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.

Shirley Temple Ice Cream, Take 2

Sister Sarah (who runs ReBook, Inc., and yes, I need to update the site!) and I made Shirley Temple Ice Cream last night -- take two. (For take one, visit here.) Sarah wants to call is Sarah Temple Ice Cream or Sarah's Shirley Ice Cream -- Any opinions?

Soooo, without further ado, here is Take 2...

Shirley Temple Ice Cream, Take 2

2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of butter
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
7 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons grenadine (this time I used the syrupy sweet bottled kind)
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1 cup of halved maraschino cherries

Combine the first four ingredients plus 1/4 cup of the grenadine and 3 tablespoons of the lime juice in the top half of your double boiler. Place over simmering water and heat, while beating constantly, until the mixture thickens. This took us about 17 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, and add the milk, and the cream, as well as the remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice and 3 tablespoons of grenadine. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or until cool).

Place the chilled mixture in your ice cream maker and freeze according to the ice cream maker manufacturer's directions. Add the cherries during the last few minutes of churning. Enjoy!

The results? Well, like the last recipe, this didn't freeze as hard as other ice creams I have made. In fact, it pretty much had a soft serve consistency, even after having had sat in the freezer overnight.

On first tasting Sarah and I both liked the final result but agreed it still didn't taste like a Shirley Temple. Even with very little lemon juice and no extract this time, it still tasted lemony. But the cherries were a nice addition -- and with the bottled grenadine syrup (which we tried because both Sarah and I used to Shirley Temples with the bottled, no-pomegranate-juice-included grenadine syrup) the color was much more appealing.

I have to say though, when I scooped it into the bowl for photographing, I had to eat the prop, and that time, though still very lemony, the lingering flavor reminded me very much of a Shirley Temple...hmmm...either way, it's closer than the last time.

Next step? Try making this with flat ginger ale or sprite. Ohhh, or maybe we could try a Shirley Temple Sorbet!

Big thanks to Stef over at Cupcake Project for her inspiration and homemade grenadine recipe!

On the Goooood Ship Ice Cream...er, um, Lol-li-pop (Shirley Temple Ice Cream)

A couple of weeks ago I found a recipe for Shirley Temple Cupcakes (this was a great recipe, but you have to dig a little further to the Rootbeer Float Recipe to get cooking times/temps...) As a HUGE fan of Shirley Temples (probably the most common of the mocktails) I went and made them right away. What a treat!

When I told Stef at Cupcake Project just how much I loved her drink-made-cupcake recipe, she suggested I try Shirley Temple Ice Cream. Hmmm, I thought, I just might do that. Here is the altered recipe I used to make it:

Shirley Temple Ice Cream, Take 1

2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup homemade grenadine (to taste)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup whole milk

Combine the first five ingredients plus 1/4 cup of grenadine in the top half of your double boiler. Place over simmering water and heat, while beating contantly, until the mixture thickens. This took me about 17 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, and add the lemon extract, the milk, the cream, and the other 1/4 cup of grenadine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place the chilled mixture in your ice cream maker and freeze according to the ice cream maker manufacturer's directions. Enjoy!

Thoughts? This ice cream was good and creamy, and had a tart taste that was quite refreshing. It reminded me of lemonade pie that my former roommate and I used to make. However, the overwhelming taste was lemon, and no matter how much grenadine I tried to add, it just didn't seem to balance the lemon.

The other thing I noticed is that even after freezing the ice cream overnight, this didn't harden as much as other recipes I made.

My plan for the next batch is to try balancing the flavor a bit more and adding maraschino cherries. It might add some nice texture and a bit more of that Shirley Temple feel.

Big thanks to Stef over at Cupcake Project for her inspiration and homemade grenadine recipe!