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.

Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup 2009: Just a Sampling

So I thought to inspire you all in the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup 2009, I would make a couple ice cream cupcakes...I tried two. One was completely from scratch, and the other, well, wasn't. It was all mix and ice cream in a carton. That's the one I am going to post about today -- just so you know that these do not have to be completely from scratch. My sister Arianna (who is also the lovely photographer -- except for the blurry photo, that's probably mine!) and I made these a couple of weeks ago.

These Funfetti© cupcakes were sweet sweet sweet -- just like we like 'em!

So basically, we made the Funfetti cake according the instructions on the box. We filled the liners (which we had placed in tins) about 1/4 to 1/2 way, which was too much and I needed to scoop out some of the cake in the end...so save yourself the extra scooping step and don't put too much -- you don't want the cake to come up too high and have no room for the ice cream!!! You'll probably want to make some full sized cupcakes (just to frost, no ice cream -- I know! -- the horror!) as well, because with the little bit of batter you use in each cup, you'll be filling and baking cupcake tins all day otherwise!

Cook them accordingly, but check them a bit early -- they might be ready sooner than later because of the little bit of cake.

Leave them in the tins to cool. Once cooled, add a nice layer of slightly softened Turkey Hill (yay Turkey Hill and their awesome blog!) Party Cake ice cream, and put the cakes directly into the freezer to harden.

Once hard, frost with Funfetti frosting (we used pink) and of course, add the sprinkles (oh! -- in these photos we actually used sprinkles from my mom's cabinet because she wanted to use them up)! Note: the frosting is kind of hard to slather on the ice cream, so you will really have to slather a lot on -- what a shame...or not! Eat them right away or refreeze until you can't wait any longer to eat them!

We can't wait to see your creations by May 31!

(Sorry for the blurriness of the last photo. I wanted you to get the full effect, but once I realized it was blurry, the cupcakes were long gone!)

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!!

PhillySwirl Ice Cream Cupcakes

A while back we got an email asking if a PR firm for PhillySwirl could send us samples of their new ice cream cupcakes. We wrote back and said "No, we don't like ice cream or cupcakes." Yeah, right. Of course we jumped at the occasion! After we went back and forth coordinating when the cupcakes could be delivered, the delivery finally arrived on the doorstep on Wednesday.

To start, I thought the best would be a photo essay of their arrival, because I have never before had ice cream mailed to me:

Box arrived at 10:30ish. (Good thing I saw the FexEx truck though.
The driver didn't even ring the bell.) Box was well labeled. I won't let this go bad!

Box contains a styrafoam cooler filled with dry ice.

Here is the twelve pack I receive. Put this in the freezer and wait patiently for husband.

Husband being husband is more interested in the dry ice. So before eating, we play.

And play.

And play. (But it does look pretty magical,
husband pulling it out of the smoke, doesn't it?)

Here are the cakes packaged as a six-pack
(probably how one would get them at a non-Costco type store).



And here is the cake. Yum! (My photo skills leave much to be desired --
I am going to borrow one of their images from their site)

The box that arrived held two six packs, each of which had three cakes with chocolate cake bases and three with vanilla cake bases. Other than that, they were the same. The cake base was dripping with chocolate sauce (that was now frozen, so not runny), then topped with a disc of vanilla ice cream, a swirl of chocolate and vanilla frosting and sprinkles. Heaven.

I didn't realize the cake base difference, so I had two chocolate based cupcakes for dinner (!) and it wasn't until my husband pointed out that his first cake had been chocolate and his second had been vanilla. Oh, I wish I had known, but as much as I like ice cream and cake, there was no way I was fitting that third cupcake in tonight! (I can give a vanilla base report at a later time...)

Did I like them? Yes. A lot. The cake was dense and rich and balanced by the creamy ice cream. The one thing I didn't like was the frosting, to no fault of PhillySwirl's. The frosting reminded me of a whipped cream frosting, which has never been something I have been a fan of. I am a buttercream girl all the way. Easy remedy for me though...I could just take it right off.

My husband enjoyed the little cakes too. He said "They were good!" He thought the frosting tasted of marshmallow -- marhsmallow or whipped cream tasting, he liked it. Taste is in the tongue of the beholder, I guess...!

When visiting our new puppy on Saturday, a couple of friends tried the vanilla-based ones as well and enjoyed them very much. One of the friends was surprised at how moist the cake was. I agree. It really was very moist.

I had never heard of PhillySwirl before the initial email, and when I went to their website, it became clear to me: their products aren't readily available in Massachusetts, which is really too bad, because I could see myself picking them up occasionally. I love the idea of ice cream cupcakes, but the actual making them wasn't my favorite thing, if you recall from our Cupcake Roundup. The site did say they have them seasonally at Costco, so I will have to keep my eyes peeled when I visit.

Final thought? Yum.

Oh, and as with the general feedback from our own homemade ice cream cupcake collection, these are messy to eat. But all the more fun to be covered in ice cream.

Tina's review will follow soon.