Neapolitan Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Happy August! I can't believe summer is flying right on by and Fall will be here before we know it! This summer has been extremely hot and humid in Mobile, so I've found myself not wanting to turn on the oven and bake quite as often. Being able to open the freezer and find a sweet treat is what I'm all about these days.

Remember the Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe I shared with you a few days ago? Well sometimes when I eat ice cream I crave chocolate too, and cake and icing...so I decided to create a Neapolitan Brownie Ice Cream Cake just to cover all my cravings in one delicious bite!

The ice cream layer sandwiched in between two layers of chocolate is absolutely perfect. And the thin layer of strawberry buttercream adds a little extra sweetness to each bite of cake.

I cut a slice for me and a slice for you...but then I had to eat your slice because, well, it was melting and I'm addicted and it was just too darn good!

Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry not your favorite flavor combination...well the possibilities are truly endless when making an ice cream cake. You can swap out the brownie layers for your favorite cake instead.

Don't have an ice cream maker and don't want to make your own from scratch...go buy a half gallon of your favorite flavor and keeps things simple! Heck add a second layer of ice cream and feature two of your favorite flavors!

Don't want to dirty up your mixer to make the buttercream...why not ice the cake with a chocolate ganache or some whipped cream.

See what I mean, you can go a million ways with this idea! So play around with what works best for you and go create a fabulous ice cream cake masterpiece! I sure did have fun with this one, but I'm envisioning one with chocolate chips or Oreos next time around. Or maybe even a Snickers Ice cream bar cake...YUM!

Neapolitan Brownie Ice Cream Cake
(makes one 3-layer 8" cake)

-box of brownie mix
-Homeade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
-Strawberry Buttercream (recipe below)


1.Prepare brownie mix per package directions. Bake in two 8" cake pans. Allow brownie layers to completely cool before assembling cake.
2.Line an 8" cake pan with aluminum foil. Scoop ice cream into prepared pan. I used 8 scoops and spread flat with a spatula. Place a layer of foil on top of the ice cream and place pan in freezer to firm up for 2-3 hours prior to assembling cake.
3.Place one layer of brownie on cake plate for bottom layer. Remove ice cream layer from freezer and place on top of brownie layer. Add the second brownie layer on top of the ice cream layer. Tightly wrap cake in foil and place back in the freezer for 2 hours to firm up.
4.Remove frozen cake from freezer and frost with Strawberry Buttercream. You will need to work quickly when icing the cake as it tends to harden fast since the cake is frozen. Once the cake is completely frosted place back in the freezer until ready to serve.


Strawberry Buttercream
-2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
-5 cups confectioner's sugar
-1 tsp strawberry extract
-3 Tbsp milk

-Beat butter with stand mixer until creamy.
-Gradually add in confectioner's sugar, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
-Add in strawberry extract and milk and mix until desired consistency.

So what flavors would make up your perfect Ice Cream Cake?

Brownie Oreo Cheesecake Bars

As you all know 2010 was the year of the cupcake, at least on my blog it was! I can't believe I got wrapped up in those sweet little cakes that I didn't have a single post devoted to cheesecake. Well the wait is over and today I'm excited to share with you my oh so yummy Brownie Oreo Cheesecake Bars. I thought I would take a walk on the wild side and combine brownies and cheesecake into one dessert with a few Oreos (only the greatest cookie invented) mixed in the middle. The result is a creamy and chocolately bite of heaven, with a little cookie crunch! I took these to a football party last night for the BCS College Championship game and everyone devoured them! If you have a pack of Oreos in your pantry right now I highly recommend you give this recipe a try.

I love the layered look to this bar. I'm already envisioning even more flavor combinations. Turtle cheesecake, strawberry or raspberry cheesecake or even a chocolate marble cheesecake would all be fabulous with the brownie base.

Brownie Oreo Cheesecake Bars (30 servings)

For the Brownie Batter:
-2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
-3 oz milk chocolate chips
-3 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 cup flour
-1 tsp baking powder

• Line a 9 x 13 pan with aluminum foil. Spray with cooking spray.
• In microwave safe bowl melt butter and chocolate about 1 - 2 minutes and stir to combine.
• Add sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt to chocolate mixture and stir.
• Whisk in flour and baking powder.
• Spread brownie batter evenly in prepared pan.

For the Oreo Cheesecake batter:
-2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
-1/2 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-1 tsp vanilla
-20 Oreo sandwich cookies, chopped

• Combine cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl and cream with electric mixer.
  
• Mix in vanilla and eggs.
• Stir in chopped Oreos.
• Spread cream cheese batter over top of brownie batter.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
• Refrigerate 2-3 hours or until ready to serve.

Hope you enjoy these as much as I did. I'm off to the fridge to grab another one for a bedtime snack! It's only my 3rd one today, don't tell!

Cupcake a Week: Hamburgers

I am a burger lover...the more toppings the better as far as my burger goes! So when I first came across the idea for hamburger cupcakes on Bakerella's blog last year I was completely blown away by her creativity. I have been dying to make these bite size burger cakes ever since but just haven't had the perfect opportunity until this past weekend.

A friend I run with was having a football party grill out fundraiser and asked if I would make her some hamburger cupcakes! Of course my response was YES! These cupcakes were so fun to make and were a huge hit at the party!

Here are some step-by-step photos for assembling the perfect burger cupcake.

Bake a batch of vanilla cupcakes and then remove the paper liners.

Use a serrated knife and slice each cupcake horizontally to create the top and bottom half of the burger bun.

Bake a batch of brownies in a 9 x 13 pan. Once the brownies have cooled use a round cookie cutter, about 2" diameter to make your burger patties.

Place your "buns" and "burgers" on a tray in rows to make for easy assembly.

Make a batch of vanilla buttercream and tint in 3 colors: Red = ketchup, Yellow = mustard, and Green = lettuce. Place icing in piping bags fitted with tips for easy decorating. I used small round tips for the ketchup and mustard and the Wilton 104 tip for the lettuce.

Place the burger on the bun.

Add a squiggle of ketchup.

And a squiggle of mustard.

And some lettuce. Don't worry about being perfect with the icing, just squeeze it out and swirl it on allowing for some to overhang the edge of the brownie.

Add on the top bun and sprinkle with a few sesame seeds. Looks like the real deal from McDonald's doesn't it...only much sweeter!

And the burger assembly continues.

With football season just getting started these would be the perfect addition to any tailgating party. Or the perfect excuse to indulge in two desserts at once...cupcakes and brownies all in one bite! YUM!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope everyone has had a wonderful day so far sharing it with the ones they LOVE! I started off the day running a half marathon in Birmingham with my Team in Training friends! Now I'm back in Mobile and my husband had all kinds of Valentine treats waiting for me when I got home...a dozen roses, assorted candies and a sweet card! Now he's fixing me a yummy dinner of shish kabobs (our favorite!!!!) twice baked potatoes and asparagus, yum yum yum! So while he's slaving away on dinner I figured I would update my blog with the Valentine's goodies I left hidden in the house for him while I was gone...I also took these to the team I coached in the half marathon today!


It seems like the most common Valentine's gift is a heart shaped box of chocolates....am I right? So using that idea as my theme I wanted to create my own spinoff of the favorite Valentine's day sweets! I have made cake pops before for baby & wedding showers so I decided why not make them again but this time just leave off the lollipop stick and decorate them with fancy sprinkles and icing swirls so they look like festive bite size candies!


The white chocolate balls are filled with red velvet cake and cream cheese. You can get the recipe here and the technique for making the cake balls here from a fabulous blogger Bakerella. The chocolate balls and chocolate round disk shapes are brownie bites and then decorated with royal icing.

I can't wait to take a bite out of one of these!

In addition to the cake & brownie dipped chocolates I also made a batch of heart sugar cookies with "13.1" piped on them since today was our half marathon race! I knew all the runners would love these cookies. For the recipe click here.

And remember those cute little aluminum Valentine's cans I made a few days ago...well guess what I decided to use them for.....my version of the "Valentine Box of Chocolates".

I placed a plastic treat bag inside and then filled them up with the red velvet cake balls and brownie bites! I really love this DIY packaging idea and think it turned out super cute and festive for Valentine's day!

I then placed the cookies in individual baggies and tied with a ribbon and personalized message tag and then placed on top of my Valentine chocolate tins!

Are you jealous you didn't receive one of these super cute Valentine's? Well hopefully you received your own super yummy and thoughtful Valentine gift from that special someone today!

Here are a few pics from our Mobile, AL Team in Training group that ran the Valentine's Mercedes Half Marathon today! Front Row: Me (in pink with heart headband) & the other coach Kelly, Back Row: Bobbie, Susan, Stephanie & Katie! Way to go ladies! You all did an awesome job today!

Me and Coach VV! She LOVES to dress in costumes in all her races!

VV and Alicia (the tu tu costume seamstress) and Paul aka Cupid!

We all had so much fun running today and I have to say the highlight of the race was when two little boys were handing out Krispy Kreme doughnuts at mile 11.5....oh yeah, I definitely grabbed one and enjoyed every single bite of it! I mean come on, it is Valentine's Day people and I had already run 11.5 miles...I was hungry and someone wants to hand me one of my favorite doughnuts...do you really think I was going to pass up such a SWEET treat on Valentine's Day???? I don't think so! It was delicious!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Countdown to Christmas Day 5: Brownie Pops

Happy Dec 5th! If you like brownies and chocolate you are in for a treat! Here are some chocolate dipped brownie pops I made for the North Pole Stroll in downtown Mobile last night. All of the kids absolutely loved these, the gingerbread men were the favorites, followed by the Christmas trees. I have made brownie pops on several other occasions but it has been for only baby and wedding showers. In the past I have only done round balls of brownies dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. But with it being Christmas time I wanted to get a little more creative with the pops and make them into traditional holiday goodies such as gingerbread men and trees.


I found a set of mini cookie cutters at Michaels that I thought would be perfect to create my holiday themed brownie pops. The first step is to bake a pan of brownies. Once they have cooled, use your cookie cutters and cut out whatever brownie shapes you want. With all of the left over brownie scraps in the pan I rolled them into balls so that I could create more pops and none of the brownies went to waste.


Once all the brownie shapes were cut out I placed them on a cookie sheet and popped them into the freezer for a few hours to harden so they would be easier to dip in chocolate and not fall apart.


After the brownies had chilled for a few hours, I placed the lollipop stick in them and dipped them in melted chocolate Candy Melts. I used green melts for the trees, chocolate melts for the gingerbread men and white chocolate for the round pops. Before the chocolate hardened I added multi-colored non pareils and crushed up candy canes to the pops.


For the gingerbread men I did let the chocolate harden first before I added their embellishments. I piped on some green icing for the eyes and buttons and then placed sprinkles on top of the icing for their final touch.


In order to allow the pops to harden I placed them in pieces of styrofoam so that they would stand up right and not touch one another.


Once the chocolate hardened I put them in small plastic bags and tied them off with a piece of ribbon.


To display the brownie pops I placed them in recycled canned goods and tied a festive ribbon around the can. This is a very simple, cute and easy way to display the pops and makes for a great homemade centerpiece on your holiday table!

ENJOY!