Berry sweet ice-cream cake

yipeee my camera is fixed and I can't wait to start using it again! this was sadly taken with my phone :-( but it's not too bad!

Like I posted on my facebook... I really did make an incredibly delectable dessert for our countries birthday (really I did!!! lol just posting a little late, my apologies :-(...)
I saw this ice-cream cake on Annie's eats and fell in love with it and just had to try it! and it did not disappoint! There were some changes I made to the recipe but all in all this was a keeper. My cake did not look anything like her perfect beautiful cake did! but no one can say I didn't try ;-)
I am lazy...there I said it! and when I read that she had made her own vanilla cake (she must be related to super woman or drinks a ton of those 5hr energy drinks!!!) I gasped and choked at the thought of spending an extra 2 hours (that's how long it takes me to make a cake from scratch...mostly me mumbling under my breath seething with impatience...yes I am both lazy and impatient...lol)
anyways I do like a challenge and one day I will try this the original way, one day when I don't have to take breaks for screaming fighting siblings.
I used a french vanilla cake mix, I did find that the strawberry sauce froze too quickly  and felt like a watery popsicle when I bit into it. so next time I might try cooking the strawberries the same way as the blueberries who somehow managed to stay thick and sweet.
Also I would not advise freezing this cake overnight, again due to the problem above, but again it might have been something I did.
I Made the cake (for the completely from scratch or the super woman version as I like to call it click here)the evening before, while the cakes were baking I made the two sauces. I let the cakes cool and assembled the full cake and covered it and returned it to the freezer...I left it there overnight (I again do not advise this) I made the whipped cream frosting and frosted the cake as quickly as I could...remember it's ice-cream and will melt fast especially if you are in Florida! lol
The whipped cream really does work great, I frosted the base coating (or on regular cakes the crumb layer) and then returned the cake to the freezer for 5min (return the frosting to the fridge). I continued to apply layers until I got the desired thickness. the whipped cream worked really well with the pastry bag it's just me who lacks the skill with it...hence the disfigured "flowers" ;-) I know practice, practice and again practice...but if I have to eat all those practice cakes I would weigh a ton!
at last I put the fresh berries on top of the cake and voila!
I did not let the cake stand for 20min at room temperature, if I had i would've had one big sloppy mess (Florida remember!?)

Here's my attempt to this lovely dessert, hope you like it!:

Berry Sweet Ice Cream Cake

For the cake:

1 pkg french vanilla cake mix

For the blueberry sauce:

1 cup blueberries
3 tbsp. sugar
1¼ tsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. cold water
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the strawberry sauce:

4 oz. strawberries, hulled, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1½ tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2½ cups vanilla bean ice cream, slightly softened (homemade or store-bought)

For the whipped cream frosting:

2 cups heavy cream
½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Fresh strawberries and blueberries, for garnish

Directions:To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line the bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.  Grease and flour the sides of the pan, shaking out the excess.

follow directions on cake mix box, divide the batter into two 8" cake pans.

bake in preheated oven rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.  Let cool in the pans about 10 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge of the cake and turn the layers out onto a wire rack.  Remove the parchment paper and allow to cool completely.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill the cake layers until you are ready to assemble the cake.

To make the blueberry sauce, combine the blueberries and sugar in a nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries begin to release their juices.  In a small bowl combine the cornstarch with the water and lemon juice and whisk until smooth.  Stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberry mixture.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 minute more.  Remove from the heat.  Cover and chill.

To make the strawberry sauce, combine the strawberries and sugar in a bowl.  Toss well to combine.  Mash the berries slightly with the tines of a fork.  Stir in the lemon juice, cover and chill.  Let the berries macerate at least one hour and if needed, mash once more to achieve your desired texture.

To assemble the cake, level the cake layers if necessary.  Place one of the chilled cake rounds in the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan.  Place a piece of parchment or wax paper around the circumference of the cake to act as a tight collar for the ice cream layer.  Be sure the ice cream is soft enough to spread smoothly and easily before proceeding.  Spread the vanilla ice cream in an even layer over the bottom cake layer.

Spoon the blueberry and strawberry fillings on top of the ice cream in whatever pattern you prefer.  (You may have a bit of each type of filling left over.  I dare you to not eat it with a spoon!)  Place the remaining cake layer on top of the ice cream and fruit filling.  Ensure that the parchment collar is pulled tight around the cake and ice cream to keep the layers evenly in place.  Close the sides of the springform around the assembled cake and transfer to the freezer to set.  (Covering the cake at this point is not really necessary but if you plan to wait a long time before finishing the cake, I recommend covering it.)

When you are ready to frost the cake, place the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Whip on medium-high speed, gradually adding the confectioners’ sugar, until stiff peaks form.  (Be careful not to overbeat!)  Blend in the vanilla.  Remove the sides of the springform pan carefully and peel away the parchment collar.  Frost the top and side of the cake with an offset or straight spatula.  Place the remaining whipped cream in a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip and add additional accents as desired. (I used an unlabeled large fine star tip, similar to an Ateco #864 tip.)  Garnish with fresh strawberries and blueberries.  (The cake can be served at this point if desired.)

Store the cake covered in the freezer until ready to serve.  Set the cake out and let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes before slicing.  Run a long, thin knife until hot water to warm the blade.  Wipe the blade completely dry and slice the cake, wiping the blade clean between slices and rewarming as needed.

*The parchment collar is not a necessity but I prefer it for cleaner edges of the ice cream layer.  It also helps in the situation that your cake rounds are not exactly the same size as your springform pan, and if your entire cake is taller than your springform (it likely will be).

adapted from annies eats blueberry sauce adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, vanilla bean cake adapted from Confections of a Foodie Bride

Easy Peasy Tres Leches Cake!!!

I have never really liked the idea of tres leches cake, maybe it's the name...I don't know  ;-) But ever since a friend of mine brought over a huge piece of her scrumptious tres leches cake (thank you Ange!), I must admit I have been hooked ever since.
I wanted a quick version of this dessert since I didn't think I could handle the 12 eggs version.
And with kids it can be hard to find the time ;-) (though I am intrigued, and might try it sometime).
This recipe is amazing and was so good! the only thing I would change is using the Betty Crocker extra moist vanilla cake (I used the Duncan Hines and thought it was a tad dry).
Here is the recipe hope you like it!

Easy Peasy Tres Leches Cake

Printable version

Ingredients

1	box  Super Moist yellow cake mix(the ones with the pudding)
1 1/4	cups water
1	tablespoon vegetable oil
2	teaspoons vanilla
4	eggs
1	can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1	cup whole milk or evaporated milk (sometimes I use coconut milk)
1	cup whipping cream
1	container cool whip

 1       Box strawberries

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and flour or spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan.
2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 29 to 35 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Poke top of hot cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking.
4. In large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and whipping cream. Carefully pour evenly over top of cake. Cover; refrigerate about 1 hour or until mixture is absorbed into cake. Frost with cool whip and top with fresh sliced strawberries.

Makes 15 servings

Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker 

Here are some cool varieties: I sometimes use coconut milk instead of the evaporated milk , then top the cool whip with toasted coconut ;-) 

Cake pops oh cake pops why can't you be healthy???

Red velvet/cream cheese cake pop with pink butter cream icing

Have y'all been to Starbucks yet and tried their cake pops? I'm not overly intimidated by them and am convinced any seasoned cake pop maker would do better and do ;-)  But I say that the tiramisu flavored pop is amazing and I am going to find the closest version to it soon I MUST because it's haunting me lol
anyways cake pops are too much fun not to make and sometimes just too cute to eat! I have seen some amazing cake pops online and am amazed at all the diversity and talent! I am by no means a seasoned or talented cake maker let alone cake pop maker but I do enjoy trying ;-) it's usually hit or miss with mine these where a hit! I used candy coating this time instead of pure white chocolate and bought it from walmart (trying to cut costs a bit) but I was not overly impressed by it's quality. The flavor was way too strong and the coating was too thick for my taste leaving you with far to much coating in proportion to the cake.I don't really like a lot of icing on a cake so I guess it's just preference ;-) There are tons of different flavors you can mix together when making cake pops, I have my three favorite flavor combos; German chocolate/coconut pecan, lemon/cream cheese and of course red velvet/cream cheese (pictured below, oh and of course the addicting tiramisu...mmmm...one day very soon I promise I will have the recipe!). The concept of cake pops is actually really simple and the recipe easier still but the execution is a little elusive and it takes patience and time!
Some things I found useful when making these treats;

1. Make sure your temperature in the kitchen is pretty stable no humidity.
2. Coating your stick before sticking it into the cake ball helps.
3. Space...lots of space...
4. which goes with time...lots of time...
5. Make sure the coating and the cake pops don't differ too much in temperature or the coating will crack after dipping.
6. Have something ready to place the finished product in, I used a styrofoam block covered in foil.
7. If your candy coating is too thick add some shortening or paramount crystals to the candy coating.

You can find lots more info on these cute little treats at bakerella's site (she invented them and has the cutest collections and ideas ever! not to mention a great site, check it out!)
Click here for a link to bakerella's promo video for her cake pop book, she shows and explains how to make the cake pops. And I will add the recipe for the pops i made below the pictures ;-)