Sweet Summer Treats

 What's a good way t  end a summer meal or  offer relief a hot day? Try a summer treat.It could be homemade ice cream or an ice box cake. These help when those days get sweltering and sticky.

Homemade ice cream is actually a simple male. You don't even need an ice cream maker. One that's been on my radar is Melissa Clark's vegan peanut butter. It's cooking creamy peanut butter with simmered maple syrup and unsweetened oat milk creamer. The last is what gives it body and that plush creamy mouth feel. Ms. Clark adds vanilla and sea salt too. I'm leaning towards adding a handful of dark chocolate chips too for Reese's Peanut Butter cup vibe. It's then pureed with an immersion blender and then put into a pan Freeze for four  to six hours before serving. I can see making a sundae with this,  chocolate syrup and vegan whipped cream. If you're still going the vegan route, then try the ice cream made with just frozen bananas. This is a ridiculously simple recipe that just uses four or five of the fruit. The slices are frozen overnight and then whiled in a blender. The result is a creamy treat that can be jazzed up with chocolate sauce,and sprinkles.Another cook treat is an old fashioned egg cream.This is a blend of any kind of milk with chocolate syrup. Seltzer is added for fizz and froth. Serve this in a tall glass with a straw.It's just a refreshing treat on a hot day.

People still love cake during these blazing months and one of the best is the icebox cake. Everyone grew up on the Nabisco chocolate wafer one that has the wafers mortared together with either freshly whipped cream or Cool Whip. There are some variations on this with home chefs adding mint flavoring to the cream or sprinkling the log with shaved chocolate. Slices can be served with sliced strawberries for a fancier look. You could also create a strawberry one that has the berries layered with graham crackers and a mix of whipped cream, powdered sugar and cream cheese. Sub in chocolate graham crackers for a slightly more decadent treat. You could also layer the chocolate graham crackers with ganache and whipped cream. Sub in marshmallow for the cream and you have a s'mores cake (remember to lightly toast it with a small blow torch).Frozen pound cake makes another excellent base for this type of treat. It can be sliced lengthwise into layers and stuffed with summer fruit like blueberries,blackberries or peaches.Whipped cream is also added.

There's nothing like a sweet treat to perk you up during a heat wave. It could be homemade ice cream, an egg cream or an icebox cake. They're all perfect for a blistering summer day.

Following Directions Or Not

As any nervous or perfectionist home chef  will tell you directions are crucial in everything - well sort of.Sometimes you have to go on your gut feeling about a certain recipe or cake. There are times when being a bit of a rebel helps in creating the perfect dish.

I had to go off course when I baked gingerbread today. It was the Pillsbury brand and usually their directions are pretty exact. Everything went well I add the required one egg and one cup of water. I beat it close to eighty strokes, making sure all the lumps were broken and the batter was silky smooth. I poured it into a throwaway cake pan - I used one that fit their requirements 8" by 8".Then I baked it in a 375 F. degree oven for the required twenty-five to thirty minutes. At the end of that time I tested it with a cake tester, expecting to see a clean probe. Nope! The middle was still runny!!! That was a shock. There is always panic and the instant thought of "what did I do wrong? Was it because I used an aluminum foil pan as opposed to a metal or glass one? Of course, I put it back in for another fifteen minutes. After forty-five  minutes in the oven, I did the test again. The probe came out relatively clean. I was happy.At least I wasn't going to serve a cake with a raw middle.

What could have gone wrong? Was it my oven? I don;t think so. Mine is almost brand new. What I think did go wrong? It could have been a misprint which does happen from time to time. Initially, I thought that twenty-five minutes to half an hour was too little time for a thorough bake. A scratch version would take an hour to thoroughly rise and cook through. Surely someone from Pillsbury's test kitchens must have realized this when they tried out the mix and wound up with a runny inside.If this is the case for many home bakers just go with your gut feeling. Always have a cake tester handy as well. These are invaluable  in seeing if any cake or cupcake is done. They help to prevent a half baked baking project, vital if you're making a special occasion cake. Toothpicks and even a straw from a broom can stand in if you don't have a tester yet.  Another great help is reading the directions a few times to make sure you'll get it right. Sometimes we transpose numbers. and those stick in our head. We think  the cake or cookies need to be baked for 25 minutes when the directions actually reads 52  to 55 minutes.

Should home chefs and bakers follows instructions. In most cases, yes.. However follow your gut instinct if you think your recipe isn;t quite right. It results in a thoroughly baked cake instead of a half baked disaster.