Sweet Cold Desserts

There's something about ending a summer meal with a cold dessert. A slice of ice cream cake or pie tops off a supper or late lunch of spicy ribs or chicken. It's a cool way to finish, especially on a hot , humid day.

One of the coolest treats is the simple icebox cakes. These came about in the 1930s' when iceboxes became a fixture in American kitchens. Often these are a mix of cookies , pudding, sometimes fruit and whipped cream. One of the easiest is the famed Nabisco chocolate wafer log. This is also known as the zebra cake for the fun black and white stripes. It's just lining up chocolate wafers and mortaring them together with Cool Whip or homemade whipped cream. This forms a log which can be left alone or dressed up for birthdays and parties. A simple decoration of shaved chocolate is fine  but you can also sub in colored sprinkles for a more festive cake. A more elegant decoration is a scattering of strawberries and blueberries on the plate. The cake can also be made Magnolia Bakery style. New York's most famed bakery creates a cake shaped one with four layers of the chocolate wafers sandwiched between whipped cream. Nilla wafer cake is another icy treat that's easy to make. Layer the cookies in any kind of pan - glass or foil - and then layer with vanilla pudding, peaches, strawberries or blueberries and a layer of whipped cream.

Ice cream cakes are another frosty way to end a summer meal. They're easy to make at home, thanks to silicon cake and bread pans. I bought a silicon loaf pan which works perfectly in creating a two layer cake. I also have a smaller one that makes a cute mini cake. Again the Nabisco chocolate wafers are the perfect cake layer. DO NOT sandwich cookies. The creme filling will make for an over sugary , lumpy layer. Pulse the wafers in a food chopper and mix with melted butter or margarine to create a cake like layer. The first layer can be this or Hershey's hard shell which gives the top a nice crunchy, ganache look. Before you add the ice cream and crumbs ,brush a thick layer of it first onto the bottom of the mold. Then layer with your favorite ice creams. Add a second layer alone or with caramel  or the seasonal fruit. I recently made a vanilla and sea salt caramel loaf, using Soy Delicious vanilla coconut ice cream and Smucker's Salted Caramel. Keep in mind that the caramel does get the texture of salt water taffy when frozen. You can sub in pureed or chopped strawberries or raspberries for the caramel. Ice cream pie is another cool ,sweet dessert . Get a pre made pie shell and then fill it with whatever you want. Decorate it with puffs of whipped cream, hard shell or even candy. It's a nice alternative to a birthday cake for something different.

A summer meal deserves a sweet, cold ending A  slice of ice box cake or ice  cream cake or pie is the perfect dessert. It cools you off while you enjoy the end of a delicious warm weather, lunch , supper or dinner.

Cupcakes Gone Global!

Well it looks like that American standard has gone international. What am I writing about? Not Coke or Pepsi. Not hamburgers or popcorn but cupcakes. Yes, cupcakes. In yesterday's Food section of the Times (remember it's Thursday and one article is always dissected) there was a piece about cupcakes shop hitting theMiddle East. Who on earth can resist this classic sweet. There's nothing like a moist tender cake under a big fluffy mound of buttery frosting!



The article written by Anna Louis Sussman write;s about Sugar Daddy's, a new cupcake shop in Amman, Jordan>, The owner FadiJaber, had an epiphany after eating at the famed Magnolia bakery in Greenwich Village. His customers, mostly women, fell in love with them, thanks to Sex and the city reruns that feature Carrie and friends munching on the famed treats. He has also opened shops in Lebanon, Isreal and Tel Aviv. Not only does he sell American style cupcakes but also brownies and cheesecakes.



You might wonder how well the cupcake translates for international tongues. Everyone from England to China seems to like this low key treat. They can also be adopted to fit the country's tastes. Mr. Jaber makes a "Blind Date" cupcake that's made with chopped dates and a cream cheese icing. Most people worldwide love chocolate and vanilla so even these flavors are nothing out of the ordinary. What may be startling or new to some palate is the amount of icing that every cupcake requires. This may come off as super sweet to countries who prefer plain cakes.



Cupcakes are not only favored by our celebs but by the entire world these days. Let's face it. Who can resist these sweet and colorful treats No one on the planet can!

Cupcake Nation

The cupcake has been in favor for a long time now. Everyone , from stars to soccer moms love it. It makes the perfect dessert along with making the perfect snack. The round shape and dome of icing remind us of happier times in our lives. Marcel Proust may have had his madeleines but we Yanks have our beloved cupcakes.

Cupcakes were born in the 19th Century. Their name derives from the fact that the ingredients were measured in cups as opposed to in pounds (hence how we get pound cake). Also ovens back then were not regulated and it took forever to bake an average cake. Home bakers found it easier to bake smaller cakes in what was known as gems or individual clay cups. The 20th Century gave us mass produced ones. The Hostess cupcake was introduced in 1919 but it wasn't until 1950 when the famous "squiggle on top" was introduced.

Cupcakes fell out of favor for a long time during the Seventies and Eighties. The Nineties ushered in the famous Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village.It reintroduced the cakes to a younger audience who had been fed factory made ones. Magnolia's cupcakes were different. They had a real homemade flavor, baked from scratch taste and topped with freshly made butter cream icing. Celebrities and their wannabes went wild for them and soon bakeries across Manhattan were imitating and even copying Magnolia's recipe. Thanks to this craze, everyone wanted cupcakes at their parties and get togethers. Williams and Sonoma, Target and even WalMart sell cupcake trees, tiered stands in which to prettily display the little cakes. Cupcake trees and pyramids are making their presence known at weddings with couples opting for cake s created out of four or five tiers of cupcakes.

The little treat has also been given gourmet status. Alongside of the traditional chocolate and vanilla ones , there are carrot, lemon poppy and red velvet. Nuts, raisins and chocolate chips have been added to give extra flair. Luckily the icing has remained the same with the traditional butter cream although the carrot and red velvet cupcakes have cream cheese. Sprinkles, pistachios and even gold dust (we're talking Hollywood cupcakes here) have been scattered on top.

Cupcakes are fun and easy to make. It's more time efficient to use a box of vanilla or chocolate cake mix. Icings can be easy as well. You can make your own (which tastes better than the canned stuff), using confectioner's sugar and butter as the base. Frosting can even be Cool Whip or pudding , depending on what you want to do. For butterfly cakes slice off the top of the cupcake , and split it in two. Ice the remaining cake and then stick the pieces in butterfly fashion into the cake's top. You can also ice these in a contrasting frosting and decorate to look like a butterfly.Another pretty idea is to swirl two colors of icing on top of the cupcake for a colorful pastel effect. This is perfect for showers or little girls' birthday parties. Of course for the holidays, nothing beats a cupcake party where you can dress up the cakes accordingly.

Cupcakes are sweet links to our innocent youth. They remind us that life can be fun and full of sweetness. There's nothing like treating yourself ot a homemade cupcake with a mound of butter cream frosting!!!!

Here is a recipe from The Boston Cooking School Cookbook My Mom bought it to add to her vast collection back in the Fifties. The recipes are still useful .

Chocolate Frosting

2 squares chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Put chocolate, butter and milk in top of a double boiler. Cook until chocolate melts. Stir well. Let stand until luke warm (about five minutes ). Beat in sugar until thick enough to spread.

If you want a richer frosting use cream instead of milk and add one egg yolk after chocolate has melted