Pretty In Pink

Cheesecake Ice Cream. Cherry Sauce. Graham Crackers.

I'll give you a moment to be alone with this lovely scoop.......okay now wipe up the drool off your keyboard, then bookmark this recipe. You can thank me later.

I know it's officially Autumn (my favorite season) but it still feels like Summer. It's hot. It's humid and downright uncomfortable. Just until the other day, we had experienced 69 consecutive days of temperatures over 100 degrees. Not fun. That made for a very cranky wife and baker. So in the midst of it all I decided to whip up some ice cream. If you ask me, it's perfectly okay to consume this all year round.

This cheesecake ice cream could not be simpler. You blitz up cream cheese, sour cream, half-n-half and lemon (and orange) zest in the food processor or a blender then you chill it. You churn it in the ice cream maker and you're done. That's it!

I decided to make a cherry sauce to add to the ice cream for a cherry cheesecake version. I added some coarsely crushed graham crackers and called it Heaven. Seriously folks, this was down right delicious. David Lebovitz my thighs curse you thank you!

Cheesecake Ice Cream from Perfect Scoop

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 lemon (I used a combination of lemon and orange zest)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup half-n-half
• 2/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt

Cut the cream cheese into small pieces. Zest the lemon directly into a blender or food processor, then add the cream cheese, sour cream, half-n-half, sugar and salt. Puree until smooth.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Makes about 3 cups.

Cherry Sauce adapted from Perfect Scoop

• 1 1/2 cups cherries, fresh or frozen
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a medium saucepan, heat the cherries and sugar til the fruit begins to release their juices. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water and lemon juice until lump free, then stir the slurry into the cherries.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp. Chill til ready to use.

NOTE: Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

The original recipe calls for blueberries which cook down a bit. The cherries don't break down as much so it makes more than you need to add to the ice cream. I used about 1-1 1/4 cups of the cherry sauce then ate the rest to put on top of ice cream. Yum!

For the cherry cheesecake ice cream, you will need one recipe cheesecake ice cream (recipe above), about 1 cup cherry sauce (recipe above) and about 4-5 whole graham crackers, coarsely crushed.

In a freezer container layer:

1. crushed graham crackers
2. cherry sauce
3. cheesecake ice cream
4. repeat 2 more times, for a total of 3 layers each
5. freeze til completely solid
6. prepare to swoon

Total girl food and I loved every bit of it.

Wilton Course 1, Class 3 and A Recipe

Updated:

A reader emailed me to let me know that she made this recipe and added eggs and the cake didn't sink! I tried it out and it was perfect. The recipe below reflects those changes.

This is my final cake for my Wilton class. I'm not totally thrilled with it, but I think it's fair. I do have to say that the actual cake and frosting were excellent but the roses are much harder then they look.

I made a dozen roses in class but these were the best looking ones. I think they look like purple cabbages :-) The main issue I have with the roses is that the edges are jagged. In the Wilton instruction book, the roses are perfect and smooth. Clearly they are not using the same icing and they're photo shopped. Even the instructors roses were jagged so I don't feel too badly.

I do have to say though that I don't think icing roses are my thing. I understand they have their place on Grandma's 80th birthday cake, but I don't see myself putting them on very many cakes in the future. I'd still like to practice with other icings to see if I can get them smoother. I thinned my icing a bit and that helped, but the roses sagged a bit because the icing wasn't so stiff. Oh well.

My shell/snail border turned out okay. I think the bottom turned out better than the top, but with practice I'll get better.

Moving on to the cake... this recipe comes from Sky High Cakes. It has some excellent recipes in it, so I turned to them for this one bowl chocolate cake and instant fudge frosting. The frosting was super simple to make because it's made in a matter of seconds in the food processor. You MUST make this frosting. It smelled so good too.

And the cake was equally good but it SUNK in the middle. (Ingrid, I know you're laughing at me!) I made it twice because I thought I had done something wrong the first time, but it sunk AGAIN the second time around. It rose just fine in the oven but once it came out and cooled, it sunk and became fudgey in the center. (I had to level off my cake with extra frosting.) It was still very tasty so I'm not considering it a full blown disaster. I think it would be excellent baked into cupcakes and topped with a scoop of ice cream. NOTE: The addition of the eggs resolves the sinking in the center of the cake.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake from Sky High ~makes two 8 or 9-inch layers

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8 or 9-inch pans. Line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper, butter the paper.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Use a wire whisk to blend the dry ingredients thoroughly.

Add the oil and 1/2 cup of the water to the dry ingredients. Add another 1/2 cup water, eggs and the vanilla; again whisk until smooth. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.

Bake the cake layers for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes; then invert onto cooling rack. Remove the paper liners and let cool completely at least 1 hour before frosting.

Instant Fudge Frosting from Sky High

• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 sticks (12 oz.) unsalted butter, room temp.
• 6 tablespoons half-n-half
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate. Process until frosting is smooth.

~Makes 5 cups (I halved this recipe for a 9-inch 2 layer cake).

NOTE: A large food processor is the best piece of equipment to use for this frosting recipe. It whips up a perfect fudge frosting and there is no need for a boiled syrup.

Accidental Jam and Tea Cakes

I'm calling this accidental jam because I was trying to make something else when it turned into jam. Really good jam! So good that I've made it on purpose 3 times since then. Got half an hour and a couple pounds of strawberries? Then you CAN make jam.

This was supposed to be part of the strawberry cheesecake tart that I made for my birthday. But it looked overcooked and I didn't want to put it on the cheesecake tart and ruin it. So I put it in a jar and threw it in the fridge. The next day I tried it and it was delicious. It definitely tasted like strawberry and it was chunky from the addition of the uncooked fruit. It was thickened from the fruits natural pectin and it only has 1/2 a cup of sugar in it so it's not overly sweet.

It's great on bread, toasted or not, with peanut butter and baked into other goodies like these tea cakes! Ingrid from 3 B's and I baked "together" another cupcake from Martha's Cupcakes. This time it was my choice! I chose Strawberry Jam Tea Cakes with an Orange Glaze.

They were really good but rich. For some reason I was expecting more of a muffin type recipe, but it was more like pound cake baked into muffin tins. You definitely need a cuppa coffee (or tea), even milk to have with these. I was going to halve this recipe but I made the full batch since the recipe says it only makes 16. Except it made 22! and I purposely measured out the amount of batter that went into each tin.

I shared them with a friend who ate 4 of them in a matter of 5 minutes. I took them to her for both of us to share but as soon as I handed her the plate, she pulled back the plastic wrap and stuffed half of one in her mouth! Before I knew it, she had eaten them all and I didn't have the heart to tell her they were for both of us. At least she liked them!

Even though I used strawberry jam these would be equally good with other fruit jams as well. You can also substitute the orange for your favorite citrus. Ingrid made hers with raspberry jam and a lime glaze. Go check out her tea cakes! Ingrid, thanks for baking with me!

Accidental Strawberry Jam

• 1 1/2 lbs. strawberries, sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• juice of half a lemon

Slice all but 3-4 strawberries. Place the sliced strawberries in a medium saucepan with the sugar and the lemon juice. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until thick and jam like. Mash the fruit with a spoon to break it up a bit as you go. When it's ready the jam will be move around the pan in one solid-like mass (about 25 minutes).

Finely dice the remaining strawberries. Take off the heat and fold the diced fresh strawberries into the jam. Place in a container and cool to room temperature. Keep refrigerated and consume within 2 weeks.

Strawberry Jam Tea Cakes from Martha's Cupcakes

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temp.
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 4 large eggs, separated, room temp.
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup strawberry jam
• Citrus Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray or brush with butter and dust with flour. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

With an electric mixer, cream butter, sugar and zest until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk, and beating until just combined after each.

In another bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites to soft peaks; gently fold into the batter. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each prepared cup. Make an indentation in the middle of each; fill with 1 tablespoon jam. Top with an additional 2 tablespoons batter, covering jam entirely.

Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers of top layers comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Run a small offset spatula around the edges, and turn the cakes onto wire racks and let cool completely.

To finish, drizzle cakes with glaze, and let set, about 30 minutes. Glazed cupcakes can be stored up to 2 days in a single layer at room temperature in airtight containers.

Orange Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 tsp. finely grated orange zest
• 3 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

Whisk together all ingredients until smooth. If necessary, add more sugar to thicken or more juice to thin the glaze. Use immediately.

Ingrid, I look forward to seeing which cupcake you choose next!