Ice Cream Cupcakes

We celebrated Binks’ birthday this past weekend. The usual is to get an ice cream cake for the whole family. The usual that is until I came into the picture. Binks is a fan of cupcakes. Mostly because he can grab a piece easier than having to cut from a bigger cake. Obviously my husband cares about the speed in which he obtains his cake. And while he is definitely not a foodie, he is very serious about his cake…and for birthdays…ice cream cake.

These cupcakes are so easy to assemble that I really don’t think this quite classifies as a recipe but rather, a how-to. You can use your favorite cake, favorite ice cream and top it to your heart’s content. Next time, I might try to incorporate homemade chocolate shell and whipped cream. It’s perfect for summer birthdays or a general summer treat altogether. As a person that eats one sweet thing everyday, this would have been perfect but for the fact that we had none left. You can definitely make these a day or two ahead, which cuts down prep time substantially and allows you more time to spend with the birthday boy.

Ice Cream Cupcakes
slightly adapted from Joy the Baker
- yields approximately 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• Your favorite cake batter – I used half of my chocolate cake from here
• Your favorite ice cream – I used Snickers ice cream (Binks’ favorite)
• Chocolate ganache – optional
• Sprinkles – optional

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line cupcake tins with foil liners. Scoop a tablespoon of cake batter into each liner. You don’t want to use any more than a tablespoon. Bake for 8 minutes (make sure it passes the toothpick test). It should be done by then.
2. Once done, remove and cool to room temperature. If your cupcakes domed, then flatten by cutting the top with a knife. Place in freezer for 30 minutes. When you put the cake in the freezer, remove the ice cream. You want the ice cream to be softened to be able to spread.
3. Take the cake out of the freezer and using a spoon, spoon the ice cream over the cake and smooth out the top.
4. Place the filled cupcakes back in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
5. If you are topping with ganache, remove from freezer and add ganache and sprinkles, if using.
6. Place back in freezer for 15 minutes. Remove from the freezer only before serving as it will melt quickly. The foil helps keeps the ice cream colder longer.