A few friends and I got together last week to attend the Comedy & Magic Club’s annual birthday bash.  Every year during the month of July they get several comics together to perform.  This year it was 16 comics for 16 dollars.  So since we all like to laugh, we reserved a couple tables and went.  As it turned out not only was the club celebrating another birthday, so was one of my friends.  We wanted to do something special for her, so I offered to make a cake.  Everyone was on board, but there was a small problem – I had no idea what kind of cake to make.

After a moment or two of panic, I decided to do what I’ve been doing a lot of recently – I turned to the plethora or food bloggers I follow.  And as I suspected, I found several yummy ideas.  Since my friend loves chocolate, I knew I had to make a chocolate cake.  No problem there.  The only problem – trying to choose which of the mouth watering recipes to use.  I couldn’t do it.  So I finally decided to take the two that I liked the best and combine them.  What I ended up with was an amazingly, delicious, moist chocolate cake.

Now you’re probably wondering who I chose.  Since I have no problem giving credit where credit is due, the blogs that helped me create this cake were My Baking Addiction and Picky Palate.  Both recipes sounded too good to pass up.  I loved the unique idea of coffee in My Baking Addiction’s Black Magic Cake.  But Picky Palate’s idea of adding ice cream and hot fudge sauce to her Ice Cream Sundae 4 Layer Cake sent me into an “I-must-try-this” tizzy.  So, I did.  Let me tell you, my mouth (along with the mouths of several of my friends) has never been happier.  I’m definitely going to make this cake again.  Now all I need is a reason.  Hmmm….

Mocha Fudge Chocolate Dream Cake

Makes 10-12 servings

• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup Hershey’s cocoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
• 1 cup of your favorite strong black coffee
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup Vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup hot fudge sauce
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tbsp Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa
• 4 Tbsp Dutch cocoa powder (I use Ghirardelli)
• 2 Tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

Sift together the sugar, cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Add the eggs, buttermilk, coffee, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.  Mix together on medium speed.  Once blended, add the hot fudge and ice cream and mix again on medium speed for another minute or two.  (The batter will be thin.)  Pour evenly into the two prepared cake pans.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

*To sour milk: add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to your cup of milk and stir.

To prepare the chocolate frosting:  Cream butter, sugar, and cocoa in a mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.  Gradually add milk until combined.

Once the cake is cooled, place the bottom layer on a cake stand spread the top with frosting.  Place the second layer on top of the first, and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

Oh and those chocolate curls on the sides?  Picky Palate made it super easy.  Just take your favorite block of chocolate (I used Cadbury) and a vegetable peeler and peel the chocolate bar to get curls.  Press the curls onto the side of the cake, refrigerate for about an hour, and serve.

I love lemon bars. They’re always so yummy, so easy to make and a nice addition to any picnic. But the other day when I wanted them for an outdoor concert, I discovered I was low on lemons. 

I did have a ton of limes, though.  So I started thinking what if I made lime bars instead?  But I really wanted the lemon.  Then I remembered what a huge fan I am of lemon/lime soda and a new bar was born.  They were just as light and delicious as lemon bars, but with a different tang thanks to the limes.  So the next time you’re low on lemons, but in the mood for this great summer dessert, just add a little lime juice.  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Lemon/Lime Bars

Makes 15 bars

For Crust

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of flour
• pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar together until they’re a pale yellow.  In a separate bowl combine the flour and salt.  With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour/salt to the butter/sugar until just mixed together.

Press the dough into a 9×13 pan and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Cook the crust for 15-20 minutes or until it’s light brown in color.  Let crust cool, but leave the oven on.

For the Filling

• 6 eggs
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp lime zest
• 1/2 cup of lemon juice
• 1/2 cup of lime juice.
• 1 cup of flour

Whisk all the ingredients together.  Pour over the cooled crust and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Let cool. Dust with powdered sugar, cut into squares and serve.

As some of you know, a cupcake shop in Florida, Sweet Surrender Cupcake and Cookie Cafe,  was having a contest several weeks ago.  I heard about it from Bake it Pretty and thought I’d enter.  So I asked several close friends and relatives which cupcake I should make? A chocolate cupcake with fresh strawberry frosting, a strawberry cupcake with chocolate frosting or a coffee cupcake with vanilla frosting.  The resounding response was the coffee cupcake because those are so unusual.  So, since I’d made a coffee and doughnut cupcake (thanks to Cupcake Bakeshop) in March for the City of Hope’s 24 hour dance-a-thon, I thought that’d be perfect. 

Now if you know about the contest, you’re probably wondering why I’m posting my recipe since you weren’t supposed to share it.  Well, I decided not to enter the contest.  Since I liked the cupcakes so much, I wanted to be able to share this yummy recipe with all of you. 

What makes these cupcakes especially good, is they’re not too sweet.  They literally taste like coffee in cake form.  And the vanilla frosting on top is the milk and sugar because I take cream and sugar with my coffee.  People always have coffee and doughnuts for breakfast; well what about coffee and cupcakes?  Here’s your answer.  These are a great dessert for a fun family brunch or mid morning party.

Cafe au Lait Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbsp coffee grounds
• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup of milk
• a pinch of salt

Vanilla Frosting

• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 12 chocolate covered espresso beans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the cupcakes, beat the butter on high for about 30 seconds.  Add the sugar and beat on medium high until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated. 

Whisk together in a bowl the flour, baking powder, salt, and coffee grounds. 

Measure out the brewed coffee and milk together. 

Add about a third of the flour mixture to the sugar and egg mixture and mix until combined.  Pour in a third of the coffee mixture and mix until combined.  Alternate the flour and coffee mixtures until you’ve combined them both and they’re mixed well. 

Spoon the batter into cupcake papers until they’re about 2/3 full.   Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let them cool for five minutes before frosting.

For the frosting:

Beat together the milk, vanilla, butter and powdered sugar until well blended and smooth. 

Frost the cupcakes, dot each with a chocolate covered espresso bean, and serve.

I’ve always loved ice cream.  But for some reason ever since my third trimester I can’t get enough of it.  I crave it. And I don’t care what flavor it is – chocolate, coffee, chunky, smooth, it doesn’t matter.  As long as it’s thick, rich and cold, I’m in.  And now that I’ve become life-long friends with my ice cream maker, I’m my own 31 Flavors.  Seriously, my freezer is full.

Now normally, I only have ice cream that’s of the chocolate or coffee variety. But I was watching a rerun of Grey’s Anatomy  recently and at the end of the episode, Meredith, Izzie, and George were all taking spoonfuls from a pint of strawberry ice cream.  I’ve never been a fan of the fruit ice creams, but for some reason, at that instant, strawberry ice cream sounded like pure perfection to me. 

Then it hit me that strawberries were in season.  I’d seen dozens of vendors at the farmers market with baskets and baskets of big, beautiful strawberries.  So the wheels started turning and I said to myself “you know what would be better than homemade strawberry ice cream with fresh strawberries? Homemade strawberry ice cream with chocolate chips.” (Yes, I talk to myself when I’m coming up with recipes, don’t you?)  I mean, what’s better than strawberries and chocolate?  Well, cherries and chocolate, but…  Ooh, cherry chocolate chip ice cream.  And as it so happens, cherries are in season.  Hmmm…  I think I see another ice cream post in my future.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Makes 1 1/2 quarts

• 2 cups of strawberries, hulled and sliced
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I use non-fat because with all the ice cream I’m making, I need to keep the weight down)
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 whole vanilla bean
• 2 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3/4 cup of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2-4 drops red food coloring (optional)

In a bowl combine the strawberries, 1/3 cup of sugar, and lemon juice and let marinate for 2 hours.

While the strawberries are marinating, combine the milk and cream in a medium sauce pan.  Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise.  Scrape out the seeds and stir the seeds and the pod into the milk/cream mixture.  Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the milk/cream mixture is simmering, combine the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl.  Mix on medium speed until the mixture is thick and pale yellow, about two minutes.

Remove the vanilla bean pod from the milk/cream mixture.  Pour out 1 cup of the hot liquid.  With the mixer on low speed, add the cup of hot milk/cream to the egg mixture in a slow steady stream.  when thoroughly combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir to combine.  Cook, stirring constantly, over medium low heat until the mixture has become a custard – it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. 

Transfer the mixture to a bowl.  Add the juice from the strawberries and the few drops of food coloring and stir well to combine.  Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least four hours. 

Once the custard is chilled, add the strawberries and stir to combine.  Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow the machine’s instructions.  Five minutes before it’s done churning, add the chocolate chips.  Once finished churning, place the ice cream in an air tight container in the freezer for at least two hours and serve.