Ice Cream Cake

Hi. It's Alex. Lisa's lazy, and, well, it was my birthday cake. We're putting it here as a kind of scientific report--that is, we wanted everyone to learn from our, ahem, my mistake.

So I had the bright idea to make ice cream cake like we used to get from Kroger so long ago--two layers (one chocolate, one vanilla) separated by a layer of crushed Oreos and caramel. Then we thought, "hey! We could make our own ice cream using our Cuisinart ice cream maker!" Brilliant. We halved the recipes for both vanilla and chocolate ice cream that come with the machine and lined a small bowl with plastic wrap. We poured in the vanilla, topped it with a hefty portion of crushed up Oreos, and topped those with some caramels we melted down. Once that was good and frozen, we topped it with the chocolate ice cream and froze it. Once the whole thing was complete, we put it on a platter, frosted it with Cool Whip (even using a pastry bag for edging), and threw some sprinkles on top. It was so pretty. After dinner that night, we pulled the cake out, and proceeded to cut into it. There was a bit of a problem--there was too much caramel. When I say "too much," I mean the stuff froze into an impenetrable barrier. Seriously. I had to use a knife and a hammer--that's how hard it was. Put it this way: trying to chew the little pieces you hack off is a hazard to your tooth enamel. Still, it was very tasty. I think I might go eat some now. (Mmmm, Ghirardelli chocolate ice cream and other stuff.)

So next time I think I'll put far less caramel (or maybe none at all), opting instead for more Oreos, which will be fine, I assure you. So go forth and make ice cream cake--just don't overdo the caramel.

This is Alex, signing off.

Cupcakes Transformed!

So when you fail at cupcakes you transform them into Cake Balls! Kim suggested I save the defunct cupcakes (and the vat of frosting I made) by making these. I was hesitant, because 'cake balls' do not sound appetizing, and I seriously thought that they were supposed to be the size of a baseball, and the thought of eating cake like an apple was not appealing to me. (That was the first 'ball' I thought of! I didn't feel so bad when my friend Melanie thought the same thing.) But about a week later I still hadn't eaten or thrown out the lemon cupcakes so I thought I'd give it a shot. (Plus it was Sunday and Nigel was away training for war, so what better time to bake?)

To make a long story shorter, I tasted one and I thought oh my gosh these are impossibly sweet! I will never eat these, someone at work will like them... And oh my gosh they did. People were raving in the hall (that's where the 'kitchen' is) suggesting to other coworkers to try one and oh my gosh did you try these they are so good. It-was-crazy!

This pic was taken with the cell phone, so it's not awesome. The first batch I just covered with white chocolate and dotted with chocolate frosting, you can see one in the back left corner. The second batch seen here was dunked in a melted white chocolate and strawberry bar.

Lisa's Birthday cake

Finally I get around to posting this (honestly though, there were several previous attempts which ended in frustration.)
Here is Carrot and Pineapple cake with a cream cheese frosting!

yummy!

Regretfully, I forgot the camera when we went to Red Lobster to "cash in" on the gift card that the Kim, Pat, and Owen family sent us for our birthdays :) You'll just have to "picture" greatness...
Here is a picture of the awesome cinnamon and sugar sweet potato chips that came in a cool tin from Jamie! Not to mention the complimentary Cajun surprise dip (I have already imagined trying the recipe with some onion soup/dip mix. One cup sour cream and one cup mayo...)
Thank you both again!!

Lentil...Cakes?

So. I wanted to do something dinnerish for Cake month. I made these Lentil-Rice Cakes but changed a lot of the ingredients around based on what I had or could find. I didn't find red lentils so I just got regular ones (they were 99 cents! Yea!). Then I didn't have enough cheese so I had to throw a different kind in. I don't know what basmati rice is but I just used instant white rice. I used rosemary instead of fennel seeds and yellow onion instead of red onion. Phew! All of those changes may have contributed to why these didn't stay in any sort of patty form. The good news is that it was good! I think I've had lentils once in lentil soup and liked them so I wasn't sure how this would go. I think the concoction ended up tasting like hashbrowns to be honest.


I didn't really make this with the intention of putting it up here but then I realized that I might as well. I made this Sweet Potato Pound Cake to bring to Owen's singalong for music class. I thought it was great. It was also supposed to have a glaze that I didn't make because I wanted to be able to wrap plastic wrap around the whole thing.

Sprinkles: Gone Wrong.

Well of course I was going to post Task #3 on Lisa's Birthday!! Happy Birthday Lisa!!

The cake: Sprinkles Lemon Cupcakes, a mix purchased at Williams-Sonoma. Sounds yummy, easy enough, just look at how cute that can is! When I started said task I realized, wow, I've eaten plenty o' cupcakes but never actually made them... Don't realize stuff like that, it is then that you are doomed.

Was it because the baking pan was not dry? Was it because I used a blender instead of a mixer? Was it because Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals was on? We'll never know. But I do know, cupcakes are not supposed to have a concave bottom...

This is not unlike that photography assignment that did not yield the expected results as the assignment instructed, and I, not having the motivation, time, or film to attempt the assignment again turned in my incorrect results with a detailed explaination of why it went wrong and what I would do next time. :D (think I got a C on that...totally worth it)

But don't worry! All is not lost! I do in fact have a submission for today. Prior to the cupcakes, post salmon dinner (that also went wrong, don't ask. and you know, the soy milk exploded in the microwave that morning... It was an all-around not good day for Jamie to be in the kitchen!) I did manage to successfully make Strawberry Cheesecake muffins!

I've always appreciated cupcakes, now I really appreciate those that make them (and send them to me). Thank you people that make cupcakes, you are special. Yum! is educational on so many levels.

Ps: the tupperware container of lemon frosting in the fridge says there may be another post by the end of the month... And yes, Pittsburgh won.

Double Apple Bundt Cake!

I'm not sure yet if this is my only cake contribution for the month of April but I thought I should post this in case I didn't get around to making another one (especially since we're stocked up on sweets for at least a couple weeks after getting all the Easter goodies!). This recipe came from my favorite baking cookbook, Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I finally tasted it today and I think it was really good. My piece was cold from being in the refrigerator but I think it would be even better at room temperature. The double apple comes from apple butter and grated apple in the recipe and it also had walnuts and raisins in it too! Yum!

Task 3

Here it is! I didn't want to post this yesterday just in case you might have thought that it was a joke :)
Ready...?
In the spirit of April, I thought,
LET US EAT CAKE!!!

Comfort Food

Cabbage and Noodles--- Okay we only made one of these but they are comfort food to us. I think it was a little clever don't you think?

By the way the cabbage and Noodles tasted really good. Blizzards weren't bad either. Any request for the Blizzard recipe? Ha ha