Icecream

Birthday Oreo Ice Cream

A few weeks ago, I began to see Birthday Oreos popping up - people were talking about them on Instagram, Twitter and on their blogs. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention. As I've mentioned before, Oreos definitely aren't a big draw around here (unlike sprinkles, obviously). They pop up in baking projects from time to time, but I usually don't feel compelled to run out and try the newest flavor.

A few days later, Shane sent me an email with a link to this article, which explained that the Oreo was turning 100 in March (today, in fact!). And that's when it clicked. Birthday Oreos = 100 year celebration, got it :) I still didn't have any interest in buying them, until I actually came across a package in the store and realized the filling was speckled like funfetti and cake flavored. I am powerless against all things cake batter flavored. Of all the treats I've made over the years, simple things like vanilla cake batter (and raw cookie dough) are still tops on my list.



Predictably, I brought a package of the Birthday Oreos home and upon opening them, the smell of cake batter was unmistakeable. I had very high hopes. Maybe too high - the flavor just didn't live up to the aroma for me. The Oreos weren't bad, but I wasn't blown away. I knew the odds of them being eaten as is were low, so I decided to repurpose them into a batch of cookies and cream ice cream. Ice cream never goes to waste here :) It was a good decision - creamy, rich vanilla ice cream with chunks of Oreos throughout, and the aroma of cake batter as an added bonus! Of course, you could make this ice cream with regular Oreos too, and it would be just as good. Add a few sprinkles and it's still fit for a 100-year celebration in my book!

Birthday Oreo Ice Cream
barely adapted from Pennies on a Platter (originally adapted from Culinary Cory)

1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
15 Birthday Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

Add the milk and heavy cream to a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Warm until bubbles start to form around the edges of the pan. Meanwhile, in a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt together. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the bowl with the yolks, whisking constantly, until completely incorporated. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon (it will register between 170 and 175 F on an instant read thermometer).

Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Cover and chill the mixture thoroughly in your refrigerator (I always have the best results when I chill overnight).

Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. As you transfer the ice cream to a container for storing, fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula. Store in an airtight container in your freezer

Icecream

Boston Cream Whoopie Pies

Happy Pi Day! I don't know if I've ever told you guys what a huge math nerd I was (am?) but it's true. Before I went to law school, I graduated with a degree in engineering, so math and science are sort of my thing. Shane's too, for that matter - he's also an engineer! So it only makes sense that I'd be excited to celebrate Pi Day, especially since I actually remembered a day in advance this year. Usually it's not until I start seeing everyone's posts pop up in my Google Reader that I remember it's March 14, but I'm a little more on the ball this year.



The only problem? As much as I like eating pie (blueberry and apple are my favorite), I'm still not a huge fan of making it. I thought about what I could make instead of a traditional pie that would still be appropriate, and I kept coming back to whoopie pies. With the word pie in the name, I decided that technically they still fall within the rules. Right? Ok, good :)



I've had a recipe for Boston cream pie bookmarked for a while, but haven't had an occasion to make it, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to use a few components of that recipe to make these Boston cream whoopie pies. Vanilla cookies filled with a rich pastry cream and topped with a smooth chocolate glaze - a perfect handheld version of Boston cream pie! These do require a bit of advanced planning, as the pastry cream needs at least a few hours to set up in the fridge before assembly. I've failed at pastry cream more times than I care to tell you, but this recipe yielded success for me finally, yay! Before sending these whoopie pies off to work with Shane, I topped them with a few sprinkles in the name of celebration - happy Pi Day everyone :)

Boston Cream Whoopie Pies
cookies from Annie's Eats (who adapted from King Arthur Flour), pastry cream and glaze from Cook's Illustrated

Pastry Cream
1 cup half-and-half
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
pinch salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into two pieces
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg white, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (I used whole)

Glaze
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon light corn syrup (optional)

To make the pastry cream: Add the half and half to a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook until the the half and half comes to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until smooth, then add the flour and whisk to incorporate completely. When the half and half reaches a simmer, remove the pan from the heat, and, whisking constantly, slowly drizzle it into the yolk mixture. Add the now warmed yolk mixture back to the saucepan.

Set the pan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue cooking, still whisking constantly, until bubbles burst on the surface of the mixture (this took about 4-5 minutes total for me). Turn off the heat under the pan, and whisk in the butter and vanilla until completely incorporated. Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Spray a piece of parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray, then press the parchment against the surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 24, before using.

To make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and egg white and beat until well combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once. Mix in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, alternately add the dry ingredients in 2 additions, and the milk in 1, starting and finishing with the dry ingredients. Beat just until incorporated (the batter will be fairly thick).

Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe the batter into about 1 1/2-inch rounds onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1-2 inches between the cookies. (Note: I tried to make a few cookies using a cookie scoop to portion the batter instead of piping, and they came out really jagged so while I won't say don't do it, I advise against it.) Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the cookies spring back when lightly pressed (they won't take on much color). Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before removing them to the rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze: Add the cream to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then add the chocolate and corn syrup (if using - the syrup just makes the glaze a bit more shiny, but you don't need it.) Let stand for about 1 minute, then gently whisk the mixture until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set the mixture aside to thicken slightly, until the consistency is right for spreading - about 5-10 minutes.

To assemble: Match the cookies in pairs by size. Spread the top (the rounded side) of one cookie in each pair with a little bit of the glaze. Let the glaze set (you can transfer the cookies to the fridge to speed this up). Transfer the pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe about 1 teaspoon of pastry cream onto the flat side of the other cookie in each pair. Top with the glazed cookie and press lightly to push the pastry cream to the edges.

Makes about 24 sandwich cookies (you will probably have a little extra pastry cream) 

Food

Chocolate Cupcakes with Rainbow Buttercream

I'm a holiday person. I love them, even the silly ones like Valentine's Day. There's really only one glaring exception, and by now you've probably figured it out given the lack of any posting about St Patrick's Day this week. I don't dislike St Patrick's Day, I just can't seem to get excited about it the way I do other holidays. As in years past, the extent of our celebration will be the corned beef and cabbage I'll make for dinner this weekend. It's one of Shane's favorite meals all year, I'm pretty sure he'd happily eat corned beef every night if I served it :)



I know not everyone shares my feelings, though, so I wanted to give you at least one recipe that would be fun if you are celebrating St Patrick's Day this weekend. Not surprisingly, I chose to go the dessert route. I've already blogged a few of the more traditional Guinness stout recipes you usually see this time of year, so those were out. I've never made any rainbow treats, however, and every time I see them, I marvel at how cool they look. What better time of year to make them than St Patty's Day, with that whole pot of gold at the end of the rainbow tale?



I couldn't love this rainbow colored frosting more if I tried - it's one of those things that's really simple to do, but has such a wow factor no one would ever know! Notice I said simple, but not fast. This definitely requires a little bit of patience and time. In essence, you are painting stripes of color into a pastry bag which then tint the frosting as it is piped. I did six colors of the rainbow, but this would work with any combination of colors so it's easily customizable for other holidays or celebrations. And yes, I'm already dreaming of the next one I want to make :)

Rather than go with an old favorite, I tried a new chocolate cupcake recipe for the base here. The texture of these cupcakes was absolutely perfect - light and fluffy, but not too crumbly. The chocolate flavor was not quite as strong as I'd have liked, but I'd definitely make this recipe again. I used my go-to vanilla buttercream for the rainbow frosting. It's super simple to throw together, and has a great consistency for piping.

If you're looking for more St Patrick's Day ideas, here are a few other treats from the archives:

Chocolate Stout Cake
Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread
Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Frosting
American-Style Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway Seeds

Chocolate Cupcakes with Rainbow Buttercream
cupcakes from Food and Wine, frosting from Cook's Illustrated, rainbow idea from Chica and Jo

Cupcakes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (5 oz) confectioners' sugar
pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

Add the butter, oil and water to a medium saucepan. Set over low heat and, swirling the pan occasionally, melt the butter completely.

Meanwhile, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together into a large heatproof bowl. Pour the melted butter mixture over the top of the dry ingredients, and using a hand mixer, beat on low speed just until everything is incorporated. Beat in the egg until smooth, and then the buttermilk and vanilla. Run a rubber spatula along the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Divide the batter among the liners in the muffin pan, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pan to cool completely.

To make the frosting: Beat the butter on medium-high speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until smooth, about 20-30 seconds. Add the confectioners' sugar and salt and beat on low speed just until the sugar is incorporated (so it won't fly all over you), then raise the speed to medium and continue beating until the butter and sugar are well combined, about 1 minute total. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the vanilla and heavy cream. Beat on medium until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for about 4 minutes, or until the buttercream is light and fluffy.

To color the frosting: You'll need gel food coloring (not the liquid ones, they won't work). I used rainbow colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple - but you could do this with up to 6 colors in any variety you want. Fit a pastry bag with a decorative tip (I used a small star one) and set it in a tall glass. Paint stripes, about 1/2-inch thick, on the inside of the pastry bag. You want to leave some space in between each of the colors. The stripes should start down at the tip and extend up about 3-4 inches. Fill the pastry bag with the buttercream, then pipe until the frosting starts to display the colors of the stripes you painted (it'll come out white at first, just keep squeezing the bag). Then you're ready to begin piping onto your cupcakes in your preferred design. {Note: don't try to refill the bag when you run out of frosting, you'll need to start all over again, painting new stripes into a new bag.}



You can find more information on this process and photos here.