My favorite part of my sixth grade history text books were not the pictures.  Oooooh no… too easy.  I loved the little timelines at the end of a lesson, the kind of timeline that so neatly wrapped up the life and struggles of so many people.  Distill the entire American Civil Rights Movement into a timeline.  The progression of people and actions becomes so tidy and clear.  Aaah, thanks for the timeline.

I sometimes like to think of my life in timeline form.  I pick a theme and timeline it out in my head.  Yes, this happens.

Let’s timeline out my favorite ice cream flavors from the 1980’s to the present.  Not nearly as socially crucial as civil rights, but still somehow important.

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

{ 1983- Strawberry Ice Cream is the only flavor in my world}  {1987- Whoa!  Bubble Gum in ice cream!?  Yes.  Want!}  {1990-  Rocky Road is the only way to go}     {1994-  Is it still Mint Chocolate Chip if it’s not green?  I say yes!}  {1999-  Cherry Garcia, will you marry me?}  {2005-  Going retro with Rainbow Sherbet, success!  {2009-  Enjoying the clever stylings of Brownie Bottom Coffee Ice Cream Cupcakes.  Consider them little cups of perfect fun right from the freezer.  For reals.}

Now that I can check “make an ice cream timeline” off my list of things to do today, let’s talk Ice Cream Cupcakes. Yes.  Yes!  Yes!!

I’ve made Ice Cream Cupcakes before.  They were deliciously bite-sized and made of Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.  This time around, Ice Cream Cupcakes have grown in size and matured in flavor.  Combine chewy chocolate brownies with coffee ice cream, chocolate ganache and whipped cream.  What a fine world it is.  Summer is sneaking up on us, and here’s what we’re gonna do about it.

Brownie Bottom Ice Cream Cupcakes

You’ll need:

24 foil cupcake liners

Brownie Batter

1/2 gallon of your favorite ice cream flavor.  I chose Coffee Ice Cream

An ice cream scooper, small spoon, and warm water

A freezer

Chocolate Ganache

Whipped Cream

Here’s the Step by Step Situation:

First make the brownie batter.  Line two cupcake pans with the foil cupcake liners.  Into each cupcake liner, scoop 1 Tablespoon of brownie batter.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 6-8 minutes until the brownie is cooked through.

Let the brownies cool in the cupcake pans to room temperature.  Once cool, place in the freezer (still in the cupcake pans) for 30 minutes.  When you place the cupcake pans in the freezer, remove the ice  cream you’re using and place in the refrigerator to soften.

When ready to assemble the cupcakes, remove the cupcake pans with foil lined brownie cups from the freezer.  Remove the ice cream from the fridge.  Run the ice cream scooper under hot water and working quickly, portion a small scoop of ice cream into each foil lined cup, while still in the cupcake pan.  The cupcake pan will help the Ice Cream Cupcake hold its shape.  You may need to rinse the scooper under hot water in between scoops for easy portioning.  Quickly smooth the scoops of ice cream with the back of a small spoon also rinsed in warm water and return the ice cream cupcakes quickly to the freezer.

Let the newly formed Ice Cream Cupcakes refreeze for 45 minutes to an hour.  In this time you can make the chocolate ganache and whipped cream.  Let the ganache come to just around room temperature, and let the whip cream rest in the fridge until serving time.

Once the cupcakes are refrozen and nice and firm, remove from the freezer and top with a teaspoon of chocolate ganache.  Smooth over the cupcake.  Return once again to the freezer.

To serve, remove the cupcakes from the freezer about 5 minutes before you’d life to serve them.  Finish with a dollop of whipped cream and serve.  Carefully peel the foil from the cupcake and enjoy… with napkins.  Yum!

Fudgy Brownie Bottoms

Bon Appetit October 1991

Print this recipe!

• 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 2 large eggs plus one egg yolk
• 1 1/8 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cupcake pans with foil cupcake liners. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Stir butter and chocolate in a bowl set over simmering water, creating a double boiler.  Heat until melted and smooth. Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Stir in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients.  Scoop 1 Tablespoon of batter into each foil liner. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes before scooping the ice cream on top.

Chocolate Ganache

3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips (I used chocolate chunks)

1/4 cup heavy cream

Put chocolate chips in a small bowl.  Bring cream to a simmer in a small heavy saucepan.  Pour cream evenly over chocolate.  Let stand for one minute to soften, then stir until smooth.  If frosting is too loose to spread, let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, frosting will continue to thicken as it stands.  Scoop by the teaspoon full onto the ice cream cupcakes.  Spread and refreeze until ready to serve.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

dash of vanilla extract

Whip heavy cream for 3 minutes.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue to whip until thick whipped cream forms.  Dollop onto Ice Cream Cupcakes just before serving.

I absolutely LOVE Memorial Day weekend. It’s like all the good things in the world come together in one weekend. I look forward to this three day weekend at the start of May. Not only is it my birthday weekend, but it’s also the unofficial start of summer, the start of outdoor grilling and parties with friends, and just all around good times.

If I had a lake anywhere near me, I’d be down at the lake all the time, just so I could say, “I’m going down to the lake!” That feels like an ultra summer thing to say. Lake or no lake, I feel a beautiful summer coming on.

And as if I couldn’t get more excited, I’ve discovered I can make ice cream cupcakes! These little gems are really easy to throw together and you can make them with any flavor combination you can imagine. The only slight downside is that they melt (as ice cream tends to do) when they’re not in the freezer. Melting won’t be too much of an issue because these don’t tend to stick around long. I’ve already eaten 5, and the party isn’t until Sunday.

How to Assemble Ice Cream Cupcakes

Print these instructions!

Start with cupcakes. I made mine mini cupcakes in a tiny muffin pan, making 2 bite ice cream cupcakes. You can use a regular sized cupcake pan if you like! You’ll just have bigger treats.

Make any sort of cupcake batter you like. I used cake mix (gasp!) because… I just did. Spray the muffin tins with nonstick spray. Fill the muffin tins only half as full as you normally would. For the mini muffin tins, this means using a little less than a teaspoon of batter. For the regular muffin tins, this means using about 1 Tablespoon of batter. Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees F and check them after 8 minutes.

Remove the cupcakes from the oven, let cool in their tins for 15 minutes. Loosen the cupcakes by running a knife along the edges of the muffin cups. Make sure that none of the cupcakes stick to the pan, but keep the cupcakes in the cupcake pan, cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 3 hours, or overnight is best.

Remove the cupcakes from the freezer when you’re ready to use them. If some of the cupcakes have domed up while cooking, remove them from their cup and use a small serrated knife to even out the top of the cupcake. Ideally, you’d like to have 1/2-inch little cupcake bottoms.

Remove the ice cream from the freezer to let soften before filling cupcake tins. Leave on the counter for 10minutes or defrost in the microwave. When ice cream is softened, use a quick hand to spoon and flatten ice cream on top of the cake. It’s a little messy, but don’t worry about that. When all of the cakes are topped with ice cream, return to the freezer to harden. I left my ice cream cupcakes in the freezer over night, but give them at least 4 hours.

Be creative and top your cupcakes with anything you like. Whipped cream, chocolate ganache or caramel would be lovely.

To remove the ice cream cupcakes from their tins, warm a small sharp knife under hot running water. Run the warm knife along the edges of the ice cream cupcake until it’s easily lifted out of it’s tin. This isn’t too hard a process, mine practically jumped out. Place the cupcakes on a plate and return to the freezer for 15 minutes.

Remove from freezer and apply whatever topping and decoration suits your fancy. I chose chocolate ganache and colored jimmies. Apply the topping and decoration quickly and return to freezer on the dish you’d like to serve them on. When ready to serve, remove from freezer and eat promptly!

Update: If you’d like to make ice cream cupcakes in cupcake liners, I wrote another tutorial.  Here it is!