Ice Cream Dreams...

Dan bought an ice cream maker for us about a month ago and since then, we have been like two crazy ice cream Doc Browns in our kitchen, trying to create the DeLorean of ice creams that takes us back to our childhood. We have made raspberry ripple, banana choc chip (yummy) and a special for my Dad as a Father's Day treat - rum and raisin.

I bought the Ben and Jerry's ice cream recipe book and would definitely recommend it as a bible for ice cream crazies like us!

Last weekend, we made Jerry's ice cream base from the book and decided to experiment with the idea of making a Black Forest Gateau ice cream.

Making Jerry's chocolate ice cream base mixture.

 We both have fond childhood memories of the cake and wanted to see if it would work as an ice cream. We chopped up pieces of choc chip muffin, black cherries and doused them with a generous glug of cherry brandy.

. A few chocolate chunks whirled into the mix too and this is the result...Dreamy!

Introducing... Sparkle and Pop Cupcakes!

These little beauties are still in the development phase, but I wanted to share them with you! I have called these engagement cupcakes 'Sparkle and Pop' cupcakes as they refer to the sparkle of the engagement ring and the pop of the fizz cork - yep these cakes contain the lovely bubbly stuff! Still experimenting with the method of making the edible icing ring and different ways of transferring a champagne flavour, but I'm very happy with the moist texture of the cake due to the drizzle syrup I came up with.

Five Dollar Shake...

For as long as I can remember, I have been in love with diner shakes. Before I had the glory of drinking a diner shake, I was actually in love with the idea of a diner shake. At a formative age, I watched Pulp Fiction and wanted to visit the fictional diner in the film, Jack Rabbit Slim's. I wanted to sit in a hollowed out car-booth and order a five dollar shake, like Uma Thurman...

When Dan and I went to New York at Christmas, we went to The Brooklyn Diner and the first thing I ordered was... a diner shake! I loved that I was handed the canister to top up my shake - it's a generous act.

So, when Dan suggested buying a milkshake maker this weekend, I was pretty excited! Having researched milkshake makers for a while, we found that the general advice is to find an original commercial mixer as they are so sturdy that they make the smoothest and frothiest shakes. 

We then found a vintage milkshake maker listed on ebay at a reasonable price and found it was being sold locally. To cut a long story short, we bought it and found out that it had belonged to the seller's parents who owned a coffee house in Manchester. It was part of the equipment left in the cafe when they had bought the business in 1960, so it was second hand then. I love that our milkshake maker has a history and a lovely one at that - it served the lovely people of Manchester for many years, brightening up their day in a frothy way. 

The milkshake maker is a Gaskell and Chambers Dalex mixer. It is sturdy, beautifully designed and makes the best Goddamn milkshake I've ever tasted! It now sits proudly on our dresser, as it did on the counter-top in the cafe all those years ago... 

Edible Engagement Rings

This little bobby dazzler is one of my works in progress - I'd like to make engagement cupcakes and thought that the only thing I'd like to adorn my swirl of icing is a sparkling edible ring. They are divas to make though - particularly when trying to attach the edible diamond to the band itself without the sugar paste crumbling. Cupcakes to be made this afternoon, so pop back to my blog for an update later today...