Oreo mint-chocolate-chip ice cream cake...and a birthday shout-out

My son is officially *9*!  I'm a bit shocked just thinking about it! 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to my little guy!!

(I think he's now officially earned big guy status!)

I think a birthday is the ultimate reason for celebration and all the more so when it's a child's special day.  So it's time for another ice cream cake!  I've gotten into the habit of making some sort of ice cream cake for my son's birthday in the last few years.  They're easy to make (I keep it simple), delicious (because we're talking ice cream so you just can't go wrong), and perfect for summer - or near-summer - birthday boys and girls.

Oreo cookie crust, plenty of mint chocolate chip gelato and whipped cream frosting

I stick to basic flavors my son enjoys.  This year's ice cream cake is made with an Oreo cookie base, topped with homemade mint chocolate chip gelato, and iced with whipped cream.  It may be just a 6-inch cake but I packed a good quart of gelato/ice cream in there!  My boy likes ice cream and plenty of it!

Knowing that I'm not exactly deft at cake decorating, I was a little concerned about frosting the ice cream cake.  I used stabilized whipped cream, or whipped cream with some bloomed gelatin added, to make sure it would hold up and not separate.  I managed the stabilized whipped cream and I got through the frosting.  No one will say my homemade cakes don't look homemade!  The main thing is the birthday boy approved!  He took a look at my concoction after school and wanted to dig into it right away because "it looked so good" (yay!).  In fact, we actually did slice into this homemade birthday cake a bit early.  Since dad has to work late on the actual big day, we started the cake-eating early.

To be honest, it feels like we've been in birthday celebration mode for a while.  I think children's birthday celebrations always seem to stretch at least a week or more!  This year's celebration included an early birthday party two weekends ago with a group of buddies.  This year, my son opted for a noise-infused gathering: think bumper cars, arcade style games, capped off with pizza and ice cream cake.  Having a party outside of the house sure makes for easy clean-up!  The party venue doesn't allow you to bring any food except for a cake or cupcakes.  My son wanted the ice cream cake they serve there but I couldn't resist bringing a little something extra, even if it was totally unnecessary. I thought I'd bring mini cupcakes, and the birthday boy settled on yellow cupcakes with his favorite chocolate frosting.  I was surprised by his yellow cake selection but I suspect the cake was secondary to the frosting!  Here are some of those cupcakes...the one with the gold stars was special for the birthday boy:

Meanwhile, I think June rivals December for "busiest month of the year" status.  It's been a crazy month or so and I'm sure many of you can relate!  The school year wraps up very soon and I'm looking forward to a slower pace.  

Time flies...and ice cream pie

I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is upon us again.  We've all been talking about Thanksgiving being "late" this year but I still feel like it got here in a big hurry.  I wish I could somehow will time to slow down but it does just the opposite.  I have to admit that it makes me a little sad in a way...life seems to whiz by faster and faster every year.  How is my son eight already (...never mind my own age!) and how does one calendar and school year seem to clip right along one after another.

Keeping it simple - Ice cream pie, with oreo cookie crust and vanilla chocolate chip ice cream

Alright, let me snap out of it because this is no time for wistfulness!  The best thing to do is to enjoy life to the fullest, take each holiday and celebration as a blessing.  While Christmas is my true love, I still think Thanksgiving is a lovely holiday for family and feasting, and I feel lucky to have a very long list of things to be grateful for.

So I'll be in the kitchen on turkey, gravy, and biscuit duty and then I'm off to enjoy an eclectic family feast of Asian-American goodies.  So it's time for turkey, it's time for sides, and it's time for pie!  

For dessert, I'm keeping it basic with a simple ice cream pie.  I've tried my hand at pumpkin, chocolate, and brownie pies (in the days before this blog, there was once a sweet potato pie, too) but in thinking about the little ones in our extended family, I know ice cream will be a true crowd-pleaser.  It's never too cold and you're never too full for ice cream, right? So for my Thanksgiving dessert contribution this year, I went with a simple ice cream pie, made with an Oreo cookie base, filled with homemade vanilla chocolate chip ice cream.  So easy and practically stress-free!

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope your day is filled with good eats and great company.  May your meal meal fill you up in more ways than one.

Mini chocolate-hazelnut cheesecakes

I'm going to sound like a killjoy when I tell you, at the very beginning of a post about cheesecake, that I actually don't love cheesecake.  Not a great way to start here but I have to be honest and the truth is I've never been a cheesecake lover and it's not something I've made much effort, or dared, to explore since there are so many other ways to fill my daily caloric intake.

Maybe you feel a "but..." coming on right about now?  I guess if there's going to be a caveat, it's that the idea of a chocolate cheesecake is far more appealing to me than a plain one.  And one that's both chocolate and hazelnut is infinitely more so.

Everything is better with chocolate, in my humble opinion.  So when it comes to cheesecake, I'd prefer chocolate, please.  If we find ourselves at the Cheesecake Factory, it's going to be a slice of the Godiva chocolate cheesecake to share for dessert.  My little one and I are in sync on that one. My husband, who enjoys cheesecake far more than I do, would likely prefer classic cheesecake with some strawberries on top once in a while but he is far too agreeable a person to say so to us.

So it won't come as a surprise when I tell you this is the first time I've ever made cheesecake.  I've wanted to try it in the past since my husband enjoys it but the idea of a big, hefty cheesecake always seemed too overwhelming.  I came across this recipe some time ago and it really appealed to me.  It's got all the flavors my family and I enjoy, it's in small quantity, and it's easy to make!   I'm so very glad I finally tried it because this really is a delicious, very easy-to-make dessert for anyone who loves cheesecake or that combination of chocolate and hazelnut.  I think that covers just about everybody!

These little cheesecakes are baked in a standard muffin tin.  Mini desserts are always cute and convenient.  I know true cheesecake lovers appreciate the pure tang and flavor of a good smooth, plain, cheesecake but I just love the irresistible combination of chocolate and hazelnut. And yes, there's Nutella involved!  

Mini treats can be time-consuming to make but these are not.  They really were surprisingly easy to put together because the crust and filling are both prepared in the food processor in a matter of minutes.  They're a great make-ahead option since they can be stored in the fridge for about 3 days. I divided the recipe in half and made 6 mini cheesecakes for this first trial.  It was just too tempting to have a dozen sitting in our fridge; I could see my husband polishing most of them off.

The bottom of these mini cheesecakes are made with ground Oreo cookies and some hazelnuts.  It makes for a delicious crust - the hazelnuts really infuse it with an oomph of flavor and fragrance. The filling is classic cream cheese, sour cream, and...a healthy dose of delicious Nutella!  Taking pictures of these mini cakes was torture - they smelled incredible!  This delicious aroma of chocolate and hazelnut kept wafting up at me and it made me a little weak.

To summarize this story, this is good cheesecake.  I know that comes from a cheesecake novice but if you need an "expert" opinion, my cheesecake-loving husband loved these!  He polished two off in his first sitting.