ICECREAM CAKES

Yes they were this good, and almost this yummy. Sorry I don't have step by step pictures for this one, but my kitchen was MESS while I was making them and I was making dinner at the same time. They were QUICK.

I started with the silicone cup cake liners like these http://tinyurl.com/lbt2x3

Then I brushed them with melted chocolate and let that set about 10 min. Then I added a little sliver of cake. I think the cake was 1/3 of a single layer cake. If I figured it right I could cut at least 24 from one cake. Then we put a little glob of hot fudge and a scoop of ice cream. I used my pampered chef large scoop and it was the PERFECT amount of ice cream. We let that in the freezer until we were done with dinner and topped with whipped cream.

They were the perfect serving size sort of, and really hit the spot on a cold day. The chocolate was a little much. I'm thinking next time about brushing the sides with a good brush of chocolate and doing a cookie crumb crust rather than the cake and then fudge and chocolate chips before the ice cream. They went together so fast I'm thinking this would be a GREAT birthday desert rather than a cake for Abbie this year. We will still have carrot for Rick, but this could be fun. If I used real whipped cream I could put that on and freeze it all at the same time, or just roll the ice cream in sprinkles no whipped cream. Not sure, but YUMMA!!!

yard sale gold

So I haven't yard saled in A LONG TIME, but today we were on the way back from the market and stopped. Abbie found some little toy horses, Rick found a crock pot to cook his car parts, but at the second one I found these.

It's much prettier in person than in the picture. Tablecloth and 12 napkins. FIVE BUCKS. Yep, five bucks. And it's beautiful. it's not perfect, if you look REALLY close you can tell it was eaten on and loved, but that's ok. Here's close up of the detail.

We eat with cloth napkins every night. We got some with wedding money when we first got married. When we got a washing machine we started using them. The we've inherited some from grandmas. Every time someone says they are getting rid of linens I'm the first one with my hand out. I LOVE using them. I also love setting my table with things my grandma or great grandma or friend touched over and over again. We have some perfectly pristine ones but mostly they are ones people used and ate with. Sometimes I wonder what dinner the silent spots are from, who the lap that used them belonged to. If I had more space I'd collect dishes I think. I LOVE them, but for now napkins and I'm really happy with that. I packed one in my bag when I had Abbie. Something about knowing all the hands and fingers that had touched it made me feel better. I can imagine them being washed and folded, maybe even ironed long before me, or when I was little.

So for us it cloth napkins, these are our new ones, and yes I intend to use them.

here they are

don't miss the cheese shot at the end ;)

cookie cakes. A little bit cookie a little bit cake. We started with from scratch chocolate chip cookies, we used milk chocolate chips, cause that's what I like.

Then we cheated with yellow cake mix, but it's yummy.

Little cake, little cookie, little more cake and you have our sweet for the week.

It was ok. Not a slam dunk, but they'll get eaten.

The one thing I dislike about using cake mix is that it always makes 24 cup cakes. Guess I could split it and save it for next time, but how do you do 1 1/2 eggs!

I think carrot cake maybe next week. We haven't' had any in a while and it's sounding yummy.

coming soon

cookie cakes

sorry we missed yesterday, pics and description coming later this afternoon

black bottom

YUMMY! I was lacking inspiration today and didn't feel like digging around on the internet for something new. Rick had some oral surgery today and I've had a cold for the last week or so and I'm just pooped, but it's been a while since I did a cup cake.

I pulled out my Joy of Cooking and looked under cake, found black bottom cupcakes and I had almost all the ingredients. I needed a cup of chocolate chips and only had about a half a cup, but that's ok. Two bowls, sixteen cup cakes liners and 24 minutes later I had this.

They were delish! Moist chocolate with a drop of cheesecake almost in the center. I almost made a chocolate icing but decide that they were just fine on their own. The only thing I might change next time is to put in half the chocolate batter, then the cheese cake, then the rest of the chocolate batter so it was a cheese cake surprise.

black bottom cupcakes

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY, pictures and other stuff later tonight, but YUM for a whim

cream soda cup cakes

Found the recipe at Better Homes & Gardens. I'd say it's a good cupcake. Not outstanding, but pretty good. The icing they suggested, the browned butter icing, too sweet for me really. The cup cake is sort of like a spice cake, but not spice if that makes any sense.

Here are most of the ingredients.

Here are the 2 things missing from above, 2 of Rick's favorite things.

the cream soda really will fizz

done, yummy right?


I did manage to make my own butter milk today and browned butter again. I think the icing is the same as what I had on the snicker doodle cup cakes.

Going to be around, stop for a cup cake.