Cake Batter Ice Cream Insanity

This has to be the longest I've ever gone without a post. I've finally settled into a routine, I've got my own insurance, I've taken over my car insurance and cell phone bill, and I'm about to register for a 401k! I even cleaned my bathroom last night... I'm an adult! LOL!
I've also come to the realization that there's a chance I might be gluten intolerant. Well, more than a chance. If I am, it would explain the last four years of my life. I'll go into details later. But I couldn't wait any longer before sharing this ice cream with you.
As a last hurrah, I decided to make cake batter ice cream... with Oreos... and eggless cookie dough balls.

Because really, who cares about healthy food? And being healthy... Oh wait, I'm actually starting to care. Another sign of adulthood??? Whatever. For now, let's just eat this ice cream.
Cake Batter Ice Cream with Oreos and Cookie Dough
The Ice Cream:
Ingredients:
Heavy cream- 2 c
Whole milk- 1 c
Sugar- 1/2 c
Yellow cake mix- 3/4 c
Salt- 1/8 tsp
Vanilla extract- 2 tsp
Crushed oreos- as many as you want! I used ~1 1/2 c
Directions:
1. Whisk heavy cream, milk, sugar, cake mix, salt and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours (or until well chilled). In the meantime, make the cookie dough.
2. Freeze ice cream according to your ice cream maker instructions (mine took ~20 minutes). 
3. Scoop ice cream into a large bowl and stir in the crushed oreos and cookie dough balls. Freeze for another hour or so, or until it's solid. 

Eggless Cookie Dough Balls
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 1/2 c (1 stick), room temp
Light brown sugar- 1/2 c
Sugar- 1/4 c
Heavy cream- 2 tbsp
Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
All-purpose flour- 3/4 c
Mini semisweet chocolate chips- 1/2 c
Directions:
1. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy, ~2-3 minutes. 
2. Add heavy cream, vanilla and salt, and mix for another minute. Slowly add the flour until combined. 
3. Stir in chocolate chips with a spatula.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, then roll into small (1 tsp or smaller) balls and place on a parchment paper-lined plate. Put in freezer for at least another 30 minutes. I chopped them in half before adding them to the ice cream.

Combine ice cream, oreos and cookie dough. Pig out. Repeat. 

Served with whipped cream and hot fudge sauce.
Note: I only used half of the cookie dough balls for the ice cream. I put dunked some of the others in melted semi-sweet chocolate and froze to turn into cookie dough truffles.

Combined/adapted/sourced: Life's Ambrosia, Brown Eyed Baker
Enjoy!!!

Milk Chocolate Chip Brownies with Cake Batter Dip

Sooo, this happened.
My favorite brownies with milk chocolate chips tossed in. And cheesecake cake batter dip. I took these into my office last week, and one of my coworkers decided to spread the dip on the brownie. It was one of the best ideas ever.
My job is going well, and I'm settling into adulthood. It's been a little bumpy with the adulthood part at times, but overall things are good :)
This dip and these brownies are fantastic on their own, but together, they're unstoppable. They're like peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, milk and cookies. Can you tell I love food?
Milk Chocolate Chip Brownies with Cake Batter Dip
The Brownies
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 10 tbsp (1 stick + 2 tbsp)
Sugar- 1 1/4 c
Cocoa powder- 3/4 c + 2 tbsp (Dutch process or natural, just use the highest quality you can find!)
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Vanilla bean paste (or extract)- 1/2 tsp
Large eggs- 2, cold
Flour- 1/2 c
Milk chocolate (or semisweet) chips- a handful
Directions:
1. Place butter in a heatproof bowl (I used my electric stand mixer bowl) and set over a pan of simmering water. Allow butter to melt.
2. Add sugar, cocoa powder and salt to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Remove from pan and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in vanilla bean paste, then add eggs one at a time. Stir until smooth.
4. Add flour and stir (40 strokes). Stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Prepare an 8x8" square baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil, enough that it overhangs on two sides. Spray a very light coat of cooking spray on the aluminum, then pour the batter in, being sure to smooth it out carefully. Bake at 350 degrees F for ~20 minutes. The tester should come out moist but not with any batter attached to it.

The Dip
{Courtesy of I Wash, You Dry}
Ingredients:
Cream cheese- 8 oz (1 package)
Sour cream- 1/2 c
White cake mix- 1/2 c
Powdered sugar- 1 c
Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Sprinkles- a TON (however many you want. this is your world, baby. I did 1/3 c.)
Directions:
1. Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
2. Add sour cream and beat until blended.
3. Add cake mix, powdered sugar and vanilla extract, and beat until blended.
4. Stir in sprinkles.
5. Serve cold. Spread over brownies, or serve with graham crackers or fruit.
Enjoy!!!

Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla Bean Scones

My aunt Ginna gave me an in-person tutorial on making those delicious scones properly when she was here for my graduation, and I used that lesson to make them for my mom's birthday. As you may recall, my mom's thing is strawberry shortcake, just like my thing is angel food cake, and my dad's thing is german chocolate anything.
Ginna gave me some very important tips for making these bad boys:
-Everything has to be as cold as possible. Using butter right out of the freezer is fine.
-Do not take out the cold ingredients until you are about to put them in the dough.
-Measure the pastry flour AFTER you've sifted it, because it always puffs up and will throw off the measurement.
-Do NOT knead the dough. The less the dough is handled, the better it will turn out.
-When you're ready to plop the dough onto the parchment-lined baking pan, use a measuring cup and dip it in hot water in between scoops.

Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla Bean Scones
Scones courtesy of my Aunt Ginna :)
Ingredients:
Organic, unbleached pastry flour- 3 1/2 c
Baking powder- 3 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Superfine sugar- 1 tbsp, plus more to sprinkle on top of the scones before you bake them
Unsalted butter- 1 c (2 sticks), cut into quarters right out of the freezer
Eggs- 4, cold
Heavy cream- 2/3 c, cold
Sour cream- 2/3 c, cold
Vanilla bean paste- 1 tbsp
Directions:
1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into the the bowl of a huge food processor. Add butter chunks and process for no longer than 1 minute. It should feel like coarse meal.
2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, heavy cream and sour cream. Stir in vanilla bean paste. Add mixture to food processor and mix. You're not looking for a soft ball, really. The dough is more batter-y than dough-y. DO NOT OVERMIX! Stop once the ingredients have come together.
3. Scoop out dough (I used 1/4 and 1/3 measuring cups) and plop onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the tops with sugar.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for ~20 minutes, until they are golden.

Assembly
Mix 2-3 lbs of strawberries (washed, hulled and cut in halves and quarters) with some sugar (up to you, depending on how sweet you want them). Let them sit for an hour or two to draw out the juices.
Beat leftover heavy whipping cream and 1 tbsp powdered sugar with a whisk until stiff peaks form.
Spoon the strawberries (generously) onto the cooled scones, then dollop some whipped cream on top.
Enjoy!!!

Christmas in July

I'm all moved in and settled in my new apartment! Good thing, too- my job starts one week from today!
I haven't baked in my apartment yet- shocking, I know. But I made this Christmas in July cake for my mom a couple weeks ago. Her company sells Christmas cards to non-profit organizations, and July 1st is the start of their sales year.

The cake wasn't done until 3:30 AM, so I gave up on any hopes of a decent shot

I went with my favorite chocolate cake recipe and my go-to vanilla buttercream. The cake itself isn't difficult, but I broke a few of my cardinal baking rules, which made everything infinitely harder.
Rules Broken:
1. NEVER double a batter recipe, especially if you don't know for sure that you have a container big enough to handle everything.
Broken rule outcome: Stress. And having to divide the batter just to stir it. And lots of mess.
2. NEVER start a cake late at night.
Broken rule outcome: Kelly up til 4 AM because her impaired judgment messed up the cake and her OCD wouldn't let her leave it less than perfect.
3. KNOW what you'll be storing the cake in before you start.
Broken rule outcome: I decorated the bottom edges of the cake, forgetting the dome lid was gonna need somewhere to sit.
4. USE Baker's Joy. I hardly ever use parchment paper for cakes, because they usually fail.
Broken rule outcome: The parchment paper failed. Fortunately, I had a third layer of cake available.

After realizing my mistake about the bottom border (it being around 2 AM), I panicked. I tried to wipe the border away, but it looked horrible, so I smoothed it out, which looked worse.
I resolved to make a third batch of buttercream. My parents were asleep at this point, so I went into the laundry room, sat on the floor, and mixed it up. Then, I scraped away all the bottom part (white and red) and started again.

The end result was very pretty, in my opinion. I only wish I'd listened to my own rules!

Dark Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream
The Cake
Courtesy of Sweetapolita
Yield: One 2-layer 9-inch cake.
Ingredients:
All-purpose flour- 1 1/2 c
Sugar- 1 1/3 c
Dark cocoa powder- 1/2 c
Baking soda- 1 1/4 tsp
Baking powder- 1 1/4 tsp
Salt- 1 tsp
Buttermilk- 5 oz (140 mL, ~2/3 c)
Hot, strong coffee- 4.5 oz (130 mL)
Canola oil- 75 ml (~5 tbsp)
2 eggs, room temperature
Pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Sift all dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer (paddle attachment).
2. Add buttermilk, coffee, canola oil, eggs and vanilla, and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
3. Pour batter into two 9 inch round cake pans that have been liberally sprayed with Baker's Joy. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, then rotate pans. Bake until the tester comes out with just a few crumbs, ~30 minutes total. Be careful not to overbake!
4. Cool on racks for 20 minutes, then gently turn them out of the pans onto the racks to cool completely.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vanilla Buttercream
Yield: 1 batch (you may need to double it for the cake, depending on your decorating style)
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter- 1 c (2 sticks), softened
Powdered sugar- 3-4 c
Pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)- 1 tbsp
Milk- 1 tbsp
Pinch of salt
Directions:
1. Beat butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, ~3 minutes.
2. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating until well incorporated.
3. Add vanilla extract, milk and salt, and beat to combine.
4. Switch to whisk attachment and beat for ~2 minutes to fluff it up.

Enjoy! And always follow your own rules! :)