Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

Hello there! My first semester of seminary is over! After finals yesterday, I cried a little (a lot), and had a long shower (tall drink), and am feeling much better today!

Peppermint Ice Cream Cake. Photo: Elizabeth P.

Last week, two of my friends threw a Christmas/White Elephant party. Along with a white elephant gift, we were asked to either bring a drink/cocktail or food. I brought sorbet & champagne cocktails and a peppermint ice cream cake.


First, I'd just like to say that Martha Stewart's SORBET & CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS ARE MY NEW FAVORITE DRINK. Also, I am sorry to say that I don't have a photo of one from the party to post here. We happily drank them up, and didn't think to photograph it. It's super easy to make, though. Literally, you spoon some sorbet into a glass (we used raspberry sorbet), and then fill the glass with champagne. The next morning, I received a text from my friend, "Girl! Those champagne cocktails did me in!!!" I think that's the best review it could possibly get.

The makings of a peppermint ice cream cake

The peppermint ice cream cake was also incredibly easy to make, and I think everyone enjoyed it. At least, I really enjoyed making and eating it. It had soft chocolate cake, layered with minty ice cream, whipped topping, and crunchy candy cake sprinkles. It's a great seasonal dessert, and can be adjusted with different ice cream flavors, depending on your preference or the season.

Look at all that food in the background! Yet, only the pigs in a blanket are gone. Photo: Elizabeth P.

Chau's Super Easy Peppermint Ice Cream Cake 
(Makes one 9x13 cake)

1 box chocolate/devil's food cake mix, divided
eggs, oil, and water called for in the cake recipe (I substitute coffee for water to enhance choco flavor)
1 container of peppermint ice cream (1 container usually has 1.5 qts)
1 - 8 oz of your favorite whipped topping (I was lazy, I used Cool Whip)
3 candy canes or a bunch of peppermint candies, crushed to make "sprinkles"
1 - 9x13 pan
nonstick spray

1. Preheat oven according to cake mix directions. I was using a shiny aluminum pan, so I reduced oven heat by 25 degrees Farenheit.
2. Do your best to divide the dry cake mix in half. (About 1 3/4 c. from 18 oz box of mix).
3. For the eggs, oil, and water/coffee, here's how I broke it down: 2 eggs (my cake mix recipe called for 3 eggs for full cake); half the amount of oil (half of 1/3 c. for me); a little less than half of the amount of liquid called (a full cake mix called for 1 1/4 c, so I used 1/2 c. for the half cake. Remember, you have 2 eggs, so it's okay to use less than half the liquid).
4.  Mix it all together! 
5. Pour it in the pan sprayed with nonstick spray! 
6. Bake it for about 10-15 min, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean!
7. Once fully baked, allow cake to cool for 1-2 hours, until fully cooled. 
8. After cake has cooled, let ice cream sit on counter to soften (about 20 min). You'll know it's soft when you can use a spoon or spatula to mix the ice cream. NOTE: If you can't find peppermint ice cream, you could mix crushed candy canes into softened vanilla ice cream.
9. Remember, cake should be cooled. Spoon ice cream onto the cake, and spread it out evenly over the cake. 
10. Top with whipped topping and crushed candy canes/peppermint candies. Freeze for about 1-2 hours.
11. Eat that jank.

Alexandria, Va

Had dinner with a few friends from college tonight. The plan was that I would make dinner, and my friend Chucklebum and I would bake together for the blog. This is what actually happened:

Dinner: Kona chicken with rice and steamed veggies

Start making dessert

"Let's have some wine!" "YAY!!!"

"Let's slosh our way through dessert making!" "Gyurrrggghhhh..."

Result: Ice cream cupcakes

We tried four different kinds of ice cream for our cupcakes: strawberry, chocolate, mint chocolate chip, and banana. Considering that it was messy, and the brownie bottoms baked a little too long, the result was pretty fantastic! It was easy and tasty! Check out the link above for "Joy the Baker's" recipe.

The chicken was just as effortless and tasty, although I omitted the honey and baked it instead of using a slow cooker. It was such a relief to be cooking/baking again after eating out every day for a week! I really, really missed being able to choose my ingredients and be part of the cooking process...isn't that sad?

Banana Ice Cream

via Apartment Therapy

So, my friend Corinne posted on her Facebook last week that she was going to make ice cream using a recipe from Apartment Therapy. Ice cream from 1 ingredient...Out of nothing but BANANAS. Intriguing? Yes. 

Here in Seattle, we often buy bananas from the local Asian market, because they sell them in 5 lbs bags for 99 cents. 99 cents! That's as good as those green apples I found last time! I love a good deal.

I try recipes from the internet often, but because I am idiotic enough to believe most of what I read, those recipes aren't always great. (BTW, did you know that there is a spell you can chant to become a MERMAID???) This ice cream recipe however, was wonderful. It was simple, delicious, healthy, and very satisfying. It's also very banana-y. Warning! You may need to be a fan of bananas in order to enjoy banana ice cream. Luckily, we like bananas, but more importantly, MY NEPHEW LOVED IT. I got him to eat healthy food without extra sugar and force feeding. Amazing. It's like I tricked him, but without the negative consequences. I feel drunk on power.