Graham Cracker Ice Cream Cake with Chocolate Frosting

A few days ago I celebrated my birthday, ringing in the beginning of year 27. It promises to be a year full of exciting, big changes.

Each year when the 10th of March rolls around, I always debate what to do about my birthday dessert. Should I enjoy it in a fancy restaurant or bakery? Should I make myself a whole cake? Do I even want something sweet? But each year I wind up craving the exact same flavors of a cake my mom always made on my special day: graham crackers, vanilla pudding, chocolate frosting. I have her recipe for the cake, but it makes far too much for just two people and the cake pan would take up a fourth of our refrigerator space. So instead, each year I daydream of a new way to make the flavors into a new dessert.



This year I settled on creating ice cream cakes, each the perfect size to share with a special someone. These are quick to create, especially, if you like me are short on time, and substitute a really great quality vanilla ice cream for homemade.



GRAHAM CRACKER ICE CREAM CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING
Makes 2 cakes

Because my freezer space is so limited, I decided to make these ice cream cakes in individual springform pans. The size is perfect for sharing with your special someone, just be sure to have your fork ready, as this dessert has a way of disappearing right before your eyes!

10 graham crackers, ground into crumbs in a food processor, divided
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons shortening
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Reserve 1/4 cup of the graham cracker crumbs. In a small bowl, combine the remaining graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until all the evenly coated. Divide the mixture evenly between two 4 1/2-inch individual springform pans. Using your fingers, press the mixture into a crust over the bottom and about halfway up the sides of each pan. Freeze the crusts for about 10 minutes.

When crusts are set, place two scoops of vanilla ice cream in each pan and smooth with a small offset spatula. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the reserved graham cracker crumbs over the top of each. Freeze for about 15 minutes. Place two additional scoops of vanilla ice cream in each pan, smoothing again with a small offset spatula. Divide the remaining graham cracker crumbs evenly over the top of each. Wrap each pan in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to serve.

To make the chocolate frosting, sift together the confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients. Using a hand mixer, combine the ingredients until the frosting is light and fluffy.

To serve, remove the ice cream cakes from the freezer and unmold. Frost as desired and serve immediately.

Apricot Nectar Cake with Lemon Glaze

When Mike and I visited my parents in Virginia this Easter, my mother was struggling to come up with the perfect dessert to serve after our long holiday meal. She wasn't struggling in the sense that she is not a good baker (she is) or that she did not have a plethora of recipes to try (she does), but I imagine quite like myself, sometimes the endless availability of beautiful desserts in every magazine and Pinterest can overwhelm one's excitement to actually create something new.

As I sipped my milky coffee and kept an eye on the pasture outside for the cows to begin grazing for the day, I thought through some of my favorite recipes from her file. Something simple, something she could whip up quickly without too much fuss so we would still have time to catch-up over after a few afternoon glasses of wine.

This cake fit the requirements perfectly. Incredibly easy to create, but don't be fooled - the crumb is unbelievably moist, while the apricot juice adds an extra later of flavor while expertly balancing the sweetness. All that and it is one of the most beautiful cakes to grace the top of a cake stand. Get your forks ready.

Chocolate Soufflé Cake

I completely forgot to share this recipe with you all back in May. Just as my job was shifting into full-gear for our annual event, my slated recipes and blog posts took a bit of a backseat to the 100-hour workweeks. Hopefully you can forgive me for hanging on to this gem of a recipe; I promise this one is worth the wait.

I created this dessert for a friend’s surprise 30th birthday party. It still strikes me odd that I am somehow old enough to have friends who have entered their third decade of life, even if I am only a few years behind them. It doesn’t seem so long ago when being in your thirties seemed incredibly adult and, well, old to me.

My view of turning thirty might have changed as I grew older, but there is nothing like a chocolate dessert to lessen any blow one might feel about joining a new age group. I needed a delicious, simple recipe – a crowd-pleaser amongst a group of people with varying tastes. I also needed a gluten-free dessert, so every person could indulge as desired. This chocolate soufflé cake fit my requirements perfectly and made a lovely vessel to hold a candle as we all sang our birthday wishes on a beautifully cool May evening, overlooking the East River and Queensboro Bridge.

Lemon Meringue Cake

Spring is here. Finally. If the slightly warmer temperatures and rainy weather did not signal an end to this rather rough winter, the fact that my winter coat has been hanging, untouched, on a hook for the past week confirms my suspicions. Sunny bunches of daffodils greet me each morning, as I resist the urge to collect each one into a large, beautiful bouquet.

Amidst the changing seasons, Mike's lovely grandmother, Mary, celebrated her birthday last week. The family gathered over Sunday brunch and I was more than happy to not only provide the cake, but also to have been given full authority in selecting the flavors. While normally I would fret over such a decision, waning back-and-forth between ideas, I immediately knew what flavors I wanted this special cake to offer: a sunny freshness, a light creaminess, and a unmistakable, loving richness.

Chocolate-Coffee Joconde Cakes

I did not expect to fall hopelessly in love with the cute boy who wandered into my life five years ago today. I never imagined I would move 500 miles away from my family to be with him; I certainly never envisioned we would become our own little family of two. Five years ago, Mike and I were just two college students sitting on a futon, passing a Friday evening with an easy, comfortable conversation, oblivious to all other people packed in around us.

As you might imagine, a lot has changed over these past five years. There have been fights and moments I wasn’t sure we would make it. We have both grown into the adult version of ourselves, a tough transition that somehow only brought us closer together. But through everything, the fights, the smiles, the tears, the kisses, a deep love and respect for each other has always prevailed. Tonight we will celebrate the past years that have laid the foundation for the fun, easy relationship we are now so fortunate to share.

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

While this is not the easiest dessert to create, the process is shockingly similar to making any relationship last: with time, patience, and care even the most difficult moments lead to a beautiful end result. This result just happens to be the perfect dessert to share, snuggled up close with your special someone.

Meyer Lemon-Olive Oil Cake

Come January, my body does not crave sweets in the same manner as the other months of the year. Perhaps I require a period of reprive after spending countless hours baking during the holiday season. Or maybe it is my overconsumption of Christmas cookies and goodies. Whatever the reason, I naturally transition into wanting hearty, healthy eats.

For most chilly January days my diminished sweet tooth presents no issue - Mike must usually be coerced into eating anything other than chocolate chip cookies, so the lack of dessert is no cause for concern. But his mother and aunt joined us for lunch last weekend and not serving dessert was an unimaginable option.

Per their request, we decided to order lunch from our favorite neighborhood Italian restaurant. Flipping through my recipe file, I stumbled upon a recipe for a lemon olive oil cake. It may not be a traditional Italian dessert, but I figured it would pair beautifully with the thin crust, wood-fired pizza and rich, creamy penne vodka.

At the store, a basket of Meyer lemons beckoned me like a ray of sunshine and I immediately decided to utilize these yolk-colored beauties for their traditional relative. As a cross between a mandarian orange and a lemon, Meyer lemons provide a distinguishable sweetness, with far less acidity than a regular lemon.

Graveyard Cake

Halloween was never my favorite holiday.  I prefer happy, smiling ghosts and never really enjoyed the goriness that most people seem to love about the holiday.

The costumes and free candy were wonderful - at least until I turned 13 and was thereby deemed to old to go trick-or-treating.  Now I find myself on the other side of the door, the adult handing out candy to children who, on any other day in this city, would be considered pan handlers.

But I do enjoy seeing all the costumes, all the Daddies carrying around little bumble bees who are too young to talk, all the Mommies going crazy for the wallpaper in our entryway, and all the almost-teenagers (I am over the word tween) entrusted to trick-or-treat all by themselves in the building.

Besides costume watching, there are a few other, non-scary, things I enjoy about Halloween each year:  It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and this cake.

I remember my mother clipping the recipe for this treat from a magazine and how my sister and I used to fight over whether to mix gummy worms into the chocolate pudding.

Let's just say that I detested real worms and my sister used to keep them as pets in a tin under her bed.  I am sure you can guess which sides we took in the argument.

White Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

On Saturday, a group of wonderful people gathered in a beautiful backyard in Brooklyn to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a sweet baby boy.

I wanted to create a sophisticated cake for the occasion and finally decided on a simple white cake with vanilla bean buttercream, colored to a robin egg blue.

Using a small pedal tip, I created whimsical zig-zags around the top and bottom of the cake with uncolored buttercream.

I served mini whoopie pies alongside the cake, which visually contrasted nicely with the cake, but also provided a taste of chocolate.

It was a gorgeous afternoon, complete with good food, great company and much excitement.

I can hardly wait to meet 'Little Erik'!

Baked Alaska: White Nectarine Ice Cream with Brown Butter Pound Cake

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. 

Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

The beautiful thing about making a Baked Alaska is the ability to create any flavor combination you can imagine.

In this challenge, bakers were required to use the brown butter pound cake, but given the freedom to use any ice cream flavor - just as long as it was homemade.

Brown butter lends a very toasty, nutty flavor to its component, so I was initially a bit unsure what ice cream flavor to pair with it, keeping in mind the dessert was still being served during the summer heat.

Luckily, I stumbled upon beautiful white nectarines at the farmer's market and decided to create a beautiful, lightly pink ice cream from the juicy fruits.

I spooned the freshly spun ice cream, still slightly soft, straight from the ice cream machine into the little bowls prepared with a layer of plastic wrap.  I leveled the ice cream off with the side of a small offset, covered the base with the overhanging plastic wrap and placed in the freezer.

With the ice cream part of the dessert prepared, it was time to brown some butter for the pound cake.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I was one of those children whose dinner plate continually exhibited a dividing line between all the components of the meal.

The meat could not touch the starch which could not touch the vegetables.  If these battle lines were crossed, by a daring stray pea or a rebellious grain of rice, my meal was ruined.  I stubbornly refused to eat the contaminated offenders.

While I have, luckily, outgrown this oddity, I still must admit I will never, ever desire vegetables to find their way into my dessert.

However, I was overruled over the Fourth of July holiday, as the request for carrot cake was served and dutifully delivered.

The crumb of this cake is soft, crumbly and spicy, with the little hand-grated flecks of carrots lending their orange hue.

Mike's Birthday

Saturday was a pretty exciting day around here.  Not only was it the official end of Mike's endless studying for his exam, but it was also his birthday!

The not-so-exciting part of the day was that he actually had to take the exam.  All day.  On his birthday.

So we planned  an exciting evening - complete with friends, Red Bulls soccer and dinner and drinks at one of his favorite bars.

The only good part of Mike being hold-up in taking his exam all day was that I was able to assemble his birthday cake and party favors without him having any idea.

The theme of these treats was inspired by his (and my) favorite liquor: Maker's Mark.

We started off by enjoying my Chili Lime Tequila Popcorn at the Red Bulls game:

Later, after a late dinner, it was time for cake.  I wanted to create not only an extra special looking, but also tasting cake for the celebration.

The flavors I created were bourbon-orange chocolate cake with spiced vanilla buttercream.

After everyone was sugared-up from the cake, I handed out the party favors, to thank everyone for coming out to celebrate the special day.



A fun, relaxing evening with friends and surprise sweets.  I can't imagine a better way to kick-off a new year.

Rhubarb Crumb Steamed Pudding

After completing my first Daring Baker's challenge last month, and being a bit disappointed about the results, I was anxious for the unveiling of this month's challenge.

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

I put off completing this challenge for a few weeks for a variety of reasons. Mostly, my time is a wee bit limited nowadays. With no time, I couldn't research traditional British puddings, compare recipes or brainstorm flavor combinations.

Secondly, I admit, I was initially not very excited about the challenge. After all, the host described these puddings as "homely". Also, I had absolutely no idea how this "pudding" would taste.

Lastly, the less than plentiful crop of early spring fruits was creating a bit of an obstacle. For the first few weeks in spring, the farmer's market had only potatoes and onions.

But, sometimes, procrastination does pay off. I put this challenge off long enough to be greeted by the bright red stalks of fresh rhubarb. Funny how just the sight of this fruit seems to signal an end to the long winter and gesture in the warmer, happier days of spring.

I purchased just two stalks, as rhubarb is a bit on the expensive side, enough to be poached for the two individual puddings I had decided to create.

I lightly poached the rhubarb in a combination of water, blood orange juice, vanilla and honey. While the poached rhubarb was cooling, I reduced the poaching liquid to the most beautiful, shiny red glaze I had ever seen. There was just enough glaze to be drizzled over the dessert as the final, sweet touch.

As the top layer of the steamed pudding, I incorporated a thin crumb layer, just to add a little extra sweetness to the rhubarb.

Finally, it was time to venture into unmarked territory. It was time to actually create and steam the pudding.

Confession: I whimped out. I did not use suet. I used butter instead. But, I promise you - it will be okay. Butter makes everything better!

Using a small, mesh sieve to rest the pudding on, I could only fit one individual springform pan in the pot. I brought it to a boil, then lowered the heat at let it do it's thing.

I snuck a peek here and there. But nothing seemed to be happening. Just a lot of steam and gurgling.

Most recipes instructed a steaming time of at least two hours, but for a full-sized pudding. So, I checked mine after an hour. I inserted my little cake tester and it emerged with just a few stray crumbs. Time was up!

I might have forgotten I used leavener in the recipe. I might have filled the batter all the way to the top of the pan on accident. But I admit nothing.



It was an easy enough fix after all.

See? Now I had a flat bottom for the steamed pudding and I could taste just a little piece.



It was heavenly. Amazing. The most moist, creamy cake I had ever eaten with a deep, yet light flavor.

I added the cooled, poached rhubarb - now a bright, beautiful pink hue - on top of the creamy, crumb layer and drizzled the reduced poaching liquid over the pudding.



I served the steamed pudding with homemade frozen yogurt, although I think it would have been even better with a tart, lemon sorbet instead.

This month's challenge was a major success on many levels. The visual result was exactly what I had envisioned when I picked up that first stalk of fresh rhubarb. The taste far exceeded my expectations and I created a recipe which I will keep in my repertoire for years to come.

The success of this challenge reminded me how important it is to continally expand your skills, even if you are not overcome with enthusaism at first glace. Thinking about how you can turn a recipe into your own, into a recipe that you are truly proud of, takes time, energy and patience.

But aren't those successes, the ones we didn't see coming, the sweetest?

Lemon Ginger Pound Cake

For Easter this year, Mike and I joined part of his family for brunch at The Carltun on Long Island.

The day was sunny and warm, with just enough breeze to keep us cool.

I brought individual lemon ginger pound cakes as a small gift for everyone. A sunny, bright combination of flavors to welcome a new season of Spring.

I hope you all enjoyed a very happy, relaxing Easter Sunday!

Strawberry Shortcake

When I was growing up, my favorite treat on a warm summer night was a slice of freshly baked shortcake with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream and a generous topping of strawberries.

The shortcake recipe was passed down through many generations of my family and truly has a perfect kiss of sweetness.

While summer strawberries are the best, often not requiring any extra sugar at all, I couldn't resist buying a pint this past Sunday.  A rainy, chilly spring day just seemed to beckon for a hint of the summertime.

Mike, however, was not convinced.  In fact, he wrinkled up his nose in disgust when he learned the destiny of the strawberries.

I found this offensive.  I informed him of this.  And then I set about to end his four-year standoff against strawberry shortcake.

Enough was enough.

Irish Stout Gingerbread

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Bring on the corned beef dinner, green beer and green cupcakes!

Just one teeny, tiny problem.

Mike, the only Irish descendant in the relationship, has forbidden me from making a corned beef dinner.  We like our beer dye-free.  And, without even tasting one, I've had my fill of green cupcakes with white frosting.

Instead, while trying to plan the food portion of the holiday, I decided I wanted to serve a dessert with a bit of personality.  Perhaps with beer as my secret ingredient?

This is where my amazing, handsome, beer-brewing boyfriend comes in rather handy.  That's right - he brews beer in our tiny apartment.  Lots and lots of beer.

His "Breakfast Stout", a dry Irish stout, would be the perfect complement to a spicy, warm gingerbread.  I knew it.  Mike knew it.  And he handed over one of the last bottles with a sigh.

No pressure here.  I stole one of the last bottles of this brew for an experiential dessert.  This dessert will be served after a dinner of corned beef paninis, because I love corned beef.  And I don't think it's very Irish-like of Mike to forbid me to serve it.

But I do promise to leave the green dye out of the beer.  Just to be safe.