cake recipe, book reviews, and birthday cupcakes :)

Well, it's been a couple more busy days around here!  It's so funny how life goes from basically nothing going on to being busy non-stop for several weeks.  It's nice to shake things up a bit and keeps things interesting.

So, now that I'm back, first order of busniess:  My cake recipe!  It is basically chocolate cake layered with peppermint ice cream.  It's kind of Christmas-y, since peppermint is one of the main flavors, but if you're like me and loooove peppermint ice cream, you'll enjoy it year-round!!  If you're not into peppermint, you can really use any flavor of ice cream that you'd like (J doesn't like peppermint ice cream either though, but he LOVED this cake!)  It was a huge hit with everyone at our Christmas gathering.

Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
CAKE:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

6 tablespoons milk chocolate (chocolate chips, or broken up chocolate bar both work)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg, room temperature

ICE CREAM:

3 Litres (about 3 quarts) vanilla ice cream, softened

about 3 tsp. peppermint extract

2 cups crushed peppermint candy canes (or round peppermint candies)

(You could use store-bought peppermint ice cream if you prefer... I couldn't find any here so I made my own using this recipe and it came out great!)

CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 C)

Grease and flour a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking sheet (38 x 25 x 2.5 cm, I think mine actually ended up being 38 x 29 x 5 cm, but just as long as the dimensions are big enough that the cake ends up being about  3/4 to 1 inch thick.)

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, remove from heat.  Add chocolate, stir until melted.  Whisk in water, cocoa and vanilla until blended.  Whisk in the egg.  Add to dry ingredients, and whisk together until well blended.  Pour batter onto baking sheet.

Bake cake until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean/with only a few moist crumbs, about 20 minutes.  Cool cake on rack at least 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake.  Turn cake out onto a sheet of foil (do not do this until it is plenty cool or it will crumble and break into pieces! I learned that the hard way...)  Cut cake crosswise into 3 equal strips.  Freeze cake strips for one hour.

ICE CREAM:

Mix the softened vanilla ice cream (soft enough to stir well, but not runny), peppermint extract, and chopped candy pieces together.  Stir until very well blended.  Add more or less peppermint extract to your taste preferences.  Return to a freezer-safe container. 

ICE CREAM CAKE:

Place one cake strip on a platter.  Working quickly, spread about 3.5 cups of ice cream onto the cake strip, smoothing to the edges.  Layer with 2nd cake strip, and repeat with 3.5 cups of ice cream, again smoothing to the edges.  Top with the last cake strip, return to freezer for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, spread the remaining ice cream (about 6 cups) over the top and sides of the cake, covering generously (being sure to work quickly!)  Freeze for at least 3 hours, until firm.

For decoration, I added some whipped cream around the edges and sprinkled it with M & Ms, broken candy canes, and other various candy pieces.  The cake will make about 12 servings. 

 The Finished Product:

Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did!

Order of business #2, book reviews!  I am now onto the 3rd book in Lauren Conrad's series of L.A. Candy books, Sugar and Spice.  I promised to give my reviews of the first 2, L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies, so here they are! 

A quick synopsis: The first book in this series, titled L.A. Candy, is about 2 girls that move to Los Angeles after high school, one to go to USC and one to work for a high-end event planner.  Shortly after the 2 girls arrive in town, a reality tv producer "discovers" them at a club and convinces them to be a part of a new reality show called that he is going to film called L.A. Candy.  They soon discover that there are 2 other girls that will be on the show with them, requiring them to become "friends".  The girls are excited to get into the world of reality tv (some more than others...) and all of the new opportunities it will give them- VIP access to clubs, a new apartment, spa days- and to get paid for them.  However, they quickly learn that it's not always all fun and roses, and the drama begins to unfold.

My opinion of it:  This was a pretty good book.  I mean, it can't be that bad- I finished it's 300 pages in 2 days.  If you like reality tv shows, you'll definitely like this book.  I was curious to find out if it was going to be just like The Hills, which it sort-of-was and sort-of-wasn't.  The chapters are told in the point of view of different characters, which I liked, because you can get into each character's "head" and learn the unspoken things that are a big part of the drama in the story.  It was an easy read and just something fun and lighthearted to get into.

A quick synopsis:  The girls of L.A. Candy are starting to realize the negative side of being a reality tv star.  As the show ratings skyrocket, they cannot go anywhere without being recognized.  They begin to learn that not everyone is their true friend, and their boy drama that began in the first book continues to escalate.  The girls are starting to forget what it was like to be "normal", and sometimes find themselves longing for what their lives used to be like.  Others, on the other hand, can't get enough of the fame, and will do just about anything to be in the spotlight.  There is backstabbing, heart break, lies, suspense, and even some happiness all mixed into this second book in the series.

My opinion:  Now that I already knew all about the L.A. Candy girls from the first book, this one was an even quicker read, finishing it's 300 pages in a mere 24 hours (I know, I know, I need a life... :) )  It's the kind of book that is so easy to finish because you keep wanting to know what is going to happen.  Each chapter ends with a cliff hanger that keeps you going back for more.  It also kind of gives you an inside peek on  how a reality show really works (if you didn't already know) and what sets apart the "real" reality from the "fake" reality. 

Not only is Lauren a #1 NY Times Bestselling Author, but apparently these books are very popular here in Finland.  When I have been searching for them at the bookstore, all of the sales people I have asked help from all know exactly what I'm talking about right away.  They get 10 new copies in and they're gone within a day or two.  I had to go to 3 different stores to find the 3rd book. I give Lauren Conrad a lot of credit for not only making millions by starring on a reality show, but then going and writing books about the exact same concept and making lots more money.  The girl is good!  I didn't like her when Laguna Beach was popular way back when (I thought she made herself look too desperate, or at least the show made her look that way) but I really liked her in The Hills.  I also like that she broke away from the show tomove on to bigger and better things than reality tv.  She is an all around respectable girl (which can't be said of many reality tv stars), and knows how to write a good book or two, also! :)

Now that I've gotten that taken care of, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my BIRTHDAY!   The guys have an away game (go figure, happens every year on my birthday! haha)  But it's a short trip so I was able to see J for a good part of the beginning of the day, and he will be back shortly after the game.  One of the girls has invited me and our other fellow American girl over tonight for dinner and to watch the game and have a little something special to do on my birthday, which is super sweet of her and I'm very excited to not be sitting alone all evening on my special day ;)  Oh, and the best part of the day? 

FUNFETTI cupcakes with pink frosting!!  My faaaaaavvvorittteee! My mom sent a box from home in her Christmas package of goodies because they haven't yet discovered the-greatness-that-is-funfetti-cake in Finland.  Thanks Mom!!

Ok, reading back over this post really makes me feel like I shouldn't have taken the day off the gym today.  But hey, a girls gotta indulge now and then! :)