose and motivation to bake so I can bring something for everyone to enjoy. This Saturday was my cousin Toni-Ann's confirmation party, and of course I was asked to bring a dessert. The basics were already being covered (cake, brownies, cookies) so I had to think outside of the box. I decided to make an ice cream cake because I knew it was something all of the children would enjoy. I had tried to make an ice cream cake before and it didn't come out that great but this time I had a different strategy - I would freeze each layer before adding to it to try to keep a nice shape. Another thing that was helpful this time was that I had a spring form pan which I didn't have before, which would provide a great base for the cake. I started by softening the vanilla and chocolate ice cream so they were spreadable. I first spread the chocolate ice cream in the bottom of the pan into a smooth, even layer. I put the pan into the freezer to get this layer hard before building upon it. While the chocolate layer was hardening I put a sleeve of Oreo cookies into my mini food processor to create the crumbs that would go in the center of the cake. I spread the cookie crumbs over the chocolate ice cream and then put a layer of chocolate syrup over that. Again, I put the pan in the freezer. Once that layer was set I spread the vanilla ice cream over the top to finish off the cake. Once the whole cake was frozen I spread a layer of vanilla frosting over the top to complete it. I decorated the cake with whole Oreos and put it back into the freezer until I was ready to go to the party. Once I got to the party and we were ready for dessert I took the ice cream cake out of the freezer and it started melting IMMEDIATELY! I then realized my obvious mistake - I needed to let the cake freeze over night for it to really be completely frozen. Luckily, the kids [and may adults] attacked the cake and it was gone in literally 5 minutes. Thank goodness this was the case or else in those same five minutes if it had not been eaten, it would have been a big, messy puddle!
Everyone loved the cake [even though it was melting by the second!] A few people asked for the recipe and one person said it was the best thing they have ever eaten! I knew this cake was an instant hit and that I would make it many more times in the future. I did learn one important lesson - make this cake [and any ice cream cake] at least a day before I need to serve it - this way it holds up much better and doesn't melt as quickly as it did this weekend. I think the best thing about the ice cream cake is that I can use any type of ice cream and any time of cookie to reinvent the cake every time I make it!
The second thing I decided to bake this weekend was homemade chocolate pudding. I was looking for something simple and something I had all of the ingredients for [it was a lazy Sunday - I couldn't bear to go to the store!] I personally love chocolate pudding - with its smooth, creamy texture and topped off with a little whipped cream - it makes the perfect dessert or snack. I always buy chocolate pudding from the grocery store [Kozy Shack is my favorite brand] or make it from the box [the "just add milk" kind] but have never made it from scratch. I looked up a few recipes and they all looked pretty simple. The only problem was that I realized I had no whole milk so I made it with skim milk. Since I refused to go to the store, I figured I would just see how it turned out.
I made the pudding over the stove using cocoa powder, sugar, skim milk, egg yolks, corn starch and a pinch of salt. By the end of the process I was left with a thick, chocolaty mixture. I poured it into small bowls and put it into the refrigerator to cool. Later I planned on making homemade whipped cream to top the pudding. The pudding came out great - the texture was really smooth. While whole milk would have made the pudding a bit creamier and richer, the skim milk provided a great, low fat option to make this a guilt free pudding [gotta love that!]
Ok, so I have no pictures of the ice cream cake but ask anyone in the family and they will tell you how delicious it was! I did manage a picture of the pudding after it was cooled and ready to be eaten [above]!
Stay tuned for next week…
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