I have always been a big fan of ice cream cakes. They just seemed more special than other cakes and I think that is because we never had them. I mean, my mom always baked cakes, but who makes their own ice cream cakes? It just seemed to be a weird thing to make your own ice cream cake or something. So, on birthdays we would often have ice cream cakes. I LOVE ice cream cakes. So, I decided to be crazy and actually attempt to make my own ice cream cake. Searching on the Internet I came to realize that a homemade ice cream cake usually does not involve homemade ice cream… well then, I thought, how is that homemade? That seemed to be cheating if you ask me. So, I decided that I would use one of the recipes (this one here from the Food Network site) that includes store-bought ice cream, but just make my own… Then, Josh decided to give me my birthday present a few days early…

Look at those… not only do I love dessert cookbooks one of them had ice cream cakes (he knew I was going to attempt this). I looked through the book and decided on two ice creams I would use and since I wanted a fairly traditional ice cream cake the first time I attempted this I decided to stick with the one from the Food Network site. I mixed up the ice cream batter the day before and this morning started the first batch – the vanilla in my Cuisinart.

While that was mixing I got my springform pan ready for the Oreo Cookie crust – just some crushed Oreos and some butter.

I love Oreo crusts! After getting the crust into the bottom of the pan I created the first layer of vanilla ice cream and put that in the freezer while I made the chocolate ice cream. Once that was ready and chilled for a while I added that to the vanilla layer.

After that was on I added a layer of Oreo crumbs and then let it sit in freezer for a little bit before adding the last layer of vanilla ice cream.

Once that was on, it had to freeze for another two hours. Once it was ready I popped off the outer part of the pan and added  the homemade whipped cream. I coated the whole cake with about 3-4 cups of whipped cream and then piped on some decorative spirals. I decided to sprinkle some multi-colored chocoalte chips and write a little Happy Birthday message for myself. Not bad for a first attempt!

I couldn’t resit having  a piece of my cake with my buddy CC! How nice of him to stop by during Game 3! Go Yankees!

 

I wasn’t sure that I was going to have time to make the Club: BAKED choice, but they sounded so good I had to do it! I know I am a few days late with my post, but I was at a meeting in Illinois and totally forgot to get my post up (even though I made these about a week ago). Thanks to Billie at Chocolate & Chakra for this one because it was so good.  I actually opted to do the opposite of what most people usually do – rather than halving the recipe –  I doubled the recipe this time around! I thought that despite what the book said about these being best eaten right away, that I would freeze these to eat each morning for breakfast.  We did of course each eat one right away, but then I froze the rest – 2 each in small pint-size freezer bags. See that can of pumpkin in the first picture? That was the only pumkin I could find. I’ve heard there is a shortage of pumkins this year with all the bad weather, particularly in the Northeast…. I think I will start stocking up. Here in Michigan I’ve noticed lots of pumkins for sale, but not much canned pumkin on the shelves. We are going to my parents for Thanksgiving this year, but I am sure I will still want to make my own pumkin pie at some point.

Anyway, these cooked up so well… and they smelled amazing when I took them out of the oven. I was debating whether I wanted to use muffin/cupcake liners because I hate when things stick to the pan, but that did not happen to any of these beauties.

Josh and I decided to each have one with a cup of tea. We had just bought a new tin of loose tea… not big fans of the tea, but loved these muffins. I love the cayenne flavor – not too overpowering, but enough so that you can really taste it! SO good!

I am also really glad I decided to do freeze them. In the morning I’ve been taking out one bag and placing the two muffins in the microwave for about 90 seconds. They are so good with a little bit of Earth Balance butter. It also makes me feel better about spending time baking… I should be cutting back so that I can finish that pesky dissertation! These served the purpose of not only feeding my baking addiction, but providing me with quick tasty breakfast for a while!