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| Mini Grasshopper Ice Cream Cakes |
This delectable dessert is full of minty goodness and is perfect for a fresh spring treat. I usually have leftover pastries that I keep in my freezer, and I thought that since already frozen, these cakes would pair very well with some homemade chocolate ice cream and an grasshopper icing. The end result was simply amazing!
Their size makes them ideal for an after dinner treat! Better yet, if you ever bake more cupcakes than needed, you can always store them in the freezer and break them out when entertaining guests!
I found a very neat way of making homemade ice cream here, (I'm so glad that she passed it along to the rest of us) and have since created many yummy flavors. However, I don't usually add any sugar to my mixture and I use fat free half and half. You don't have to make your own and store bought is just fine. I'm just ambitious. :)
Mini Grasshopper Ice Cream Cakes
2 C. chocolate ice cream*
4 cupcakes (recipe to follow)
grasshopper icing (recipe to follow)
garnish--chocolate crumble; chopped Andes mints
White Cake Mix: (this recipe yields about 30 cupcakes)
3 C. cake flour
2 C. sugar
1 C. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. milk
1 C. plain Greek yogurt
--preheat oven to 350°F
--cream the sugar and butter together; add vanilla
--add eggs one at a time to ensure even distribution
--in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt
--alternate adding the flour and milk into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour
--stir in the Greek yogurt
--fill cupcake cups about 3/4 full and bake for about 13-15 minutes or until toothpick removes cleanly; allow to cool completely and then freeze in an airtight container or a Zip-loc baggie. The cupcakes are MUCH easier to slice when completely frozen.
Grasshopper Icing**
1/4 C. (1/2 stick) butter (cubed)
3-4 C. powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk (or water)
10-15 Andes mints
-- heat your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 10 second increments until completely melted; set aside to cool slightly
--in a large mixing bowl, beat your liquid and sugar together; add butter cubes into sugar mixture and beat until creamy
--pour in the melted chocolate and mix well. You may have to add more sugar depending on the consistency of the icing.
Chocolate Crumble
2/3 C. pastry flour
2-3 Tbsp. unsalted butter (cubed)
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
--preheat oven to 350°F
--in a small mixing bowl, rub the butter into the flour using your fingers until the flour is somewhat flaky and resembles bread crumbs or coarse meal
--sift in the cocoa powder and mix well; pour mixture into a small baking dish
--bake for about 15 minutes and remove from oven; allow to cool
Assembling the Cakes
--soften ice cream until it is a spreadable consistency
--sprinkle your Chocolate Crumble onto your plate
--remove cupcakes from freezer and discard the wrappers; Carefully slice with a bread knife (or serrated knife) horizontally into three parts.
--take bottom layer (use the largest piece) of cupcake and spread with your icing and then top with softened ice cream. Place this layer onto the Chocolate Crumble; repeat with next two layers
--garnish with chopped Andes Mints!
*For the homemade ice cream I used:
2 C. fat free half and half
1/4 C. chocolate syrup
**I used green food coloring (gel) to tint the icing. Don't be alarmed, at first it looked horrible. I offset the poo color with more white food coloring (you can find this in the craft section) and added more green until it reached a more favorable green color!
3 C. cake flour
2 C. sugar
1 C. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
4 eggs
4 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. milk
1 C. plain Greek yogurt
--preheat oven to 350°F
--cream the sugar and butter together; add vanilla
--add eggs one at a time to ensure even distribution
--in a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt
--alternate adding the flour and milk into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour
--stir in the Greek yogurt
--fill cupcake cups about 3/4 full and bake for about 13-15 minutes or until toothpick removes cleanly; allow to cool completely and then freeze in an airtight container or a Zip-loc baggie. The cupcakes are MUCH easier to slice when completely frozen.
Grasshopper Icing**
1/4 C. (1/2 stick) butter (cubed)
3-4 C. powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk (or water)
10-15 Andes mints
-- heat your chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 10 second increments until completely melted; set aside to cool slightly
--in a large mixing bowl, beat your liquid and sugar together; add butter cubes into sugar mixture and beat until creamy
--pour in the melted chocolate and mix well. You may have to add more sugar depending on the consistency of the icing.
Chocolate Crumble
2/3 C. pastry flour
2-3 Tbsp. unsalted butter (cubed)
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
--preheat oven to 350°F
--in a small mixing bowl, rub the butter into the flour using your fingers until the flour is somewhat flaky and resembles bread crumbs or coarse meal
--sift in the cocoa powder and mix well; pour mixture into a small baking dish
--bake for about 15 minutes and remove from oven; allow to cool
Assembling the Cakes
--soften ice cream until it is a spreadable consistency
--sprinkle your Chocolate Crumble onto your plate
--remove cupcakes from freezer and discard the wrappers; Carefully slice with a bread knife (or serrated knife) horizontally into three parts.
--take bottom layer (use the largest piece) of cupcake and spread with your icing and then top with softened ice cream. Place this layer onto the Chocolate Crumble; repeat with next two layers
--garnish with chopped Andes Mints!
*For the homemade ice cream I used:
2 C. fat free half and half
1/4 C. chocolate syrup
**I used green food coloring (gel) to tint the icing. Don't be alarmed, at first it looked horrible. I offset the poo color with more white food coloring (you can find this in the craft section) and added more green until it reached a more favorable green color!
