Cabot's (Newtonville, MA) 40th Anniversary Flavor Contest

I guess it's that time of year for ice cream contests...though I think this one has been going on for quite a while, I just haven't posted about it yet...Bad B!

Cabot's Ice Cream and Restaurant in Newtonville, Massachusetts* is celebrating its 40th anniversary with an super fun contest with awesome prizes. Though I can't be sure what happens if you win out of state and the prizes aren't that practical for you...maybe you have a friend or a favorite blogger in the area who you could pass our winnings along to?

The game plan is simple: visit the site, fill out your info, and create a new flavor. (You might want to submit that one you sent to the Ben and Jerry's flavor contest a couple of years ago but didn't win...these guys over at Cabot's may have better taste to know that you are a real winner.) Do this by July 20th. And let us know if you are a winner come July 25th!

Prizes? Let's not forget the prizes...

First prize is having your flavor created as a signature flavor at Cabot's (priceless!), a six month supply of your flavor AND a $100.00 gift certificate to Cabot's.

Second prize is a $50.00 gift certificate to Cabot's and the possible use of your flavor creation in the future.

Third prize is a $25.00 gift certificate to Cabot's.

Get thinking and submit your best idea to Cabot's, because there is only one entry per person.

*Here's an irrelevant but interesting factoid I learned on Wikipedia when linking to the Newtonville entry: "Newtonville's Shaw's Supermarket, formerly Star Market, was one of the first companies in the country to buy airspace for construction; the supermarket straddles the Mass Pike." (Of course I knew it straddles the Mass Pike as I have driven under it countless times and even visited it once with my dear friend Lisa, but I never knew it was a pioneer in airspace construction. Hm. The things you learn on the internet.)

Girl Scout Cookie Ice Cream Challenge

Yah for Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Patties and yahoo for putting them in ice cream! What fun I recently stumbled upon at our local creamery, Lizzy & the Enchanted Creamery in Cumberland RI. Local girl scout troops each were invited to the back end operations of this shop to learn how to make ice cream with their prized possessions, the infamous Girl Scout cookie, and to then be engaged in a fun contest against eachother for a winning flavor. Where was this fun idea when I was a proud Brownie eons ago!

So the basic idea was that each troop had to come up with their creative concoction that must contain Girl Scout cookies and to then make tub fulls to compete against others. The public was then invited to come and buy a scoop, or two, or three of their favorite flavors and the flavor that had the most gone at the end of the day were the lucky winners whose flavor was placed on Lizzy's menu as the prestiged "Flavor of the Month". How fun!

So as we headed into the shop the girls were outside in full force promoting their flavors with flyers and just creating a buzz....true marketers in the making! And then the hard decision happened as we cruised inside and saw all the options. What to choose...something with my obvious favorite Thin Mint cookies or go for something different? As usual I always have to have two scoops of different kinds cause I feel that if I get only one I am missing out on another. This way there is no disappointment or its just a good excuse to have more!

My final decision...scoop #1 was Brownie Power Troop 218 which was chocolate and vanilla ice cream with Thin Mint and Thanks-A-Lots mixed in and scoop #2 was Caramel Cookie Explosion Sundae which was a mix of caramel ice cream with Caramel Delights, Shortbreads, and fudge swirl. Wow....lots of flavors in one dish! Both were super creamy and had lots going on...almost too much to truly enjoy a single flavor but then again lots to really savor..who can complain! I think my only criticism was that the caramel flavor of the ice cream almost tasted more like maple for some reason but it was good regardless. My friend chose the MVPeanut Butter Explosion which was vanilla ice cream with Peanut Butter Patties and fudge swirl. It was good but they were a bit stingy on the cookies which were the most enticing part so it seemed more like fudge swirl. But hey, they are a bunch of 10 year olds just learning the tricks of the trade so I give them all high fives for coming up with some creative flavors and for just having fun doing it.

In all what a great idea to teach these girls the value of good ideas, good business, marketing, entrepeneurship, and some friendly competition at such a young age....oh and how to make ice cream too of course! And even better that I got to benefit from it all!

Sadly enough the Girl Scout cookie season has ended but I luckily purchased a few boxes that they were also selling and have them stashed away to make some ice cream with so stay tuned for my future flavor of the month.

Happy Blogiversary to Us Winner!

Congrats to Janelle for winning in our Happy Blogiversary to Us post! I am glad she won because it brought me to her site with some fabulous looking Whole Wheat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies -- wait -- this looks very similar to my mom's recipe except with whole wheat flour instead of regular. And yes, I have tried pumpkin chocolate chip ice cream, but I will for sure have to revisit it, because I wasn't thrilled with it the first time I made it -- but there is always room for improvement, yes?

Turkey Hill Dairy's Ultimate Holiday Recipe Contest Ends December 1

Lucky you, Scoopalicious Readers! It's a double post Wednesday. We had a couple of great things to note with deadlines fast approaching, so...

Turkey's not even on the table yet but this holiday deadline is quickly approaching so we thought we'd share this fun contest.

Turkey Hill Dairy is hosting the Ultimate Holiday Recipe Contest. In honor of their holiday ice cream flavors, Egg Nog and Peppermint Stick, they are asking all you ice cream fans to concoct a recipe using either one of those flavors. The recipe can be anything you want it to be…ice cream cupcakes, a yummy frothy drink, a layered cake, whatever your sweet tooth desires. Only rule is that Turkey Hill’s Egg Nog Ice Cream or Peppermint Stick Ice Cream be an ingredient.

So start the brainstorming and show us what you got. Send your recipe to Turkey Hill at icecreamjournal@gmail.com by December 1 (we know its days away on a busy holiday weekend, sorry for the last minute!). And we here at Scoopalicious would love to see what you do so feel free to send it to us too and maybe you'll be a spotlight on our blog with your great recipe.

So what do you get for all this hard work?

If chosen as one of the best recipes you will be featured on the Turkey Hill website and will receive a one month’s supply of ice cream. And if you are one of the best of the best, that is one of the top four recipes – two for Eggnog and two for Peppermint – you'll get a feature story for just yourself on Turkey Hill's blog, the Ice Cream Journal (http://icecreamjournal.turkeyhill.com), from December 8-11. The fun part is that the blog's visitors will then be able to vote for their favorite recipe and that winner will receive a year’s supply of Turkey Hill ice cream! WOW…all these prizes…what's not to love. Good luck!

Another piece of cake...ice cream cake, that is!

Today I got an email from Cold Stone Creamery. Before I got into that, I do want to point out that Gmail now has themes, and if you use Gmail and choose the "candy" theme, you will have a cute little ice cream staring at you every time you check your mail. And if you are like me, that would be all the time...oh! oh! And if you choose the "bus stop" theme and make your location Boston, you also have a kid holding a huge (um, "dream" might be a better word) cone down at the bottom.

Oh, and wait...one more digression. I am on my computer that doesn't have Adobe Creative Suite on it and I am too lazy to go upstairs and use Photoshop, so I just wanted to mention this super cool online photo editing site I just read about. Picnik. Great for on-the-go editing!

All over the news, I am hearing about bailout this and bankrupt that. Apparently Cold Stone Creamery isn't having these problems, because they have a contest this holiday season with a chance to win up to $10,000 when you buy one of their cakes. Sweet! Cakes and money! (Although right now I can't even begin to think about ordering a cake because I ate too much Party Favors cake at a reception at the Museum School's Art Sale, InsideOut.) Anyway, $10,000. How could I get away from that? Without further ado, here is the $10,000 news!

Now through January 6th, 2009 (or sooner, if they run out of game pieces), purchase a Cold Stone cake and get a "gold medal." With this gold medal, you have a chance to win one of three $10,000 prizes, five $500 prizes, or one of 1000 cakes! Even the smallest prize has some sweet potential!

Anyway, this is an ice cream filled post along with a couple of hot tips, so I hope between this post and Tina's yesterday, we are getting out of the dog house for being kind of MIA.

Speaking of $10,000...er, um, at least 10,000 lakes...I will be in the land of 10,000 lakes (Minnesota) next week but hopefully will be able to report back on some midwestern ice cream.

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to EB of SpiceDish! She was chosen at random to win some Scoopalicous treats as a celebration of our hundredth post! And Happy Blogiversary to EB!

Photo by Petr Kovar on stock.xchng.

Celebrating 100 Posts: Only 2 more days to enter!

To celebrate our hundredth post we are having a raffle of some full value coupons for frozen treats and a few other extras...To enter, email us or comment here at our hundredth post by next Wednesday, October 1 and tell us your favorite thing about Scoopalicious. *Please be sure to include an email address we can contact you at in case you win!*

Who Invented the Popsicle?

Ah, the popsicle. It's always pretty much been a part of childhood. Except, like most things, there was a time when it wasn't. But we can thank a child for bringing us this refreshing treat.

The popsicle was invented in 1905 by an eleven year old boy, who, as was common in the day, mixed soda powder and water with a wooden stick for a refreshing drink. The child, Frank W. Epperson, seemed to be a bit forgetful like I am, and left the unfinished drink outside overnight. When he finally came to retrieve it the next day, it was frozen.

It seems little Frank kept his new treat mainly to himself until almost two decades later, when he realized the possibility of the demand for this frozen treat.

Though he originally called it the "Epsicle," Epperson eventually "changed the name of his treat to "Popsicle," after his children’s frequent requests for "Pop’s ’sicle," and applied for a patent." (Popsicle History, http://www.popsicle.com/history/)

We had a contest a couple of weeks ago, and three people answered correctly. Congrats to Ruth, Jennifer, and Arianna for submitting the correct answer and winning a coupon for a free box of frozen treats from Breyers, Popsicle, Klondike, or Good Humor.

Reminder: to celebrate our hundreth post we are having a raffle of some full value coupons for frozen treats and a few other extras...To enter, email us or comment here at our hundreth post by next Wednesday, October 1 and tell us your favorite thing about Scoopalicious. *Please be sure to include an email address we can contact you at in case you win!*

The history of the popsicle is from the Popsicle website, in their Popsicle History Section. The photo is taken by Dain Hubbley who is represented on stock.xchng.

Scoopalicious Celebrates 100 Posts!

Happy 100th Post, Scoopalicious!

Since we started this ice cream blog project in January of 2008, it has been quite an adventure. We've met some pretty cool people, we have tasted some pretty wonderful ice cream treats and lots of yummy flavors. The best of all is that we actually make our own too. In case you're new and looking to churn your own, check out some of our flavors below and look back through our older posts for these great recipes.

Blueberry Cheesecake
Pina Colada
Peppermint Chocolate
Very Cherry
Peanut Butter & Fluff
Cake Batter
Saigon Mexican Chocolate
Mint Chocolate Chip
Maple Walnut
Shirley Temple
Rosemary Peach
Dulce De Leche Chocolate Chunk
Thin Mint
Cinnamon Frozen Yogurt

To celebrate we are having a raffle of some full value coupons for frozen treats and a few other extras...To enter, email us or comment below by next Wednesday, October 1 and tell us your favorite thing about Scoopalicious. *Please be sure to include an email address we can contact you at in case you win!*

Image courtesy of Rachel Distler, Rachel Distler Photography.

Taste Testing: Popsicle/Klondike Products

Are you ready for another "What Husband Did With The Dry Ice?" Here is Photo Essay Number Two. The cool people at Klondike/Popsicle contacted Tina and I asking if we would be willing to test some of their products..."of course," we said!

Keep reading until the end for a chance to test your own ice cream novelties!

The ice cream came on Friday, September 5 in a
HUGE box that was probably 3x2x2 feet.
Clearly Ernie the pup was unphased.

I opened it to get my samples into the freezer and
was I glad that I had. The big cooler that was
holding the ice cream was cracked on the top.

The ice cream seemed still frozen, but
unfortunately for Husband, it looked
like a lot of the dry ice had melted away.

First things first. I pulled out the styrafoam cooler I got from our first sample of ice cream cupcakes and poured the dry ice. No boohooing for Kevin. The smaller cooler was brim to the top with dry ice, which means Kevin ended up with more than he had the first time he played with the dry ice from my ice cream samples.

When Kevin arrived home, what we really needed to do was clean because his parents were coming within hours...as I was folding laundry in the other room, I hear an excited Kevin and walk into the kitchen to see this:

Sink filled with dry ice. Wait...

That smoke/steam/whatever it is
looks pretty cool falling over the counter.

Yes, we need to zoom out. The floor is so covered
in dry ice "smoke" that Kevin has to quickly find Ernie
in the haze and pick him up so he doesn't suffocate.
(Ernie is fine, but probably wondering
why he moved in with us)

Ah, yes, it was all over the house...into the dining
room in this picture (Did I mention the in-laws
were due from Arizona in an hour and
the house clutter still needed to be picked up a bit?)

Here is our romantic, steamy
photo of the products in the dry ice.

So, how did we like the treats? Um, yum!

So to the left is an image of the Slim-A-Bear line. The package we got contained both French Vanilla and English Toffee. I was a little hesitant because these are a lower fat treat, with only a hundred calories, but Husband and I were pleasantly surprised with the taste. The French Vanilla were pretty much the original Klondike Bar on a stick and the English Toffee was a sweet surprise -- I loved the toffee ice cream with the chocolate shell that had little chunks of toffee in it. Husband and I shared tastes of each of the bars, because we knew dinner with in-laws was soon approaching and we didn't want to ruin our appetites -- oh, but we really easily could have. These were good! It was all we could do to keep from diving into the freezer. Later on in the weekend, Mother-in-law, who had mentioned she'd like to see some low fat treats on our blog, tested them was also pleasantly surprised. These are definitely on my running grocery list -- a great treat for when I am craving ice cream but still trying to recover from the fatty ice cream from I Scream 2008 (more to come on that in a future post...)

The other product we tested was Cookies & Cream Popsicle Ice Cream Shots. These were so much fun. While I chose to eat mine out of the carton with a spoon, Kevin put his in a beer stein (we don't have any shot glasses) and "drank" them down. The flavor was good. The ice cream (that's the white shots -- the brown ones were cookie pieces) was super frozen and less airy than regular ice cream and kind of squeaked in your teeth. It seemed much colder than regular, scoopable ice cream, but maybe this is because every time I took them from the freezer I dug in without letting them soften/melt a bit. I don't know if this is the Popsicle/Klondike treat I would choose from the freezer section regularly for myself (though I am sure it would be quite a hit with kids so I'll keep that in mind when I have 'em!) but I can see myself once in a while picking out these little shots to mix the ice cream consumption up a bit!

We'll look forward to Tina's follow up post on this subject -- she got some different products in the mail and I'm interested to see what she thought.

Bonus: Who invented the popsicle and at what age? Email us at scoopaliciousblog@gmail.com by Monday, September 22 for a chance to win a coupon for a free package of any Breyers, Popsicle, Klondike, or Good Humor Product.

Boston's J.P. Licks' Frozen Yogurt X

Yesterday my dear friend Amanda and I went to J.P. Licks in Harvard Square. Though I did settle on my favorite Oreo Cakebatter, I did want to try J.P. Licks' new Frozen Yogurt X (soon-to-be-named -- by you!): "Tart, tangy, non-fat, refreshing, no cholesterol, less sugar, millions of probiotic bacteria..." Hm, sounds a lot to me like Pinkberry...I asked for a taste and the scoop girl kindly agreed. Fancy that! It was much sweeter than I remembered Pinkberry to be (read my previous post on my Pinkberry thoughts), and I didn't actually hate it! Actually, it was good, but the truth is, I would never ever walk into an J.P. Licks and order it when I am surrounded by rich, sweet, creamy real ice cream.

But, if this is up your alley, run over to one of J.P. Licks' many shops in the Boston area before September 30, 2008 and taste for yourself, and then visit their site and suggest a name for a chance to one free medium serving of the new concoction every day for a year! (Or don't bother to taste it, as you can still technically name it without tasting!) 

Added bonus? Visit the flagship store on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain the weekend of September 28 and 29th and enjoy your frozen yogurt while visiting the 15th Annual Jamaica Plain Open Studios. (Stop by my old studio space at 128 Brookside Avenue and give a shout out to Gordon, Catherine, and Amy!)

 

And the winner is...

We have a winner from the Onesie Cone-test! Congrats to Christine! Christine's favorite was the white onesie with the pink cone.

73% of you preferred the white onesie and the remaining 27% of you preferred the pink onesie. This was not, however, without tons of wonderful suggestions, ideas and comments. Thank you! I will be attempting to make different colors, styles, etc. based on the feedback. I think my first order of business (based on the feedback) is to make some more unisex versions...maybe a mint colored scoop or lemon?

If you weren't a winner, onesies can be purchased by contacting me or by visiting my etsy site. (The particular design is not available yet, but will be soon and variations of the style will also be available based on your suggestions. Please also feel free to get in touch if you would like to be notified when new versions are available.)

Onesie Cone-test!

To celebrate National Ice Cream Month, I designed and printed two onesies with ice cream cones on them. Printing both designs is a bit time consuming, so I would really like feedback on which I should continue to print and sell, as well as any comments/feedback on the design itself.

You can help! Leave feedback either via the comment form or in an email as to which onesie you like the best by this Sunday, July 27 (be sure to include your email!), and be entered to win your favorite. (Even if you don't have little ones, chances are someone you know is having or will have a little one in the near future, so this is still a great prize!)

Options are below:

Today, July 1, is Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day

We start July off with National Ice Cream Month as well as today being Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day. What could be finer?

Many things come to mind with Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day. It brings back to mind the list I made a while back of the Top 10 Craziest Ice Cream Flavors. In the meantime, Arianna sent another good one: Thai Black Bean Ice Cream.

This also makes me want to visit Udder Delight Ice Cream House and Jeni's Ice Cream which were also in that post and certainly had some very creative flavors. If you live near Rehoboth Beach, Deleware or Columbus, Ohio, today might be the day to pay them a visit!

I think my most creative flavors have been:

1. Lisa's White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie Crunch (I promise to post this recipe soon!)
2. Vanilla Bean Jelly Bean (OK, maybe I just like the name the best!)
3. Shirley Temple Ice Cream
   

There are a couple of good ones in the works, but I don't want to post them until they are tried and true!

What is the most creative flavor you have ever tried or made? Post a reply and let us know (be sure to include your email) and enter for a chance to win a coupon for a free pint of Ben and Jerry's! Change of date: Let us know by this Saturday, July 5.

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!

The Ice Cream is Melting! (Time is running out to win an ice cream block party!)

Two months ago Tina blogged about the Edy's/Dreyer's Ice Cream Block Party...Time is running out to enter, so take a moment to enter today! Good luck, but don't take my spot! *wink!*

Carvel's Arctic Summer Sweepstakes

Carvel is holding a summer sweepstakes, and even if you aren't an instant winner, you still get a coupon for $1.00 off an Arctic Blender or Blended Coffee! Looks like you can enter daily to win a computer, flat screen TV or MP3 player (or cash, if you prefer) and the sweepstakes runs until my birthday...oh, that's July 31, in case you didn't know...

Win a Year of Ben and Jerry's and Reddi-Wip

Table for Five is holding a contest on their blog for all you ice cream sundae lovers out there...a year's worth of Reddi-wip whipped cream and Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

Enter here by 9:00 AM on Tuesday, April 29th! Good luck!

A special thank you to Table for Five for offering such a great contest!

Contest Winner and A Few More Fun Products!

Both Tina and I have been sick so we have been a bit missing from blogland, but I figured I'd write a short post today. I have a couple of pretty fun interviews slated for the next couple of weeks, and I hope to blog about some ice cream making I have been doing...

So...the contest winner was my sister (and fairly so, since she was the only one who answered)! You can always count on family to enter in contests...Here are the couple of good stationery finds from Arianna. (Thanks, A!)

Arianna directs us to Just Jenn Designs, who sells a set of six flat cards that includes a lollipop and an ice cream cone (three of each of the design) for just $8.00! I think my favorite part is if you flip the card you get a nice little lined writing space with images of sweets screened back to write on! Simple and elegant, these cards are perfect for writing that short little note just to tell someone you are thinking about them.

She also sends me over to Gingerbread City's Cafe Press shop for a surreal ice cream cards, straight out of Candyland. These are a little less simple than the cards I would usually choose, but they sure are fun!

Lastly, she found some super fun ice cream items at Fred Flare, simply by doing a search on "ice cream". Perfect for the ice cream stationery posting, she found a great set of sweet cards, in which one of the card pairs was an ice cream cone (at right) paired with a gumball machine. These cards by Jack and Lulu are called "scratch and sniff" but it isn't clear from the site whether yhey actually smell or whether they are just called that because they are reminiscent of the scratch and sniff stickers of our childhood. Either way, I love the simplicity of the design, even though they price in steeply at $8 for two cards.

Well enough from me today!

When the weather gets a bit warmer, Tina and I have plans to head over to some local scoop shops for some sweet treats -- and I sure am glad this warm weather is only a few months away!