cake

Death By Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

10:50 PM



Here in Mississippi the weather is finally deciding on what it wants to be when it grows up.  While it is not exactly hot yet, it is very warm and we are welcoming the May sunshine in all it's golden beauty and warmth. I used this break from the previous indecisiveness of Southern Mother Nature to break out the ice cream.

Yeah, any excuse to eat ice cream is a good one, right?

So the weather is nice, the sun is shining bright and bold and my kids need a treat. I do what any other mom would do....I head to pinterest.com and eye photo after photo for some ice creamy inspiration. I found it...boy did I find it. I saw a photo of an ice cream cake that took me all the way back to the late 80s when my fifth grade (highly fashionable with my lopsided ponytails) self knew what it meant to be cool and have the coolest birthday party. You could not be cool and awesome without an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. So there it was. My inspiration and what I would make. Nevermind I had never made one before. Who cares about that? You gotta try.

I tried it and I loved it. Man, oh man, did I love it. The kids loved it and my friends loved it. Let's just say, last year was the Year of the Popsicles but this summer will be the Year of the Ice Cream Cake.

While it is not perfect, my first attempt....Death By Chocolate and Peanut Butter...


I made the mistake of running the sides of the springform pan under hot water. Lesson learned. It will make your ice cream melt. Instead use a warm dish rag and run around the outside of the pan to loosen the ice cream. 

I have no idea why I had not tried it before.

You will need:
Brownie Mix ( I used the Ghirardelli brownie mix) 
3 quarts Chocolate Ice Cream 
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (minis) and Reeses Sticks
Chocolate Syrup for garnish




Prepare your brownies as directed on the box or use your favorite homemade brownie mix.  One batch is enough for two layers in a 9 inch springform pan. Pour half of the brownie mix into the pan. Bake as directed.

Allow it to cool and remove the first brownie layer from the pan. Pour remaining half of brownie mix in the pan and bake. Allow it to cool and begin assembly.


Slice your peanut butter cups and place on top of the cooked brownie layer.


Take your ice cream out ten minutes before you plan to add it to the cake. You want it to soften but not melt. Scoop it on top of the peanut butter cup layer. I used a wooden spatula that I ran under warm water to smooth out the ice cream. 

Place in the freezer until firm.

Place second brownie layer on top and repeat ice cream layer. Place in freezer again until firm.


To remove your cake from the pan, wipe the sides of the pan with a warm cloth to help loosen the ice cream.


Top with your remaining cups and reeses sticks. Drizzle with chocolate syrup and serve.


This was so sinfully good it should be a crime. I was so happy with the way it turned out, I am attempting another one tomorrow. Not this one, but a completely different one with a Southern classic twist. Oh yes.








candy bars

Smores Hot Cocoa

8:03 PM



During the cold holiday months, I keep stock of hot cocoa mix. Year after year, my cabinets are filled with the premade boxes for hot chocolate.  My kids run through them like air. I mean, easy enough, right? Buy a box of packets, kids can microwave their drinks. Yeah, easy peasy. But what is even easier and more economical is making a huge batch of your own mix. Besides, everything tastes better when it is made by you!  

So there I was in the grocery store about to toss 4 boxes of hot cocoa mix in the basket when I remembered, heck, I have sugar, I have chocolate, I have cocoa. Literally, I had some kind of mommy-culinary-I-am-going-to-save-money epiphany. I put the boxed packets back on the shelf and put in a box of dry milk instead.

When I got home, it took all of a couple minutes to mix up enough hot cocoa mix to last us two weeks...and that is with 4 kids! I used a variation of a recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker. Seriously, it gets no easier and I like to think I saved a few bucks in the long run. I mean dude, a lil bit of unsweetened coco goes a long way!


You will need:

3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1½ cups cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1½ cups chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate bars...the kids loved that)

I mixed the dry ingredients in a bowl and placed in an airtight container (mason jars, here). I keep the mini chocolate bars in the pantry so that when I am ready to make the cocoa, I give a bar or two to the kids and let it melt and stir in their cocoa.  When you are ready to make it, just add some hot water, add in and stir your chocolate and yum!!

For the s'mores hot cocoa, I made the hot cocoa, topped the oven safe cups with a heap of marshmallows, then placed in the oven with it on broil until they browned. I topped with crushed graham crackers, a graham cracker and chocolate bar with a little of chocolate syrup drizzle. Yes, please.



candy

Homemade Whatchamacallits

9:49 PM



Growing up I loved anything that had peanut butter in it.  My father, a doctor, had his practice right across the street from a convenience store that sold lots of peanut butter candies for a nickle each.  Atkinson's Peanut Butter bars, why of course. I usually bought plenty. Chico sticks, peanut butter cups and of course whatchamacallits.

whatchamacallits were my favorite. I hardly eat sweets these days but I still love anything peanut butter. I have been wanting to try my hand at homemade candy bars for the longest. This was one of the easiest to start with. When I say, easy, I mean super easy. 

I followed a recipe I found on Mele Cotte.  I added a layer of caramel that the recipe does not include but I thought was only right to include since the bars have a chewey layer of caramel that is delish. 


1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 cups Puffed Rice Cereal (like Rice Krispies)
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
2 cups good-quality bittersweet chocolate
1 bag of Kraft Caramel bits or caramels

In saucepan on medium heat, combine everything except the cereal and chocolate.  Stir constantly to avoid sticking and burning. When sugar is melted into the mixture, remove from the heat and stir. In large bowl, pour over the cereal and mix well with a rubber spatula until all cereal is coated. 



You can grease a pan with butter or spray or use wax paper as I did here.  Cote Melle recommends a pan size of 13 X 18 X 1.  Spread the cereal mixture evenly in the pan, pressing firmly to pack it all.  Place in the refrigerator. 

For the caramel layer, I just melted down a bag of Kraft Caramel Bits. I followed the directions on the bag and once melted, I spread evenly over the cereal mixture. 


Place back into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes until caramel has set.  Remove from the refrigerator and remove the uncut bars from the pan.  The wax paper came in handy since I drapped it over the sides and was able to just lift it from the pan.

Cut into bars or squares. This would be a perfect party treat cut into bite size mini pieces.

Once cut, prepare your chocolate. In a microwave safe bowl, begin heating the chocolate, first at 45 seconds, then stir, place back in microwave and microwave at 30 second intervals until melted and smooth from stirring. If your chocolate clumps, add a dab of vegetable shortening and it should smooth out. 

Place your bars on wax paper.

I used a spoon and spooned over heapings of chocolate onto each bar and then used the spoon to spread the chocolate on each bar.

Allow your bars to cool and then you have a nice homemade and easy treat!











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Divian Conner