Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream

Today I was assured, "It's soooo good." This is possibly one of the most unhealthy desserts I've made in a while, but who am I kidding - all dessert should be unhealthy! I'm referring to the most decadent chocolate ice cream with brownie chunks. Mmmm. My mouth is watering just thinking about it... silky chocolate ice cream with loads of pecan-studded, fudgey brownies. I had to keep myself from eating some every night this week. I left most of the ice cream for Michael and my father in law (visiting SF for a nerd conference as he likes to say) but I did cut myself a rather large slice of brownie one of those nights. Shhh, don't tell.

I've told you before how I adore David Lebovits. He's witty and silly and an incredible writer. This time, I made his basic chocolate ice cream recipe and added some brownies (another recipe of his). If you have an ice cream machine, I highly recommend his book, The Perfect Scoop. It has so many different recipes I can read for hours without making a decision. A while back I posted a Pumpkin Ice Cream and a Mint Ice Cream, both originating from his cookbook - both delicious.


The Chocolate Ice Cream is no where near low-fat and it contains both cocoa powder and dark chocolate. I changed it to dark chocolate instead of bittersweet/semisweet which by definition is hard to decipher. Dark chocolate may have less sugar and more chocolate"liquor" than bittersweet which is somewhere near this definition but probably contains more milk or sugar. Some brands may try and trick you, but a true dark chocolate should be at least 60% and my personal preference is 72%. Anything less and your ice cream will be very sweet. I used dark chocolate for the brownies too, making this a sophisticated ice cream I suppose. The brownies stayed deliciously chewy after freezing and alone are one of the best brownies I've had in a while.

Chocolate Ice Cream
Adapted (very slightly) from The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz

3 T cocoa powder

2 C heavy cream divided

3/4 C sugar

pinch of kosher salt or sea salt

5 oz dark chocolate chopped

5 egg yolks

1 C whole milk

1 tsp vanilla

Warm one cup of cream and cocoa powder in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, pour over the chocolate pieces and stir with a spatula until melted. Set a strainer over the top of this bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks and prepare a bowl for an ice bath. 

Rinse the saucepan and add the remaining 1 C cream, and sugar over medium heat. Once warm, pour into the egg yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to temper the yolks. Return the pan the burner with the eggy mix and cook over medium heat (stir constantly with a heatproof spatule) until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. To test, run your finger along the spoon vertically. If the custard runs back over your swipe, keep cooking. If not, it's ready. Pour through the strainer into the chocolate mix. Stir over an ice bath until cooled. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours until the mix is very cold. If you let it go overnight your ice cream will have a pudding consistency and be quick to churn. DL says to whisk it until you can pour it into the machine but I did not and the ice cream was still tasty. Whisking just lends itself to a more airy ice cream, mine was a little more dense. 

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's recommendation. 

Chocolate Pecan Brownies

Adapted (very slightly) from The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz

1/2 C butter

4oz dark chocolate chopped

1 scant C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C flour

pinch of kosher salt

1 C chopped, toasted pecans

Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line an 8 inch square pan with foil. Spray the foil and set aside. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted. Add the sugar and then the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and stir, then the flour. Stir until the flour is just incorporated and add the salt and nuts. 

To toast the nuts, sprinkle them into a dry pan and cook on medium heat until they become fragrant or taste like you want them to (my preferred method for checking doneness). 

Spread the batter into the pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Mine came out at 27 and I could have taken them out just a bit earlier. Cool in the pan. Remove the foil with the brownies and set on a cutting board. Chop the brownies into little pieces and refrigerate until your ice cream has churned. You'll want about 2 cups roughly chopped for the ice cream and the rest is up to you. 

Pumpkin Ice Cream

I opened my copy of The Perfect Scoop and gasp! What? No pumpkin ice cream recipe? hmmm. Sweet potato ice cream just won't do. David Lebovitz what were you thinking not including Pumpkin Ice Cream in your book? I'm glad I wasn't the only one perplexed by this omission since you happened to post one on your blog in response to our madness...

Lebovitz has a magical way of combining cream eggs and sugar into the most delicious creamy treats. I was really happy to find a recipe he only ever so slightly changed from chef Karen DeMasco in her cookbook The Craft of Baking. You should read his blog post. It's quite witty and apparently he got some stares while walking home with a rather large but thin butternut squash (subbed squash for pumpkins).

The original recipe used canned pumpkin which I adore. I have a plethora of pumpkin recipes using canned pumpkin, and it's really my favorite. Fresh pumpkins don't usually give you the thick consistency of the canned version unless you do a lot of straining. I can never tell a difference in the end product from fresh vs canned pumpkin. That said, I decided to stick to good ole Libby's. She must have been quite the lady.

I have no idea why I never tried pumpkin ice cream until now. It seems to fit well into fall desserts and even though its cold outside, you can cozy up with a blanket and movie and enjoy some delicious spiced ice cream. Michael and I happen to do this often, and the tub of ice cream disappears at an alarming rate.

I absolutely loved this ice cream recipe. I'll be making it at least once more this winter but next time I'll have to place it on a warm slab of gingerbread cake topped with candied pecans. Yum. Good thing you can't see me drooling.

If you don't have an ice cream machine, you should at least try making the candied pecans. They are addictive and delicious and would make a great addition to your holiday cookie trays.

Pumpkin Ice Cream - David Lebovitz

Candied Pecans
1 lb Pecan halves (trader joe's are great)
1 egg white
1 T water + 1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1 C sugar

Preheat the oven to 250˚F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Whisk egg white until frothy and water and pour into a gallon size ziplock bag. Add in the nuts and shake to coat. In another bowl/bag combine the sugar and cinnamon and add the nuts. Make sure they are evenly coated and spread onto a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes to 60 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Make sure you taste one or two after 45 minutes because they could be done then. If not, keep cooking another 10-15. Cool on tray and store in an airtight container.

Almond Spiced Granola

You know how much I like granola right? I like chewy granola and crunchy granola, and I like trying new recipes. I recently adapted a recipe from Whole Foods and though I may have cooked it two minutes longer than I should (I blame allergies for lack of smell) I've enjoyed it. It's versatile because it is sweet and crunchy and no flavor is too overpowering.

If you are like me and feel ravenous before dinner, you can eat it by the handfull while rummaging through your kitchen for something to cook. You could also sprinkle it on muffins before baking, make a delicious yogurt parfait with seasonal fruits and agave nectar (or honey), use it as a topping for ice cream, make trail mix, or scoop it from a bowl filled to the brim with milk.

I like to eat yogurt wearing a toga, but you can wear whatever you like. Any way you eat it, I'm sure you will like it. Feel free to make it something you really love.

Almond Spiced Granola
adapted from Whole Foods

3 C old fashioned oats
3 T whole wheat flour
1 C slivered almonds
1 C pecan pieces
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or equal amounts of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)
1 tsp almond extract (or substitute vanilla)
1/2 C honey
1/3 C canola oil

Preheat the oven to 275˚F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with a silpat. Mix the dry ingredients and nuts in a large bowl. In a measuring cup add oil, honey and vanilla and stir. Add the honey mix into the oats and stir to coat evenly.

Bake for 30-40 minutes stirring occasionally to break up the larger pieces. Remove from oven when it's light brown and fragrant. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 hour or until completely cool (it will crisp up if it seems too wet after baking). Store in an airtight container.

Friendship Bread Part 2

Last post, I told you about making friendship bread starter and revealed some silly things about my tween years. Now, I've made the bread and frozen the starter for victims who have yet to appear. I'm not surprised. Only M's Aunt was excited about the Chain Bread (Yeah Aunt J!) but some of you just don't know what surprise awaits you. I've decided to pursue the sneak attack method... I surprise you with starter and you feel obligated to make it. ha! 

I made the bread on a warm sunny day after a short hike near Emerald Bay in Tahoe. It's our yearly pilgrimage to nature and escape from the city. It's never been anything but relaxing and fantastic. I spent more time in the kitchen than normal (bread + dinner) but what else is there to do but sit around and read, or play cards, or ping pong in the yard? star gazing. Thankfully it was not so cold at night as it has been in the past. M took some amazing night photos off the pier.  

Emerald Bay by M

Spinning Sky by M

Big Dipper by M

I didn't plan the starter very well since I had to bring all of my ingredients on the trip, but I was making myself impatient waiting. Like I mentioned before, I made this once in college, and remember my mom making it when I was young. I imagine PTA moms were the culprits. (My mom was PTA president so she is considered "culprit" too.) Since I don't remember actually making it, I chose a recipe at random from the sea of recipes on the internet. The recipe listed below I found while going through some things in the attic at my mom's house. This was the recipe we used as kids and it is printed on pink cardstock. I think it is better than most of the recipes on the internet - though very similar. In order to save some trees, I'm not going to send printed instructions with the starter (if you are a sneak attack victim). 


I only made one loaf. I had a lot of starter and ended up dividing it into 5 segments. I didn't realize it was ok to have more than the one cup you give everyone else. I also didn't have pudding mix. I think I'm going to try it again with one of the starter bags in my freezer. I thought the bread was pretty tasty. It was a bit dry since I cooked it too long. Purposefully though - it didn't look done on top so I sacrificed the bottom. It's easy to cut the bottom off a loaf of bread. I think the sweetness of the bread surprised M. Sourdough starter makes you think you will eat a loaf of sandwich bread. I'd like to try making yeasted waffles or pancakes with the starter. It may not work at all or be totally disgusting but fun to try. If you follow the instructions, it shouldn't be difficult at all to make two slightly tangy and sweet loaves. Let me know if you'd like to try. If you want to begin the starter on your own, follow the steps below. 

It is very important to follow these rules with the starter:
Never use metal utensils or bowls. Always use wood, plastic or glass. Keep the starter on your countertop - never refrigerate. If you receive the starter in a plastic bag, transfer it to a glass bowl loosely covered with plastic wrap so that the bag doesn't pop. 


Amish Friendship Bread Starter
In a 2 quart glass bowl, dissolve 1/4 C warm water (110-115˚) with one package yeast
Add 1 cup flour, 1 C sugar, and 1 C milk. Stir vigorously to break up the lumps. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and follow the instructions for days 1-10 below. 


Amish Friendship Bread
Day 1 receive the starter
Day 2 Stir 
Day 3 Stir
Day 4 Stir
Day 5 Add one cup each Flour, Sugar, Milk
Day 6 Stir
Day 7 Stir
Day 8 Stir
Day 9 Stir
Day 10 Add one cup each Flour, Sugar, Milk. Stir well. Divide the starter into three separate containers with one cup each and reserve the rest for yourself. 


To make the bread on Day 10:
To the reserved started add:
1 C vegetable oil
1/2 C milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla


In another bowl, combine:
2 C flour
1 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 C chopped nuts (optional)
1 large box instant vanilla pudding


Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease two loaf pans. 
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir well. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 1 hour. If bread doesn't spring back when lightly touched, reduce heat to 325˚F and continue baking 10-15 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to finish cooling. 
You can also use different kinds of pudding, raisins or dried fruit, or peeled and chopped apples. 
   

Healthy Zucchini Muffins

I recently found myself in the realm of unsatisfactory breakfasts. This usually means coffee and a mediocre scone or muffin. These pastries all too often are overly sugary or bland. I am a tough critic since making breakfast pastries is a favorite of mine, so I decided to stop being critical and make some breakfasts to take to work. Making muffins eases my objection to buying pastries you can make for two percent of the cost at a coffee shop.

I like to control the amount of sugar mostly - and the fat... well lets say I really miss it when I make a "healthy muffin." I didn't miss it so much this time which is the main reason I'm sharing these. You could also easily add some whole wheat flour for your daily manganese, fiber, tryptophan, and magnesium. Apparently, women who eat more whole grains also weigh less than women who eat refined grains (like a majority of breakfast pastries - or any pastries for that matter). I like the idea of weighing less and still eating these delicious muffins. I'm going to experiment more with the substitution of whole wheat in baked goods, and try making a lunch bread that includes wheat germ and whole wheat.

I like these muffins because they are a little less spice-cakey than most zucchini muffins. I posted about zucchini once before when I started a baking club. They weren't the best recipe, but I like the idea. Just like carrot muffins, when you add a veggie to your muffin, you increase vitamin intake while decreasing the fat. Since these vegetables have such a high water content, you use less fat and don't end up chewing forever on a dry muffin. I'm guessing you will be confused when you read the recipe below and see that I used melted butter instead of gobs of oil (and it's much less butter than this chocolate chip recipe I know) but it makes for a nice crispy crust and the batter yields more than your standard 12 muffins. Sometimes I get annoyed by this, but I got to use my mini loaf pans for the extra... they are just so cute I couldn't get mad at the excessive amount of batter. I also like that you fill up the cups entirely and the muffins bake up beautifully without spilling over the sides. pretty pretty.


I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

Zucchini Muffins

Adapted from Simply Recipes

3 C packed grated zucchini (you can mix yellow squash too) large grate with skins on works fine

1 stick butter melted and cooled

1 1/3 C sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 C flour

2 rounded tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl, beat eggs slightly and add the sugar. Mix thoroughly then add the vanilla and cooled butter (you don't want to scramble your eggs). Mix in the zucchini. Measure in the flour, soda and spices. Give them a swirl and mix into the wet ingredients until there is only a little flour visible. Add the walnuts and mix until evenly dispersed. Grease and fill muffin tin to the tops, or slightly over the top. Bake for close to 30 minutes, or until the muffins spring back slightly when pressed.  

Pumpkin Waffles

I woke up Saturday morning itching to make something with the pumpkin puree defrosting in the fridge. My first thought was to make pumpkin bread, or muffins with a tried and true recipe, but it just didn't sound as exciting. I thought about making pancakes, but M and I would probably rather have waffles when given the chance... so waffles it was. Pumpkin waffles. 

I remembered a recipe posted on Smitten Kitchen a while back and decided to give it a try. The result was pretty fantastic. They are not too sweet, and the taste and texture is much better than mix from a box. I was kind of amazed at the amount of waffles the batter made. I expected to get a few since there are two cups of buttermilk and flour, but I felt like I was cooking waffles for 30 minutes! Maybe my waffle iron is slow. I wouldn't doubt it. I did turn on the oven to keep them warm while they were cooking. A great trick if you are serving them for your family and you want to eat at the same time. But it was useless because M and I each ate only one belgian style waffle. 


The only change to the recipe was using pumpkin I roasted and pureed in the food processor instead of canned. I have nothing against canned pumpkin though, it is one of the best canned vegetables you can by since it has the least added to it. I also toasted a handful of walnuts to add to the top. I think the walnuts are a necessity. A delightful crunch to an already tasty bite. Since the batter made so many, I froze the rest and am hoping they will make a good quick breakfast when the need arises. 

Pumpkin Waffles
Smitten Kitchen recipe

2 1/2 C flour
1/3 C light brown sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
6 T unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

1 T per waffle of coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted 

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. In another large bowl, whisk egg yolks with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment or using a hand mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks (they should fold over slightly when you remove the beater. Folk them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray and and spoon batter into waffle iron, spreading quickly. For a 7-8 inch belgian waffle, I used 3/4 C batter. Cook in medium high heat until there is almost no steam escaping.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Top with real Maple syrup and toasted Walnuts. 

To toast walnuts, spread them onto a cookie sheet and bake in your already heating oven for 10-15 minutes - or until fragrant. You can also spread them onto a skillet and toast over medium-low heat on the stovetop until fragrant and crisp. I like to taste them for doneness. 

Easy Bake cOven - Blondies

This month, I decided to ask everyone to make whatever recipe they wanted. Usually one member selects the recipe of the month, but I thought it would be fun to see what people made when given the chance. It is sometimes hard to find time to make the chosen recipe; either for lack of time, or lack of event that needs baked goods. I'm always looking for these events so M and I don't eat ourselves into sugar comas. Don't laugh, I'm not joking here. Food comas happen and sugar comas can happen too, thankfully not too often. 

I know it has been a while since I last posted, so before I share with you the recipe pictured above, I'll tell you a little about what's been happening this past month…. 

Work was busy during the beginning of the month. It's good to be busy. I'm pretty sure that M and I had something going on almost every night of the week before we left for vacation… and then we left for vacation. We visited family on the East coast, and set foot in the state of Texas to see more family courtesy of our unexpected layover. I didn't bake anything 3/4 of the month, but made it all up the Sunday after we returned. 

Since I am making our office birthday cakes now, I needed two for this past Monday. Yes, two. Why share on your birthday? And when my office has the opportunity for more cake, they will definitely take it. (The standing joke is screening new hires for birthday months we don't currently have). I also needed a sample cake for a large party I'm doing next weekend. Ambitious yes, possible yes. I even had time for a movie, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have one of those squishy gel mats they advertise for chefs in the back of my design magazines. Tired feet. 

So that Sunday I made ten six inch cake rounds, and assembled a single layer cake, a double layer cake, and a triple layer cake. The other layer is hanging out in the freezer for now. I guess you could say I made up for all of that non baking in one giant swoop. Satisfying. I'm not posting about cake though. I'm posting about Blondies. The ultimate cookie-bar-brownie-like dessert. They have chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut flakes, and walnuts. That is a lot of stuff in one bite. They are extremely sweet and will probably give you cavities if you don't brush you teeth, but I say worth eating. And worth passing out to your friends (remember - avoid sugar coma). I made these once before and it was a catastrophe. My oven would not ignite, my batter sat too long on the counter, and the leavening reacted too early. Later we learned to turn off the heater when we needed to start the oven - our 1920's era apartment may not have the necessary electrical service required to support all of our gadgets. Someday I'll have a kitchen of my own (with two ovens) and baking ten cakes in one day will literally be a  piece of cake. 

Be sure to check out the Easy Bake cOven blog for more recipe entries this month. 

Blondies

adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan

2 C flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 C light brown sugar

1/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 C chocolate chips

1 C Butterscotch chips

1 C walnuts

1 C shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. (I don't have one so I used a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan - it makes thinner blondies - but for the thick version use a 9x13 pan). 

Cream Butter for 3 minutes with the paddle attachment. Add sugars and cream again until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix for one minute in between. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated. 

Mix the dry ingredients together and add slowly to the mixer. Mix on low speed until just combined. (this means there might be a little flour visible). Add chips, nuts, and coconut with a spatula - or if you are feeling risky you can use the mixer on low. Spread the batter into the pan and even out the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is nice and golden and the bars begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. A knife tested in the center should come out clean unless you happen to stick it into a melted chocolate piece. 

Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, invert, and turn topside up to finish cooling. Cut into bars - yields 32. 

Nutty Nutty Bar Cookies

Not your typical Little Debby bar, but two thousand times better... and not to forget better for you (I mean ingredients you can name here - not health food). I made some bar cookies for our second Tea and Tales Book Exchange, and they happened to be loaded with nuts. It seemed appropriate to call them "Nutty Bars" and think back to my slight addiction to the Little Debby version in my childhood. We didn't have the healthiest snacks in the pantry (our neighborhood friends loved visiting the kitchen), which may pinpoint my chubby phases, but none the less, these cookie bars topped with your choice of nuts, puts peanut butter and wafers to shame. 

My friend Joey and I throw a mean tea party. Joey is in charge of the savory and I'm in charge of the sweet. Our guests usually bring a good assortment of supplements as well. At our first tea party, we had so much food you couldn't see the counter. We did a lot better this time, and still had fantastic foods. Joey made Sausage Rolls with Sweet Hot Mustard, a surprisingly delicious combination, and I made cookie bars. We also served some left over tarts that Joey filled and decorated. We had fresh fruit, pear and brie sandwiches on tiny pumpernickel bread, and assortment of pastries that our friends brought over. 

Photo Courtesy Design Sponge, Photographer Kristina Gill

We had a smaller group than last time, but I still ended up with about 20 left over books on the coffee table to deliver to our neighborhood bookstore. Since we had a manageable group, we actually sat around and discussed some of the books, rather than relying on the blurb on the back written by some witty critic. A bunch of 20-30 something women are much better critics.... We also, left to our own measures, will offer scrunched facial expressions and hmmms when we read the first line of books like, "Before my life started properly, I was doing the usual mewling and sucking, which in my case occurred on a pair of huge, soft black breasts." from The Power of One, Bryce Courtenay. After we are all confused to what this book might be about I took the liberty to read the first 10 pages. No, its not what you think, its about a child growing up with an African wet nurse among an Afrikaans speaking people who himself only knew english. Apparently as the title suggests, he learns the Power of One at some point. I may keep this one around just to see.... 


I had a lot of nutty bars left over that I will probably contribute to the Bake sale at M's office. I switched around the recipe a bit, hopefully you are no longer surprised by this revelation. The recipe called for a 9 x 13 inch pan but I didn't want massively thick bars, so I used my 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan instead. I mentioned before you can use whichever nuts make you happy, and I used chopped Pecans, Walnuts, and Almonds in a 2, 2, 1 ratio. I also reduced the sugar a bit, but it probably could be reduced even more. They freeze exceptionally well, and since they make so many this is a good thing. The addition of buttermilk provides a nice balance to the sweet crust and nuts. The options are endless you could also add coconut which would crisp nicely, and drizzle them with chocolate or a dusting of powdered sugar. Maybe you will should make them for your next summer party. 

Nutty Bars - or - Mixed Nut Bars
adapted from The Biggest Book of Cookies, Better Homes and Gardens

2 C flour
3/4 C butter
1/3 C brown sugar
1 C sugar
1 C buttermilk
3 eggs
1/4 C butter melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 C coarsely chopped mixed nuts (no peanuts though)


To make the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, mix butter, flour and brown sugar until fine and crumbly. Pat it evenly into an ungreased 10 x 15 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes and remove from oven. 


To make the filling:
Dust out the mixer bowl, and add to it eggs, sugar, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Mix on high for 2 minutes, then add the nuts and mix to coat. Pour over the partially baked crust and spread out the nuts evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes more, or until the center is set and it is beginning to turn golden brown. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until the pan is cool enough to grab by your hand. Then stick it into the freezer for about 20 minutes. This will make it much easier to cut. cut into 3 inch by 1 inch bars. Stack them up like jenga blocks to serve.

a tiny Carrot Cake, a giant scoop of Goat Cheese Ice Cream

I've posted about carrot cake before. It is my favorite, so I continue to fill your thoughts with cream cheese frosting and dense, spicy, moist cakes. I'm still trying to figure out why one of my friends doesn't like cake.... to counter balance this un-likeness of cake, I have another friend who is mildly obsessed with my carrot cake. I oblige and make them at her request. She is a loyal supporter of the "dream bakery" and asked me recently to make a cake for her significant other's birthday.

I also threw out the idea of home made ice cream to pair with the cake. I had no idea which flavor, so I consulted the ice cream genius David Lebovitz directly. He responded (yay! I was really excited he answered my question) and suggested Cream Cheese Ice Cream or Goat Cheese Ice Cream. I ran it past my carrot cake fanatic, and she decided on the Goat Cheese Ice Cream. David Lebovitz also suggested adding some rum soaked raisins to the mix might be good, so I followed suit.

How delightful to make cake and ice cream for a birthday. I made a 6 inch cake with 3 layers, cream cheese frosting, and toasted walnuts. I like the walnuts on the sides. I fell in love with the look in college at a local coffee shop. They served giant slices of carrot cake with walnuts decorating the sides, and it looked so pretty in the case.... so tempting. The only ingredient I have mixed feeling about is the raisin. Sometimes I like them, sometimes they are a little overwhelming. I like to change it up and use currants instead of raisins sometimes, especially if making it for myself, because they are smaller and sweeter than your typical raisin. I usually let the paying customer choose this battle.

The goat cheese ice cream was interesting to make as well. It's simple. It tastes like sweet, creamy (yet icy), sweet goat cheese. If you're not a goat cheese fan don't try this at home. If you are... and you are weeping because you don't have an ice cream maker... don't fret! I have a feeling you can make this without one. After preparing the custard and mixing it with the cheese, you can freeze it in your ice cream maker (but this doesn't freeze the same as most ice creams) or you can mix it together really really well, place it in the freezer, and take it out and stir it every hour until it is thick enough to add some rum soaked raisins. Then let it freeze overnight. The reason I say this is because in the ice cream maker (since there is no whipping cream in the mix), the ice cream doesn't increase in volume, it just chills really well, and it looks curdled rather than smooth. The curdles smooth out during freezer time - and this is why I think it is unnecessary to churn. I imagine you can do the same with Cream Cheese Ice Cream.

Let me know how it goes in case you try this without one. The end result of cake and ice cream turned out well. The sweets were praised (how nice) and commended on their original pairing. Thanks to David Lebovits for the suggestion. And thanks to my friends for enjoying my baking so much!

Goat Cheese Ice Cream

adapted from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz

makes 1 pint

2 1/4 C whole milk

1 C sugar

11 oz goat cheese

9 egg yolks

Mix the milk and sugar together in a medium saucepan, set over medium heat. Remove the goat cheese from the packaging and place it in a large bowl. Mix it up with a fork and set a mesh strainer over the top.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. After the milk is warm to the touch, slowly temper the egg yolks and return the mix to the saucepan. Continue cooking over medium heat making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to prevent burning, until it coats the back of the spoon. (to test this, run your finger down the back of the spoon and see if the custard leaves a nice straight line - if it does, it is ready, if not keep heating).

Pour the custard through the mesh strainer into the goat cheese. Stir the mixture until the cheese is melted and set the bowl in an ice bath and stir until the mixture is cooled. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is completely cooled.

Freeze in your ice cream machine, or do as I said above if you don't have one!

Carrot Cake

adapted from Birthday Cakes, by Kathryn Kleinman

(Full Recipe for 3 - 9" Layers)

1 C dark raisins

1 lb carrots (about 4 C shredded - you can leave skins on)

2 C minus 2 T flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 T cocoa powder

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 C sugar

1 C dark brown sugar

1 1/4 C oil

1 1/2 C walnuts - roughly chopped

divide oven into thirds. Preheat to 350˚, butter and line 3 9" pans with parchment. dust with flour. steam the raisins covered 10 mins (alternately add some water to a heat proof bowl and microwave covered for 30 seconds or so to plump). Drain and reserve.

Sift dry ingredients. In a large bowl, beat eggs, then beat in vanilla, sugars, and oil. Mix in dry ingredients until just incorporated, then stir in the carrots, raisins, and nuts.

Divide among pans. Bake about 35 minutes - until the cakes start to pull away from the edges of the pans. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks for 3 minutes. Turn onto a rack right side up. Once completely cool, wrap and freeze for one hour. (Overnight works great). Frost using Cream Cheese Frosting recipe! This cakes serves a crowd. It is really dense and tall so you can get a lot of slices from one cake. If you half the recipe you can make 3 6" cakes, or 18 regular cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

16 oz cream cheese (full fat)

1 stick butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 C powdered sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese (room temp please!) for a few minutes until fluffy. Add vanilla and sugar. Continue beating on high speed until smooth, scraping sides of bowl. Makes enough to frost 3 layers of cake plus sides.