Fudge Truffle Melted Ice Cream Cake

I am a major Choc-O-Holic! I LOVE any and everything chocolate. So when I found the original recipe online, I knew I was going to have to make mine chocolate. This cake absolutely tastes as amazing as it sounds and is really easy to make with only a few ingredients. 

Now the photo is a little deceiving because that's not the ice cream on top. It's frosting. The ice cream is in the cake! Yum Yum!!  

3 Ingredient Cake

1. Cake Box Mix

2. Favorite Ice Cream (1 pint)

3. Eggs

Yep, that's it!! Easy, right? Or so you think. The hard part comes in trying to decide on which ice cream to use. I stood in the ice cream section at the grocery store for about 20 minutes trying to pick the ice cream I wanted to use. After much debate within my head, I finally decided on Ben and Jerry's Everything But The...

Then I made my way over to the cake section and tried to decide which cake mix to buy. After standing in that aisle for another 10 minutes, I finally settled on Pillsbury Fudge Truffle. I mean, if you're going to do a chocolate cake, you might as well do it right! You can't go wrong whenever the cake box promises to have chocolate oozing out of the middle.

 

Now that the hard part was over, I was ready to make this delicious cake!

 1. Melt your ice cream completely. I dumped my ice cream in the mixing bowl and it melted a lot faster than when it was in the carton.

 2. Once ice cream is melted, add the cake mix and 3 eggs. DO NOT add the oil and water that the cake box calls for. Your ice cream is the substitution for these ingredients. Using the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer) mix all the ingredients until they are well blended.

3. Pour your batter into a very well greased bundt pan. Make sure the pan has lots of cooking spray on it so your cake doesn't stick to the pan after it cooks.

 4. Since I used the Fudge Truffle cake mix, I had a fudge center that I had to add. Pour your fudge center on top of the batter. (I know this looks kind of gross but it's because I used a piping bag). The fudge will make its way to the middle of the cake when it bakes. If you use a different cake mix, you will omit this step.

 5. Bake your cake according to the instructions on your box. Let it cool a little in the pan.

 6. Place your plate on top of the bundt pan and then flip the cake over.

7. Voila! Perfection!!

 8. I added a glaze to my cake but it's not necessary. The recipe for the glaze is below.

Glaze

• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk ingredients together until they are smooth.
2. Using a pastry brush, cover the entire cake with the glaze.

 Now on to the final step....the frosting.
It is totally optional but the only thing I love more than chocolate is frosting. Besides, if I'm going to make this dessert, I'm going to do it all the way!

Frosting 

I've made the frosting below several times using granulated sugar like the recipe usually calls for and I've hated it every time. I don't know if maybe I'm doing something wrong with the mixture but it is always very grainy and doesn't taste very good. This time I decided to try it with powdered sugar and I was MUCH happier with the results. After I made it, I refrigerated it for about an hour before using it and it was perfect!

• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 sticks butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together your milk and flour. Whisk constantly until the consistency is like pancake batter. Cool completely!

2. In a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, combine butter and powdered sugar. Mix for several minutes until the mixture looks creamy.

3. Once your flour and milk mixture is completely cool, add it to your mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients for about 1-2 minutes.

4. Add heavy whipping cream and continue mixing for about 1 minute.

There are so many great variations to this cake that you could try! I think next time I'm going to go with Party Cake ice cream and Funfetti cake!

If you try this recipe, leave me a comment and let me know which ice cream and cake you use.

Low Calorie Paula Deen Tomato Pie

A few weeks ago while in Atlanta, my aunt made this amazing Tomato Pie. It was seriously delicious!! So, I found Paula Deen's recipe for it but decided to make a lower calorie version of it. I also substituted a white onion for her green onion because I'm not much of a green onion fan.

Ingredients

• 3 or 4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced
• a couple of basil leaves (I don't use as many as Paula)
• 1/2 white onion (chopped)
• 1 Pillsbury pie crust
• 3/4 cup grated reduced fat mozzarella
• 3/4 cup reduced fat grated cheddar
• 1 cup Miracle Whip light
• Salt and pepper

Directions

 1. Cut a cross slit in the tomatoes.

 2. Drop them in boiling water for about 30-45 seconds.

 3. Immediately put them in ice water so they will stop cooking.

 4. Peel away the outer skin of the tomato.

5. Slice them and put them in a colander so some of the juice will drain. Then pat them really, really dry with a paper towel. This is a really important step!!! If you don't get the tomatoes dry enough, your tomato layer will be very juicy and your crust will be soggy.

6.  Place the tomatoes on top of the pie crust and add some salt and pepper. (I didn't pre-bake my crust like Paula suggests and it turned out just fine.)

7. Blend together 1/2 white onion and a few Basil leaves.

8. Place onion/basil mixture over the tomatoes.

9. Mix together your cheeses and miracle whip.

10. Top the tomatoes with your miracle whip and cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top is brown.

 11. Enjoy your pie!!!

**Nutrition Note: The entire pie has about 1,700 calories. I sliced my pie into about 6 slices so that averages about 280 calories per slice. Not too bad for a meal!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Cupcakes and Pie

I found this great recipe on allrecipes.com. I changed it just a bit to fit my pie pan instead of a 9x13 pan. But everything else is the same. The pie was so delicious that I turned it into a cupcake. Yum Yum!!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a pie plate with cooking spray.
2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
3. Unroll one can of crescent dough and use a rolling pin to flatten it out so it fits into the pie pan.
4. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture onto the dough.
5. Unroll the second can of dough and shape it using the rolling pin. 
6. Place the dough on top of the cream cheese mixture.
7. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Spread the mixture over the dough.

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting it.

 Sopapilla Cheesecake Cupcakes

Servings: Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg , room temperature
• 2 large egg whites , room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Cheesecake Filling

• 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Combine cream cheese sugar and vanilla until well mixed.
2. Place in a small baking dish and back at 350° for 20 minutes.

Frosting

•  1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 sticks butter
• 10 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

1. Combine sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine confectioner's sugar and butter in a mixer until crumbly.
3. Slowly add heavy whipping cream, extract, and salt until it is creamy.
4. Mix in the sugar mixture.

Girl Scout Thin Mint Cupcakes

One word...Bombdiggity! That's what one of my students said when I made these cupcakes for his class this week. I'm going to agree. They're pretty good....pretty, darn good!

I used my normal dark chocolate cupcake recipe but added 10 crushed Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies to the batter. I frosted the cupcakes with mint cream cheese frosting and then crushed 8 more cookies and put them on top. Recipe makes about 24 cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Mint Creme Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1 stick butter (softened)
• 1 box confectioner's sugar (3 1/2 cups)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 tsp. peppermint extract
• green food coloring (optional)

1. Beat together cream cheese and butter with paddle attachment until well blended.
2. Add vanilla and peppermint extracts.
3. Add confectioner's sugar one cup at a time until you like the sweetness.

Strawberry Cream Cupcakes

I wanted to make strawberry cupcakes for Lexie Kate's birthday and came across several recipes online. I combined them and then made some changes to make them fit exactly what I was looking for. These cupcakes are divine and although I'm usually not a strawberry fan, they might be one of my favorite cupcakes so far.


Cupcakes (Makes about 18)

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cup frozen strawberries

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream.
4. Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor.
5. Fold the strawberry mixture into the batter.
6. Bake for 14-20 minutes. (My oven cooks quickly so I do 14 minutes but adjust time according to your oven.)
7. Scoop the middle out of the cupcakes with a small spoon (I use a melon baller) and put in a small amount of strawberry mousse.
8. Pipe on the frosting with a piping bag and a 2M tip from Wilton.
9. Enjoy!!


Strawberry Mousse Filling

• 3-4 cups of frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed

Directions
1. In a food processor, combine strawberries and sugar; cover and process until smooth.
2. Add in pudding mix.
3. Put mixture into a bowl and fold in Cool Whip.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 2-3 cups of confectioners sugar (I prefer my frosting not too sweet so I use 2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• Pinch of salt

Directions
1. Cream butter and sugar together.
2. Add vanilla and whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time.
3. Add salt.  

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes and Cookie Dough Cupcakes!

I found a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cupcakes on Pinterest the other day and just had to try it. I also wanted to experiment a little so I created a chocolate cupcake with whipped chocolate ganache filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. Yum yum yum!!
Luckily I have 100 kids at school who love cupcakes so I can make a bunch and not worry about them lingering around my house.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling
I've posted the recipe for the chocolate cupcakes before but here it is again.
Makes 24 standard-size cupcakes

• 1¾ cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¾ cup caster (superfine granules) sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line 2 standard muffin tin pans with paper liners, set aside.
2. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk together until well combined, set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
4. Reduce to low-medium speed and add the eggs one-at-a-time, and beat until well combined after each addition, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
5. Add the sour cream and vanilla and continue to beat on low-medium speed until combined, scraping sides of bottom of bowl as needed.
6. Reduce speed to low, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, and mixing until just incorporated after each.
7. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
8. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centres comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.
9. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool for a few minutes.  Remove cupcakes from tins and return to wire racks to cool completely.

**Dig a little out of the middle of the cupcakes and fill them with the whipped chocolate ganache.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

• 2 2/3 cups of milk chocolate chips
• 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla

1. Heat the whipping cream on the stove.
2. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.
3. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until the chocolate is melted. Then add the salt and vanilla.
 Mix well.
4. Let it chill for at least 1 hour then mix with a beater until it makes a nice mousse.

Vanilla Buttercream

• 3 cups of confectioner's sugar
• 1 stick of unsalted butter
• 4-5 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

1. Beat the sugar and butter until it is crumbly.
2. Add heavy cream, salt, and vanilla until mixture is smooth.




Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes (original blogger)

Cupcakes
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
**1/4-1/2 cup of milk

Frosting
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar,
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cupcakes

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Filling

To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour. **I added milk because the filling was too sticky. The milk did a great job of making it creamier.

To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.

Frosting

Beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.

Enjoy!!

Cupcakes Galore

Tis the season for sweets, sweets, and more sweets! I've been baking like crazy lately and want to post all the great recipes I have found. First up.... cupcakes!! I'll post more wonderful recipes later.

Since last week was the last week of school before Christmas break, we had a little holiday party at school. I got this wild idea to make cupcakes for all my students....all 105 of them! However, I miscounted and accidentally made 140 cupcakes. Oh well, it was certainly fun trying new recipes and the kids loved the cupcakes. In fact, their exact words were "Man Mrs. Stidham, these cupcakes are off the chain!" I love my kids!!
I made vanilla and chocolate cupcakes filled with marshmallow peppermint cream and topped with cream cheese frosting. YUM!

Vanilla Cupcakes (Sprinkles recipe)

Servings: Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
• 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg , room temperature
• 2 large egg whites , room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

3. In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.

5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2-4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use. 

Marshmallow Peppermint Cream Filling

• 1½ cups marshmallow cream
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon (start with a ¼ teaspoon first, taste, if you want a stronger mint taste add the extra) organic peppermint extract

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed beat together the marshmallow fluff and butter until smooth.
2. Add the peppermint extract and beat until combined.
3. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill until slightly firm, 20-25 minutes, before using.
4. Scoop out the center of the cupcakes and use a piping bag to fill them with the cream.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes 

(gracessweetlife.com)

Makes 24 standard-size cupcakes

• 1¾ cups plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
• 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¾ cup caster (superfine granules) sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup whole milk

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line 2 standard muffin tin pans with paper liners, set aside.
2. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk together until well combined, set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed, beat together the butter and sugar until well combined, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
4. Reduce to low-medium speed and add the eggs one-at-a-time, and beat until well combined after each addition, scraping sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
5. Add the sour cream and vanilla and continue to beat on low-medium speed until combined, scraping sides of bottom of bowl as needed.
6. Reduce speed to low, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the milk, and mixing until just incorporated after each.
7. Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
8. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centres comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.
9. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool for a few minutes.  Remove cupcakes from tins and return to wire racks to cool completely.