YoCake...Froyo & Cupcake Become One

What a novel idea! We've done it here with Cupcake Project, that is combining ice cream and cupcakes into yummy creations (if you haven't heard about our annual Ice Cream Cupcake Contest check it out here) and now there is a storefront in the Washington DC area, YOCAKE, that dishes out froyo and cupcake combinations in one tasty cup. Plus you can add toppings like a sundae. Seriously....sounds like road trip time! Unfortunately we haven't actually been there yet but hopefully someday we will because it sounds just fun to go to. Lots of Froyo flavors both sweet and tart options and so many cupcakes to choose from. 

Apparently the only catastrophe is that they make beautiful cupcakes and then you cover them in froyo. I feel bad for the baker who spent all that time designing them. As this Washington Post article states, "In some ways, I’m surprised a shop that produces such elegant little cakes would allow you to drown them in nonfat yogurt. It’s like covering a wedding cake in a mountain of ice cream just to save the catering crew some time. But such is the price of dealing in forced gimmicks: Someone or something is always compromised, this time it’s those carefully constructed and decorated cakes produced in Ellen’s kitchen (based on recipes from her mother, a French-trained baker). I guess in the end it's the taste so who really cares right and it sounds like Ellen's mom made some good cupcakes so I bet they are awesome.

If you've ever been we'd love to hear from you.

Happy Halloween Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I was super excited to see these ice cream cone cupcakes by Life's a Cupcake at one of the Halloween parties I went to this past weekend. It of course was the first thing I noticed amongst all the treats and the first thing every kid wanted. What's better than cupcake that looks like ice cream! After giving one to my 6 year old and 2 year old I realized this really is a great idea. The cone takes the mess out of cupcakes and is still fun for the kids to eat. Oh and the cute little chocolate pumpkin was the icing on the cake!

I have to give props to Jen from Life's a Cupcake. She is a friend of a friend who has two little ones and recently decided to turn her love for baking into a fun little local business. She is not only a great baker but super creative and adds fun detail and thought into all her creations. She made the Pumpkin cupcakes you can see in the background as well as awesome Frankenstein chocolate cupcakes. If you happen to live in Southern MA or northern RI definitely check her out. Thanks Jen for the fun cupcakes. Can't wait for Tarah to have another party so I can do some more taste testing!

Red Velvet Ice Cream

Red Velvet Cake reminds me of Valentine's Day, so maybe that's why I was insistent on making Red Velvet Cake when I got together with my art school girls the day after Valentine's Day. I used Jennifer Appel's recipe for Red Velvet Cake from The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook: More Than 80 Recipes for Irresistible, Old-Fashioned Treats, but used the recipe for her Cream Cheese Icing rather than her Red Velvet Icing. I made cupcakes instead, and reduced the cooking time to 30 minutes. I got about 28 cupcakes from the recipe, and lots of extra frosting -- bonus!

With any good cake comes ice cream, and therefore, I felt it necessary to make a Red Velvet Ice Cream. I have had a Red Velvet Ice Cream before -- I am a big fan of Stone Ridge Creamery's Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream. But, I wanted to try my hand at it.

Here's how I did it:

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 2 red velvet cupcakes, frozen, then diced into 1/2 cubes
• cream cheese frosting
• red sanding sugar

How to:

1. Heat cream, cocoa powder and sugar in a medium sauce pan, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a rolling boil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together whole milk and lemon juice to make "buttermilk".
3. Transfer hot cream mixture to a large bowl and add milk and lemon juice mixture and vanilla extract. Stir until combined.
4. Chill mixture thoroughly in fridge.
5. Freeze ice cream in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. During the last few minutes of churning, add in the diced cake. Then add a few shakes of sanding sugar (as desired). Finally, swirl in three heaping tablespoons of cream cheese frosting.

Voila.

The reviews are in. I liked it. Husband liked it. Four art school friends liked it. One nine year old and one six year old liked it. No one disliked it.

The ice cream was not too sweet but just sweet enough. Though I have had disagreements with buttermilk in ice cream, in this case, the "buttermilk" gave it just what it needed to give it the Red Velvet kick.

My one complaint? The cream cheese frosting. I love cream cheese frosting. Love it. However, when eaten in the ice cream, the cream cheese seemed to coat the roof of my mouth, which I wasn't a huge fan of. What to do? Leave it out? Try a lower fat version of the icing? Any thoughts? Right now, I'd say leave it in (maybe add less) until I find a cream cheese swirl replacement.

Still haven't gotten your Red Velvet fill? Head over to CakeSpy's where she recently compared the cake to Marilyn Monroe. It's quite a treat and chock full of history.

Or visit Krista of In the Kitchen with Krista where she made Rich Red Regale Red Velvet Ice Cream Cupcakes for last year's Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup.

Free Ice Cream at Maggie Moo's

This just in in honor of National Cupcake Day (with a shoutout to our buddy Stef of Cupcake Project - - and a promise of an upcoming photo of the cupcake and ice cream worlds colliding)...

Do good and eat well!

It's late and I have been sick for the last couple of days and I need to get to bed so when the baby wakes, I can wake too, so I am just going to paste the relevant details from the press release. But promise I will be back and posting as soon as I can. In the meantime, thanks to Tina for pulling more than her share of the weight for the last four months...

From Maggie Moo's:

MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream and Treatery will celebrate National Cupcake Day on Wednesday, December 15 by giving customers a free ice cream cupcake sample with any donation of a canned good from 3 to 7pm.*

“We are excited to use National Cupcake Day as a platform for MaggieMoo’s to collect food for local food banks,” said Jenn Johnston, chief marketing and operations officer for GFG Management, LLC. “Also, National Cupcake Day is a fabulous way for us to reward our valued customers with MaggieMoo’s unique ice cream cupcakes.”

Customers can visit MaggieMoos.com and join MaggiE-mail, follow Miss Maggie Moo on Twitter or become a Facebook® Fan. 

* While supplies last. Limit one offer per guest during the day of the promotion. Counts vary by store. Valid only at participating U.S. stores.  No purchase necessary.

Enjoy!

Reminder: Cupcake Project/Scoopalicious Second Annual Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup

Just a reminder that the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup ends in five days.

To get you excited, (especially if you haven't concocted your own to enter yet), here are some ideas:

1. Check out the entries from last year.
2. Check out the recent ice cream cupcakes made by out Roundup co-host Stef (of Cupcake Project) -- while you are there you can also check out some other pretty exciting cakes, such as Honey Baked Ham Cupcakes.
   
3. Check out the post I did earlier this month for my very sweet Cake Ice Cream Cupcakes.
4. Read below for my Shirley Temple Cupcakes:

As you can tell, I love Shirley Temples. I have made two different Shirley Temple ice creams (one and two) and once even tried a sorbet.

This time, I made ice cream cupcakes. The base was a white cake, a recipe I got from my sister:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1.5 cups self-rising flour
1.25 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream 2 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar using an electric mixer on medium for about 3 minutes. Beat in four eggs, one at a time. Combine the two flours separately, and add half to the batter, mix, then add 1 cup of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add the rest of the flour a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Line muffin tins with cupcake papers and fill each 0.75-full with batter. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

I filled mine about 1/3 full with batter, as I wanted to leave room for the ice cream.

I piled on some homemade lime ice cream from Bruce Weinstein's The Ultimate Ice Cream Book: Over 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Drinks, And More (this is my bible of ice cream making).

Finally, I whipped up some butter cream to which I added some grenadine.

0.5 stick butter, at room temperature
0.5 stick margarine, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and margarine about 3 minutes, or until light and creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar, 0.5 cup at a time, beating about 2 minutes after each addition, until light and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

I then added about 3 tablespoons of grenadine.

The result? Very limey ice cream with very very sweet frosting. Not very Shirley Temple-y. They were good, but would never be my first choice for a dessert. Mostly because I don't think I am a huge lime fan.

Cupcake Project/Scoopalicious Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup 2009

It's time again for the Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup - your opportunity to showcase your amazing ice cream cupcake creations just in time for summer! For a brief tutorial to get you started, check out Stef's post on ice cream cupcakes. For tons of inspiration, check out all of last year's entries at Scoopalicious or Cupcake Project. Also check out Bethany's cupcakes from last year (you'll need to scroll to the middle of the post) as well as check back here throughout the month because we have a couple of sample recipes to show ourselves...

This year's Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup is going to be a bit different because we've got PRIZES!! Lots and lots of prizes!! They are all listed after the official rules.

Official Rules:

• Dates: You can enter any time through May 31, 2009.
• How to Enter: Write a post on your blog during the month of May and include a link to this post and to the post at Scoopalicious. Then, complete the entry form (available at the bottom of this post or by clicking here. If you don't have a blog, you can still enter by emailing us the details about your ice cream cupcake, a photo, and your top three prize selections.
• Reader's Choice: There will be one Reader's Choice Award winner chosen by vote during the first week of June (you can get anyone you know to vote - start begging).
• Editor's Choice: There will be two Editor's Choice Awards: one by Scoopalicious and one by Cupcake Project.
• Prizes: When you enter the roundup, you will have an opportunity to tell us which prize you want the most, your second choice, and also your third choice, so be sure to review the prizes carefully. The prizes will be distributed as follows:
• The Reader's Choice Award winner will get their first choice prize.
• The Editor's Choice Award winners will receive their first choice prizes unless they have already been taken by the Reader's Choice Award winner (in which case, they will get their second choice pick). If both Editor's Choice winners want the same prize, the winner of that prize will be randomly chosen and the other will get their next preference. It is possible for someone to win an Editor's Choice Award and a Reader's Choice Award or even two Editor's Choice Awards. In these cases, the winner will receive multiple prizes.
• Just by submitting a cupcake, you have a good chance to win a prize. After the Reader's and Editor's Choice Award prizes are given out, all other prizes will be distributed randomly. There is no guarantee that you will get one of your top picks. If one of your top picks is still available when your name is drawn, then you will get that prize. If not, you will get whatever prize is still available. If you don't love it, there is always the re-gift (but, why wouldn't you love it?).
• The Fine Print: While we would love to see entrants from all over the world, not all prizes can be shipped internationally. If you are outside of the USA and you win a prize, will will try our best to get that prize to you, but we make no guarantees.

The Prizes

3 winners will receive a 12 pack of gourmet cupcake wrappers from Bella Cupcake Couture. Her cupcake wrappers are gorgeous!! They will surely snazz up any cupcakes you make. Save them for a special occasion or a fancy night in.



1 winner will receive an awesome prize pack from the talented Just Jenn Designs (a participant in last year's ice cream cupcake roundup). The package includes a Cupcake Gift Set (eight personalized cards + envelopes with one cup-a-cake holder), I heart cupcakes' cards (6 folded cards plus envelopes), and Happy birthday, cupcake! (six - 3.5"x2.5" glossy tags w/various color ribbons).

1 winner will receive a cupcake tote bag from Avocado Creations. It will look just like the one above, but in turquoise. What better thing to take shopping with you to buy all of your cupcake ingredients?!

3 winners will receive a package of bread mix from JB Dough. It may not be cupcakes, but who doesn't love the smell of fresh bread in the oven? Yum!! The winners can choose from 22 different flavors of bread mix!

2 winners will receive a bag of cacao nibs from Patric Chocolate. Patric Chocolate will also include a recipe for Patric Chocolate Nib-Chip Cookies. If you've never tried cacao nibs before, they are truly a treat, and Patric Chocolate is some of the best chocolate on the planet (not that having dinner with the owner recently made me at all biased).

1 winner will receive an 8-pack of homemade cupcake birthday cards directly from Bethany of Scoopalicious. In addition to running the fun ice cream blog, Bethany also sells all kinds of items on her Etsy page, Buzz Buzz Bee.

1 winner will receive a 4x5 illustration from the incredible Cakespy! Cakespy's art just couldn't be any cuter!

1 winner will receive a cupcake pendant from Krissi's Mixed Media Arts. What better way to show your love for the cupcake than by wearing one around your neck?

The Submission Form: (if you have trouble accessing this form via the blog, you can also get to it by clicking here)

We can't wait to see all of your delicious entries!!

Better Late than Never

A late ice cream entry is like a late birthday present...just when you think all the treats are done coming to you, you get one more unexpected one...!

Jenn, of JustJENN's Rants and Raves and Just Jenn Designs, who we wrote about way back when we were just starting this blog sent in one last entry to the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup...and boy did her Chocolate and Green Tea Ice Cream Cupcakes sound yummy...

I love Jenn's cutaway shot. Though I am not a green tea fan, my husband loves green tea and couldn't stop talking about it after Japan, until we finally got the amazing powdered green stuff...needless to say I have had a reason to make green tea ice cream, and I will someday soon...I promise, Kev.

I have to say, I just love the color combo. What could be finer than lime (er, um, green tea) green and chocolate brown...I think even though I am not a huge green tea fan, the mellow flavor of the tea could offset the chocolate well. And yet, another vegan recipe as well! I am so impressed with all the vegan baking out there...

Like Jenn, I thought making ice cream cupcakes was a LOT of work, and yes, really only something for a special occasion.

Thanks, Jenn! Hope your computer is doing better!

Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup: Just A Note...

Just wanted to add that Stef at Cupcake Project, who we did the roundup with, posted her own reviews of these fabulous cupcakes, complete with comments right on the images (see left for an example)...worth taking a little look here...

The Entries Are In For the First Annual Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup!

Wow! It's been one month since Stef at the Cupcake Project initiated this fun Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup with us and we are astounded by the yumminess and creativity of all the entries. Check 'em all out and next time you decide to make cupcakes, don't forget the one special ingredient to top them with...ice cream!

Thanks Stef and all the amazing bakers who contributed a yummy ice cream cupcake....this was so fun!

Sooooo, we couldn't figure out how best to do this, so we made a chart and each got a color for a response. Bethany is black raspberry colored, Tina is mint colored!

Note: Neither one of us have actually tried any of these recipes, but we HOPE to soon! We'll be busy in the kitchen, I can tell you that!

---

	Caramel Apple Pie a la mode by Of Monkeys and Cupcakes Can't believe this is OMAC's first round-up. She looks like she has it down. Her step-by-step photos are beautiful (I love the cutaway) and her write-up is great! I love her combo of caramel ice cream and caramel apple cupcakes, but I do have to admit, my favorite part, the part I just wanted to lick the screen for, was the cream cheese frosting! Way to go OMAC, and thanks for your entry! Ooh, caramel is my fave and these really sound and look great. I love how you piped in the ice cream...wow that must have took time waiting for it to defrost to the perfect consistency . So impressed by your first roundup!
	Dairy Free Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes with Kahlua Almond Ice Cream and Caramel/Cream Cheese Sauce or "Frosting" by Flour Arrangements I think FA says it best in the first line of her post: "Wow...that's a long title for cupcakes that took an even longer time to make ;)" That's one thing I did realize. These cupcakes are time consuming! At least mine were. So many steps and so much freezing and working, freezing and working. I am impressed with FA's attempts to go vegan in her cupcake making. Impressive! Also, as much as I loved loved loved the image to the left of the caramel/cream cheese frosted ice cream cupcakes with the cherry and almond on top (beautiful presentation!), I was also impressed by her creativity in using the leftovers to send to work with her husband! Way to go! (I, on the other hand, was left with a freezer full of ice cream cupcakes that were going to get the best of me!) Lucky Jose and and his co-workers! P.S. FA, love your little recipe card application-thing on your blog! Hey did you use Bethany's fake ice cream recipe because these are so picture perfect they almost look fake! The cherry and almond are so thoughtfully placed and the dripping frosting falls just right. I think the watery consistency resulted in a darn nice looking ice cream cupcake!
	Chocolate Orange Guinness Cupcakes by Couture Cupcakes First of all, CC, I don't even know where to begin! Your write-up and photos are fantastic! I LOVED CC's little "package" for each tester -- treat and spoon all bundled up nicely! The cup idea was also fantastic. I had a hard time eating my creations in their wrapper on a plate...ice cream isn't meant for a plate, silly me! The cup seems like the perfect solution -- a place to bake as well as a solid structure to eat out of! I think it is great as well that CC got friends and family to do reviews -- so nice to see a number of responses! OK, and the recipe itself? AWESOME. I am not a huge fan of beer, but I think I might like these, as they are so rich with flavors I DO love together: chocolate, orange, and raspberry...yum! One more tip I like: "Take cupcakes out of freezer 10 minutes before serving." Very good advice! I have been dying to make Guinness ice cream for my husband who is a big fan of the stout so these intrigued me. The fact that you actually made two flavors of ice cream was adventurous in itself never-mind the clever packaging and great photos with scribbles. These are so cute and sound awesome. Love the mix of orange with it. Oranglicious!
	Miss Scarlet by Little Ivy Cakes First of all, creme brulee ice cream?! Um, yum! These are beautiful. I love the mixture of colors and textures. The garnishes work so well, as well -- these are just incredibly beautiful. My mouth is watering just looking at and thinking about that mixture of the richest foods I know: red velvet cake, creme brulee, meringue, strawberries, blood oranges... Wonderful entry, and perfect name as well! I know I have been under a rock but I have never had red velvet cake and these have me even more intrigued after seeing the red batter on the mixer. Each step of this ice cream cupcake sounds awesome and I can't even believe the frosting itself took almost 45 minutes..wow you are a trooper. But it all looks worth it. The color and contrast of layers is fantastic and the creme brulee ice cream sounds to die for.
	S'mores Ice Cream Cupcake by Jesse Jesse's ice cream cupcakes are right in time for the season (by the way, has anyone seen those s'mores kits they sell now? Marshmallows, grahams, chocolate and sticks all included...can't people even find sticks in the woods for s'mores making any more? I mean, c'mon...half the fun is finding the perfect stick to toast the perfect marshmallow on...anyway...). Anyway, these are just beautiful! I want to dive right into the marshmallow meringue topping, just like the graham cracker did. I mean, these looks SO inviting! I am also impressed that it is Jesse's first time making ice cream! Of course it is hard to really see how it came out as it is sandwiched between a cupcake and a mountain of fluffy meringue, but it's not in an unfrozen puddle around the cake, so I have to assume it worked out pretty well! Love the little graham cracker fun fact! Summertime and camping...that's what these are all about! I must try this Cinnamon Graham Crunch ice cream, thanks for posting the recipe, it sounds too good and you're right Philly style is way easier and when you have a project with so many steps its perfect. Love the shot and the placement of the graham is prefect. It's the details that count...great job!
	Rootbeer Float Cupcakes by Coconut and Lime These are just adorable! They are so retro and charming -- the presentation is wonderful! Use of the ice cream glass and the straw is perfect. As much as the look takes me back the fifties -- wait, you have to have lived in the fifties to go back to the fifties, huh? I just barely made the seventies! -- er, um, anyway, you know what I mean -- the flavor combination seems wonderful and classic diner feeling! Yum! P.S. Where EVER did you get those liners, C&L? I want them! Love it...this just looks fun. It's simple and sweet and I can just picture myself sitting at a diner counter enjoying this. Hmm..maybe there is one nearby but I doubt they serve this wonderful creation.
	Choco-Caramel4 Fudge Ice Cream Wafflecakes by I♥Cuppycakes These are so charming! I think the waffle bowl would add an awesome crunch to this recipe -- just like IHC (That's I Heart Cuppycakes -- I don't know how to make that heart!!) said. I will have to try it out! I love how the cone bowl flattened. It's so pretty! In fact, at the point where IHC hadn't added the ice cream yet, there is a shot that looks like a big flower! I love the sundae look of these as well, and for a chocolate lover, these are, um, perfect! BUT, I could also see how wonderful peanut butter ice cream would be too, just like IHC and her husband both suggested after the fact. Let us know how that turns out, will ya, IHC? Wow, what a creative idea to use these cups and had you never mentioned the flattening of them I would have never known. I think they fell perfectly and am amazed at the idea of cooking the brownie in it (can you tell I don't take risks in baking!). The cup and brownie topped with Triple Caramel Chunk (which I must try now..darn only edys in the fridge) sounds scrumptious. This really looks like you stole a photo out of a cookbook..wonderful!
	Chocolate Strawberry-Rhubarb Ice Cream Cupcakes by Cooking In Cleveland These are just beautiful. I could stop right there. I don't want to eat them, I just want to look! OK, but truth be told I LOVE strawberry rhubarb anything. I have never had it with chocolate though, but it sounds amazing. The balsalmic vinegar in this ice cream recipe sounds like it adds a great twist as well. This is definitely one I am going to steal some rhubarb from mom and dad's garden for...! LOVE rhubarb...my favorite summertime pie and ice cream sounds even better. Never had it but its now on my must-have list and thanks for sharing the ice cream recipe. I will defintiely try this one. Love the photo and the shaved chocolate and perfect strawberry really finish these off beautifully!
	Strawberries and Chocolate by Red Kitchenaid These are charming! I am going to have to make them for my star loving sister! RK's presentation is wonderful. I just love the shine of the hot fudge finishing off the personal desserts. Strawberries and chocolate? What could be finer? (OK, the verdict is still out on strawberry rhubarb and chocolate above!) KA had a problem with the strawberries in her ice cream being very icy. As I wrote on her blog: "I keep running into the icy ice cream problem too. I read that if you macerate the fruit in sugar for a while before mixing in, it is supposed to help." Great work, KA! Neat idea putting this all in a mold and topping it with hot fudge is the best part. I've made lots of ice cream now and every batch is different so definitely try again. You may be pleasantly surprised the next time. But these really look great and I bet tasted just as good.
	Chocolate Cherry Amaretto Ice Cream Cupcakes by Tempered Woman The name says it all: chocolate cherry...This is one of those classic combos that you can't go wrong with. Add some liquor, and you can go even less wrong! I love the idea of the marscapone in the frosting. Sounds so yummy! As I was reading TW's description of the ice cream soaking into the cake, all I could think about is that: I. Want. These. NOW. Love the photo too...the image is so inviting. They have such a cheerful, playful, summertime look to them that I keep half expecting my four year old neighbor to come running into the picture with his bathing suit and inflatable arm bands. "Stay away, Oscar, these are for adults only!...and remember, you can't go swimming until a half an hour after eating..." Can I just have a spoon loaded with that frosting. Man that looks good..and with marscapone cheese its gotta be. I just love how the ice cream is sandwiched and how playful the piped frosting is. Although from the sounds of it the outdoor photo was challenging, but it frames them wonderfully. These look incredible!
	Chocolate Fire Ice Cream Cupcakes by My Own Sweet Thyme These look and sound so yummy. I love the richness that chile powder adds to chocolate, and to top that combo off with cinnamon ice cream, and cream cheese frosting sounds like a match made in heaven. MOST even has an image of the cupcake unwrapped, the creamy white ice cream melting into the dark chocolate cupcake that makes me want to climb into my computer and eat it. Ah, if only it were that easy. (I'd be gaining weight by the second as I write this...) My husband isn't such a sweets fan, which I can't understand, but he does like spicy things, so I think I should try making them for me, er, um, I mean him. The name is great -- it's a perfect match for the spicy mixed with cold combo. Wow, these sound super flavorful and fantastic. After all those steps you said you would definitely make again..they must be good! Oh and the weather may not be right there for ice cream yet but start making your own and it becomes a year round obsession!
	Burnt Sugar Lilac Cupcakes by Big Black Dogs These make me want to sit in a lace filled victorian house and drink tea. Absolutely beautiful! Love the lilac and colored sugar garnishing the top. Burnt sugar and lilac sounds like a pretty cool combo to me! I like the lightness of flower flavors in moderation, and I think that the combo of burnt sugar and lilac sounds like a perfect mix. The white chocolate ganache seems to be the perfect topping, and also what I will now use as the topping to my cupcakes, as no one was particularly thrilled with the caramely white chocolate topping on my experiment! (Thanks, BBD!) I wonder, did the ganache harden on the ice cream? These are definitely the prettiest entry by far. It looks like a bouquet and I can smell the flowers from here . I have to say I am not so sure about actually eating lilacs but its so different I think I might have to try it to see what its all about. Oh and topped with ganache...sold!
	Cookie Dough Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcakes by Beantown Baker Ah, the Beantown Baker...one that (I assume) hails from the great city of Boston...(A little biased, yes, but that is where I met the lovely Tina, without whom we wouldn't have this ab fab blog!) First off BB, I have to say, I am so so sorry about your lactose intolerance. I don't know how I would be able to function on soy/tofu/rice/anything-other-than-rich-heavy-cream ice cream wannabes! (I mean, to each his own, really -- its just not for me!) Love how BB added the ice cream "mush" to her cupcake and reminisced about childhood. Didn't we all mix our cake and ice cream mush together? The chocolate cream cheese frosting seems to be the perfect last ingredient of the chocolate -vanilla cookie dough-chocolate sandwich BB made. Um, BB, maybe you could send Tina and I your address so we could come over and eat the rest of these for you, as um, you are lactose intolerant. ;) My favorite step...send hubby to the store for ice cream! Sounds like my nightly although if its homemade, "send hubby to the kitchen to get me a bowl of ice cream!" Regardless its a great start to a fun process. These look great..cookie dough and chocolate cupcakes topped off with cream cheese frosting sounds like a perfect combination. p.s....since you're in Boston be sure to hit the Scooper Bowl next week on City Hall Plaza (endless ice cream for $8..what's better than that!)
	Kalhua Chocolate Crunch Ice Cream Cupcakes by Lick the Spatula I have to admit. I have the taste buds of a five year old. I like sweet sweet sweet, and I always say I don't like anything coffee or alcohol flavored. That being said, I'd still try these...Kalhua is sweeter than most liquors, and sometimes I actually think it gives a nice rich flavor to things, as does the chocolate and coffee combo (once I made my friend a coffee/chocolate cake knowing she would like it and I wouldn't -- it was just past Christmas and I was trying not to eat as many sweets to make up for all the sweets I had eaten -- but I still did and thought it was one of the richest cakes I had ever eaten. Long story short, even with my childish tastes, I think these have the potential to be rich, sweet, and delicious even to me! Beautiful work though, I love LTS's testing of alternative cupcake holders as well as her ability "to think outside of the cupcake liner"! I too am a big chocolate and coffee fan so these sound right up my alley. I usually try to have each daily and now I can have them together. Thanks for entering and thanks to your husband for doing the dishes. Where can I get one of those! Capitol D...Delicious!
	Chocolate Strawberry Bliss Cupcakes by Confessions of a City Eater I love the stripes of color in this cake, made by Tina and my Boston neighbor (Go Celtics!). It is so simple and elegant. I am curious to know the kind of frosting used. It looks delish! OMG, I didn't realize these were white chocolate. I love love love white chocolate. And with strawberry? Even better! And COACE? Since I commented on your posting, you'll be happy to know I found a whatchamacallit to pipe frosting at Marshall's so I picked it up. Now if I can only get the actual skill down... Ooh another Boston girl...Scopper Bowl next week, don't miss out! I absolutely love this photo with the city in the background. Maybe these should have been called Bliss in the City (BITC)...appropriate timing! These look so refreshing and your strawberry ice cream sounds great.
	Oreo Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes by Küchenatein I have heard of cone cupcakes, but it never occured to me to make them and then add ice cream to make a REAL ice cream cone cupcake! Brillant! I just love the idea, and it is basically an all-in-one, good for the environment (no trash) solution! These are adorable! Perfect for a kid's party -- you wouldn't have to deal with ice cream and cake on the spot, as it is all predone! Also pretty cool with the cone removed too! I think oreo ice cream is one of my all time favorites...so these are rigth up my alley. The other day I had, get this, cake batter oreo ice cream at J.P. Licks in Brookline, MA. That might be my new favorite -- two of my all time favs combined!! Hey I have been dying to try the cupcake in the cone idea. I came across this idea when researching recipes for my toddler's birthday and thought it was such a neat and fun idea so I am psyched to see this here. This is a classic and so right for this roundup. I just want to lick them now!

Thanks to everyone who took part -- every single one of the recipes was creative, unique, and so delicious looking...we'll report back again when we actually try some of these!

In the meantime, if our readers try any of these recipes, please send us a full report!

What I loved best?...I loved how the every presentation was completely different than the last. It is amazing to me how people take the same problem and come up with their own solution that is so "out of the cupcake liner," as Lick the Spatula so aptly put it!

Time is Running out for the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup

Please join us with your own recipe for the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup! (Click on the link for more details.) Roundup ends May 31. We already have some great entries, but we are excited to hear from others too!

(Image courtesy of Stef at Cupcake Project, who is co-hosting the Roundup! Beautiful work, Stef!)

Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup with Cupcake Project

A while back the fabulous Stef at Cupcake Project contacted us about co-hosting an Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup. What could be better than cake and ice cream all in one, we thought...not much, except, well, cake and ice cream all in one in a mini version -- a single serving just for you!

So, during the month of May, Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious will be co-hosting an Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup. If cupcakes are the "it" thing, we are hoping ice cream cupcakes will become the summer "it" thing.

We want you to send us your ice cream cupcakes. Post about them and be sure to include directions for others. Tell us what worked and what didn't work. Get creative. Try different flavors of ice cream and cake. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

Let's take ice cream cupcakes out of the sidelines and make them a top choice for a summer dessert.

To participate:

Post on your blog about ice cream cupcakes some time in the month of May and link back to this post somewhere in yours to spread the word about the event. Feel free to use the event logo if you'd like!

Send an email to stef at cupcakeproject dot com by May 30th with:

• Your name
• Your blog's name
• The name of your ice cream cupcakes
• A link to your post on ice cream cupcakes
• A photo of your ice cream cupcakes!

Stef will respond to all entries. If you don't hear back from her within a couple of days of sending the email, drop her a note to make sure she got it.

Don't blog? That's ok too! Send us a little note about your ice cream cupcake along with a photo and we'll post a little something for you on our site.

Need some tips to get you started? After the break is Stef's quick and dirty tutorial on how to make ice cream cupcakes.

How to Make Ice Cream Cupcakes

A simple ice cream cupcake is just cake on the bottom, ice cream on the top, and some frosting.

1. Use any cake recipe you like. Just fill your cupcake liners half as full as you normally would. You don't want the cake to come to the top because you want to leave lots of room for ice cream. Bake as normal, although you may need to cut baking times a bit since there is less cake.
2. When the cupcakes are done baking, let them come to room temperature and stick them in the freezer. I froze mine right in the cupcake tins to make it easy.
3. Remove the cupcakes from the freezer and use a spatula to cover the cupcake with ice cream. I worked with ice cream that was out of the freezer for just a couple of minutes. It was still hard but not so hard that I couldn't spread it.
4. Return the cupcakes to the freezer and wait for the ice cream to get hard again.
5. After the ice cream is hard again, you can further smooth the tops by dipping your spatula in hot water and running it over the top of the cupcakes.
6. Frost the cupcakes with your favorite frosting - I think a cream cheese frosting works best. You can also frost the cupcakes with ice cream. The words "Ice" and "Cream" in the photo above were frosted with ice cream. I found this to be REALLY hard. As I tried to pipe the ice cream, it would melt and as soon as it melted it wouldn't hold any shape. If anyone knows a good way to do this, please write about it!

Stef goes into more detail on her blog, so please feel free to visit.

I made mine a little bit differently....

This ice cream cupcake thing was quite an adventure. As ice cream, not cupcakes are my thing, for both my bases I went the mix route and I made a dense cake batter using the following recipes, as I thought a denser cake would hold up better in the little cups:

For vanilla:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted

For chocolate:
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix the three ingredients with an electric mixer, and then make a one and a half inch ball and flatten it into the foil cupcake cup lined muffin tin. Bake them at 350° for 20 minutes. (Both of these recipes also make great cookies so if you have leftover dough, put similarly one and a half inch balls of it on a greased cookie sheet and bake along with your "cupcakes." I mean, these were so great and so easy that I had to make a dessert for a party and I whipped these up in about three minutes, cooked for twenty, and off to the party...)

(Note: For the chocolate, I would use the butter in place of the oil if I did this again, the cake bottoms were much harder when I used the oil over the butter.)

For the ice cream, I had planned to make a strawberry ice cream to go with the chocolate and a orange ice cream to go with the vanilla bases. However, for some reason my strawberry ice cream came out really dry and hard and it just wasn't worth using. I didn't even keep it. This might be the first time in history I actually trashed an ice cream right after making it...I think it was my fault, not the recipe's.

I did make an Orange Popsicle ice cream using David Lebowitz's The Whole Scoop. I am not sure if I love this ice cream flavor, but it's not bad. One problem was that it was super super soft, and never really hardened, which made it harder to assemble the cupcakes and hard to eat them too. I did alter the recipe a bit, making it non-alcoholic by using orange extract instead of the liquor, but that would surprise me if that was what affected the hardness, because usually alcohol keeps things from freezing.

So, I used a large scoop to scoop the creamsicle ice cream onto the vanilla bases...I ran out of the ice cream though (maybe it was too large a scoop?), so I experimented with a few others...some of the chocolate that I used on the chocolate cakes, and some cinnamon frozen yogurt I had made a while back...I out them back in the freezer to chill...

I then made a white chocolate shell to pour on top. I altered a version of a hardening shell used in Tartufi in Lebowitz's book as well. The problem with this was that I think that the different make up of the white chocolate made a huge difference in the outcome. My "hard shell" was soft and chewy like caramel. (And ok, ok, David, I have learned not to alter your already fabulous recipes!!!) While this would make a YUMMY candy, it made eating the hard base, the soft ice cream, and the chewy topping an almost impossible feat!

So in the end after my strawberry fiasco, I decided to go the completely easy way with the chocolate based cakes. I went out and bought Hood's Light Under the Stars ice cream and used a large scoop to make a dome of ice cream on the top. I topped it with Hershey's Chocolate Shell Topping and some sprinkles. Simple and easy! (And yummy!)

What is great about these cakes is that you can easily make them from a cake mix, store bought ice cream, and a store bought chocolate shell, or you can use ice cream you have made yourself to give it your own personal touch. And everything is completely interchangeable in the recipe...for those picky eaters you can customize ice cream and base...Also a plus!

In the end, would I make these again? I don't know. Reviews were mixed...the chocolate ones were more of a hit, but all agreed they were hard to eat. I think the cookie base was too hard (I had pulled it from another recipe in which I LOVE the base, but you put a pumpkin cheesecake on top and then everything is just gooey). Even though I liked the initial idea of having a more solid base than just regular cake, I think that using a regular cake would work much better.

I think I WILL try making Stef's sometime in the near future though!

That was my adventure. Not a total success, but fun nonetheless! I am interested to see what our lovely readers come up with too!