Bananarama: Banana Split Ice Cream Cake Recipe

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake is a wonderful way to enjoy all of the classic flavors of a banana split, but in ice cream cake form. Assembling the Neapolitan flavors of ice cream with dividing levels of crumbled chocolate cake or cookies and a layer of banana slices makes for a pretty presentation. The dessert is assembled and then frozen, which allows the flavors to meld and lends a nice banana tone to the whole dessert once you're ready to eat it.

Note: You have some freedom in terms of the ice cream flavors used in this recipe. While I went for the classic vanilla-chocolate-strawberry combo, feel free to tailor the flavors to suit your tastes.

For the full entry and recipe, visit Serious Eats!

50 Awesome Moments Since My Book Came Out

It's been the better part of a year since my amazing book, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life came out!

Since it came out, there have been many amazing things that have happened in my life.

Get ready, because I'm about to tell you 50 of them, including before and after my book tour!

I got to see my book! In person! HELLO, BOOK!
I got to share my book with my pug. He approved, I think.

I've had ample opportunity to sell my book in a modest and respectful way.

I've gotten to see my book in exciting stacks, like this.

I've made store displays better by making sure my book is visible.

I got to promote my book in San Francisco, at Omnivore Books, and I brought these tricked-out cereal treats (recipe is in the book!)
I got a big poster of my book cover, which I carried around everywhere I went for a while.

I had an art walk event at Portage Bay Goods! 

I had an absolutely amazing book launch party at CakeSpy Shop. There was standing room only!!

I had a really fun series of events at Cupcake Royale, including one in Capitol Hill.
I got to have a really fun event at Teacake Bake Shop in the Bay area.

I got to go to Boston on book tour. Have you ever visited SWEET? It's adorable. Their cupcakes are pictured at the top of this post.

To warm up for book events, I went to Rox Diner, where they served this Pumpkin Bread French Toast.

Additionally, to maintain strength for tour, I had a cannoli tasting in Boston.

Between tour stops in the Boston area, I got to eat this cookie.
I got to go to Newburyport on book tour. There is a street in Newburyport called Unicorn Street. I had a great event at Eat Cake!
I got to go to NYC on book tour; in Manhattan, I stopped at Butter Lane.

Along the way, I got to sell some of my sweet products.
I got to go to Brooklyn on book tour, to one of the best bakeries ever: BAKED!

I got to go to Baltimore on book tour. I hung out with bloggers like Jennifer, the Cupcake Crusaders, and Coconut & Lime!

I got to go to Washington DC on book tour, at a wonderful spot called Baked & Wired. I sold out of books there. 

I also got to have kind of a high school reunion in DC - who knew so many Wall High School, NJ graduates now live there?

I got to go to Philadelphia on book tour. The event was at the lovely and amazing Bredenbeck's!

In Philadelphia, they had made rainbow cake to share with attendees. The recipe's in the book.

They also made Rainbow Cookies. Want the recipe? It's in the book. Buy it!

While in Philadelphia, I also got to meet Capogiro Gelato. hello, Capogiro!

I got to hang out with the sweet staff at Angel Food Bakery in Chicago on book tour!

I got to go to Red bank, NJ on book tour. Here I am at Sugarush a Sweet Experience with owner Chris.

I got to go to Los Angeles on book tour.

My second stop in LA was Village Bakery. Unfortunately it was a rainy day in LA and it was my least-attended event, but it was still really fun.

At one point, my book made a man make a run for a big rainbow in the sky.

I got to go to Claremont, CA on book tour. YES!

Also exciting about Claremont: Vanilla Sunshine Cupcakery has my art on the walls. I had the cupcakes say hello to it.

I also had a moment, in Los Angeles, to say "eff you" to this display.

I had many chances to observe how good my book looks next to cupcakes.

I finally got to meet Bethany and Tina of Scoopalicious! This happened in Boston.

I really got to hurt a few cupcakes.

I got to see my friends Rachel and Nichelle of Cupcakes Take the Cake.

I got to reconnect with Kelly, who went to art school with me in Brooklyn. We saw each other at BAKED. 

I got to share my book with my sister and my nephew.

I got to eat so many baked goods on book tour.

Over and over, I have gotten a chance to see my own likeness and that of my book cover. 

I sold books and signed them for whoever would ask.

My 4th grade teacher came to one of my signings.

I had a really fun event at Venue in Ballard, Seattle. Here I am with Haley, who handled publicity for the book.

Trophy Cupcakes made cupcakes to look like my character!

I ate one of those cupcakes, and it tasted good.

I sold my book at Crafty Wonderland, in Portland OR

My book was on the Today Show.
On a TV appearance in San Francisco...I got to meet Jay and Silent Bob!

Sweet of the Day: Lemon Butter Crepe from Creperie Beau Monde

Crêpes are pretty sweet. Well, unless they're savory. Cos, you know, crêpes go both ways.

But on a recent trip to Creperie Beau Monde, I went totally sweet with their build your own dessert crêpe option. This one came with homemade lemon butter, lemon juice, and brown sugar.

I could try to explain the simple but exquisite pleasure of tart-creamy lemon butter paired with caramelly brown sugar and a dusting of confectioners' sugar, paired with the delicious, nutty buckwheat carbohydrate crêpe. 

But really, I'll let you look at the picture and make up your own sweet story--perhaps you'll dream even bigger than I could describe this delicious food thing. 

Creperie Beau Monde, 624 South Sixth Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 Visit them online here. 

Extra Sweet Fantasy Marshmallow Cocktail Recipe

I recently received an email from a marketing/PR company who wanted me to publish their marshmallow cocktail recipe, saying:

"Marshmallows are no longer the sticky treat mashed between two graham crackers; many New York City chefs are taking them out of the mess and putting them into a lavish cocktail. Reinvent your childhood by allowing your adult desires to take the reins, this new marshmallow cocktail is the perfect blend of fantasy and sophistication. Why bother with teaspoons, mixing bowls, and a floury mess when you can effortlessly pour the creation into a simple glass?"

Well, that's fun, but I didn't want to publish the same recipe they'd sent every other blogger. So...I asked them to make up a special version JUST FOR ME. And they did! Here it is. Nom. Or...glurg?

Extra Sweet Fantasy

• 1 cup of your favorite coffee
• 1 oz. Frangelico
• 1 oz. Marshmallow Flavored Vodka
• .5 oz Butterscotch Liqueur

Stir Frangelico, Vodka, and Butterscotch liqueur into your favorite coffee. Garnish with marshmallow fluff.

Sweet Fancy: Salted Chocolate Caramel Tarts Recipe

CakeSpy Note: this is a guest post from Adventure Food Love.

A long time ago before I was born, there was a lady down the the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand who had some of the best recipes around the country. But because she was a caterer she wouldn’t share them with any one. Until one day a pretty blonde american came to visit.

The pretty blond managed to charm her way into the ‘inner circle’ and because she lived across the other side of the world, the recipes she wanted were hers! YES! The other ladies were not happy, but the pretty yank would not give up the secrets she was in trusted with.

That pretty blond yank is my mother and the New Zealand caterer’s name is Paula. I'm not sure if she is still around today, but if she is I tip my hat…this recipe is good. Tweaked a little but really dang good.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Tarts Recipe

Shortbread base-bake then cool

Oven 300 F pan:9x13in buttered or 4 mini muffin tins, buttered
Sift together
10 ounces flour
4 ounces caster sugar (super fine sugar. but regular granulated will work in a pinch)
pinch X 2 salt
rub in 8 ounces butter

dough should resemble fine bread crumbs.

knead into a ball and press into evenly into the pan
bake about 25 minutes (for 9x 13) or 15-20 (for mini muffin tin) until very lightly brown
cool in the pan before adding the caramel

Part 2- Filling
slowly heat in a pan to disolve the sugar
8 ounces butter
4 level Tablespoons golden syrup (honey will work in a pinch)
8 ounces brown sugar
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
stir to disolve the sugar on a low heat, then bring to a boil and stir constantly while on a low boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1/2 teasoon of vanilla and beat mixture well. Pour over the cooled base…leave to set before coating with melted chocolate. This takes some time.

Top
8-12 ounces of good quality chocolate melted. Spread on top, and leave to set. While still somewhat wet sprinkle lightly with some fancy salt for that lovely salted caramel chocolate perfectness. If you put the salt on too soon it will disolve… it will still taste good, but there will be no visual. Cut through chocolate before it is set to avoid cracking. Cut into small squares.  To remove from the muffin tins, run a knife around the edges and pop out.

Try not to eat 8 at once! PS - Thanks to Paula and Katie for sharing!

Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links

Source: cakespyshop.bigcartel.com via Cake on Pinterest

You are face-meltingly awesome.

Yum: an ice cream cupcake contest.

Pop! Goes the culture. In cake form.

Butterscotch pecan cookies...yes, you know you want this business.

Bakery I wanna visit: Lucky's.

Kind of fascinated by...Cakevase!

Love this kind of thing: Milwaukee Bakery Memories!

Freaking out about the adorableness of these mini funnel cakes.

That reminds me of the time my friend Sandy took me to all these bakeries in Milwaukee.

Milky Ways not welcome: NASA had a bake sale put on by scientists!

Bakery I wanna visit: Brown Betty Dessert Boutique.

No-bake strawberry icebox cake.

An apple a day...is awesomer when stuffed with ice cream.

Don't forget: buy my book!

Gay Cupcakes at Cupcake Royale

I *love* gay cupcakes!

Because they're rainbow and delicious. And no matter if you're straight, gay, undecided, you'll fall in love with these sweet morsels. They cross all borders! They're available at Cupcake Royale for a limited time.

As Cupcake Royale puts it,

Cupcake Royale is donating 25% of proceeds from the Gay Cupcakes to Washington United for Marriage.

This year, with all eyes on Washington state, where everyone currently has the freedom to marry the person they love, some want to "roll back the clock" and "take that freedom away". Anticipating the November election, we encourage customers to do what they can to help approve R74.

The Gay cupcake is a delicious vanilla cupcake infused with bright rainbow sprinkles, perfectly swirled with our signature vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with more fabulous rainbow sprinkles and a sugar rainbow.

SUGAR RAINBOW!

Get 'em while they last at Cupcake Royale; visit their site for locations and info.

Well Bread: Bantam Bread Company, Connecticut

Not so very long ago, I went to a bakery which goes by the name Bantam Bread Company.

With a name like that, you might figure that they specialize in bread. Well, you'd be right. But they just as ably make and offer a delicious array of sweet stuff. 

Included on the roster? Fruit crostadas. Biscuits. Crumb cake. Shortbread. Cheesecake. Teacakes. And more.

The delicious fruit crostadas look something like this when bitten into:

Oh, that's right. The crumb cake is pretty fantastic, too. It's buttery, brown sugary, and delicious. Only problem? There should be more crumb. Like, this much.

But one of the true standouts, in my opinion, was the Peach Brulee. It was sort of like a creme brulee tart, but with peaches too. Although the peaches might sound like they make a delicious dessert into health food, really, it's not that way at all. It's peaches n creamy and very decadent. A very pleasant dessert, indeed!

And, you know what, since I'm always a sucker for a great story, I found the story of how this bakery came to be rather fascinating. Here it is, from their site:

In the summer of 1995 Niles Golovin and Susie Uruburu attended the Fancy Food Show in New York City. Niles, a chef in NYC for many years was restless to do something on his own. He found bread baking to be fascinating. 

At the show Niles spoke with an old friend from NYC who owned one of the most successful wholesale bakeries in New York about his thoughts of opening an artisan bakery. He said “The time is right if you want to do it, do it now”. 

On the way back to Litchfield, with visions of beautiful golden brown loaves in his head, Niles and Susie stopped at a popular fruit/vegetable stand on Mt. Tom Pond. Niles asked, “If I can find a place to bake at night, could we test market bread at your stand”? The owner happily agreed. 

Next stop was a pizza shop in Litchfield where he baked after hours on Friday and Saturday nights. “Niles’ Bread” was born. 

The next weekend Susie packed the fresh baked loaves in the old Volvo wagon, set up a card table at the farm stand and sold out in two hours. After a busy summer Niles spent a month of Sundays at an organic bakery in the Berkshires honing his craft and learning from a bread “guru”. 

The following summer a location was found in the basement of an old house on Route 202 in Bantam. Stone and brick walls with windows overlooking the Bantam River made the bakery look like a step back in time to a French boulangerie. 

Through word of mouth and a stunning review in the Waterbury Republican (three weeks after opening) The Bantam Bread Company arrived.

How sweet! So. If you're in Bantam, go to this place.

853 Bantam Road, Bantam, CT 06750; Online here.

Unicorn-Shaped Cookies

Cutout sugar cookies are pretty fantastic.

But they're even better when cut out into unicorn shapes. While technically, none of the ingredients are altered from a cutout cookie that could be used to cut out circles, hearts, or stars, it is pretty much scientific fact that shaping your cookies like unicorns adds enough magic to heighten your eating experience.

Believe it or not, this recipe is adapted from an early Girl Scout Cookie recipe. It seems that in the early days of the cookie-fundraiser, the scouts actually made the cookies themselves, with their moms, for a merit badge. Well, certainly they found that their time was better spent selling than baking, judging by the flocks of the scouts who sell cookies by grocery stores each spring. Nonetheless, it's fun to taste these not-overly sweet, good basic cutout cookies and imagine them being sold at one of the first Girl Scout Cookie sales in the earlier part of the 1900s. 

Just be sure to let the dough chill before rolling, and roll in small batches and keep the remaining dough in the fridge, otherwise they will spread too much and will not keep their shape! Oh, and you can buy a unicorn cookie cutter here.

Unicorn Butter Cutout Cookies

Makes 4-5 dozen cookies
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Unicorn cookie cutter

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on high speed.

Add the eggs, one at a time, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition. Add in the milk, alternately with the flour mixture, in 2-3 additions.

Form the dough into 2 balls. Cover tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On an extremely well-floured work surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll out the cookies. Use your unicorn cookie cutter to cut out cookies. Transfer to your prepared sheets using a spatula.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

Sweet Art: Hostess Face-Off