campfire not required

Well, I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but I've been really enjoying my summer so far. I was recently on Martha's Vineyard and had some delicious s'more ice cream from a place called The Scoop Shack. That ice cream haunted me... the milk chocolate ice cream, soft marshmallows and crispy graham crackers were driving my ice cream/s'more cravings through the roof. I think at this point on my recipe page, I should have a section of marshmallow-devoted recipes. This ice cream would be at the top of the list (ok, it actually wouldn't since I alphabetize all my recipes, but you understand my sentiment).

Even though The Scoop Shack's s'more ice cream was fab, I knew I could kick it up a notch. Coating the graham crackers in milk chocolate (I used Hershey's because hello, that's what you use in an actual s'more) not only adds more chocolate to the recipe but it prevents the crackers from getting soft and soggy. And a toasted (slightly burnt) marshmallow is essential for a gooey s'more, so shouldn't it also be required in this ice cream? Nod yes here.

I've made a few different ice creams here on the blog and one thing I wanted to change was the recipe. Typically the other ice cream bases are a custard, made with heavy cream and egg yolks for a rich and decadent ice cream. While that method is lovely, it is calorie dense, super rich and takes quite a bit of time to make and cool down. Therefore, I went for a much quicker style ice cream (technically called "Philadelphia style") that doesn't require cooking egg yolks.

It's absolutely perfect here. The milk chocolate adds the creamy richness instead of the egg yolks. The chocolate covered grahams are an addictive snack all on their own, but crushed into the ice cream add the crunch that is needed. And the toasted marshmallows stay soft in the frozen ice cream, making you forget all about the hot campfire.

chocolate hazelnut cake

Nutella is a weakness of mine (as evidence in this delicious comforting drink, festive cookies or campfire amazement)... I just love that sweet chocolate hazelnut combination. So it will come as no surprise that when I saw the ABC Challenge was this chocolate hazelnut cake, I was excited.

A few things intrigued me about this recipe: 1. There was no actual Nutella involved, just the real-deal chocolate hazelnut ingredients. 2. Chopped hazelnuts went into the cake batter, but weren't required in the frosting. 3. There's no frosting. So if you have poor decorating skills that won't matter here since the only adornment is a sprinkling of cocoa powder (I added the tiny flourishes of whole hazelnuts on top of mounds of fudge-y filling). 4. The lack of frosting is quickly remedied with a divine ganache-type frosting, but it goes in between the cake layers, not draped over the entire cake which is more common for ganache. 

After baking and sharing the cake with many friends and coworkers, they all agreed it was delicious, but crumbly! The cake is light, but falls apart too easily for my liking. And even though I didn't mind the chopped hazelnuts in the cake, I think they were a contributing factor to the crumbliness. The next time I make this I'd add the hazelnuts to the ganache filling. Speaking of the chocolate filling it was amazing. Silky, rich and perfect on it's own; no other frosting was needed. 

Here is the recipe I used to make this cake since I didn't really change anything... although I may need to make it again with a bit of tweaking ;)

no holds bar

I know there are so many gift-giving baking idea's floating around on other blogs, Pinterest, the Food Network... but these Chunky Raspberry Bars have to be one of the easiest to put together. There's no intricate decorating of cookies or cupcakes, instead you're just basically smashing the dough into a pan and going for that "rustic" look. It works here, trust me.

The dough is really more of a shortbread packed with oats, coconut and almonds... oh and some raspberry jam to give it a festive flair. But of course you could swap out the raspberry jam for your favorite flavor, say peach or strawberry. Once the bars are cooled, they're dense and hold up wonderfully in a (gift) box. 

Fluffernutter Dreams Come True

I don't often make many recipes using store-bought cake mixes because they just don't taste right. About five years ago I got sick with a terrible chest infection and lost all my taste buds for like a month. When they slowly came back, a lot of foods just didn't taste the same anymore, in fact, they tasted gross. Over time I got over a lot of them, like peanut butter, but to this day most soda's and pre-packaged cake mixes just taste... off. It's not the worst thing that could've happened, I mean, everyone knows you shouldn't drink soda anyways, so losing my taste buds really did me a favor in the long run.

Anyways, back to this recipe. Yes, there's a store-bought cake mix used here and I couldn't help but be swayed by the fact that: 1. it's a super fast, layered dessert and 2. gooey layers of peanut butter and marshmallow fluff always trump a store-bought mix.