Rainbow/Tie-Dye Cupcakes

     Hey. So, I have this friend. Let's call her Rainbow Cupcake Friend, for the sake of privacy. Recently, she made a batch of gorgeous cupcakes. She whipped up the batter, divided it into about six portions, and used food coloring to make each a different color. Rainbow Cupcake Friend then dropped a little bit of the first color into the bottom of each tin, then the second color above that, etcetera. I can't include a picture here, I need her permission first. But they were amazing. Just a thought.

Jeni's

     Ice cream. The complicated, unknown field. Ever wanted to make it? Well, there are many cookbooks for it out there. I personally recommend the one created by the company Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. The book shares the name, and it is full of hundreds of delicious flavors, from Whiskey Pecan to Queen City Cayenne. I, myself, am planning to try the Plum Sake Sorbet as a father's day treat. Of course, you can buy all these flavors and more online or in stores, but the prices are, to be kind, rough. $12.00 a pint - sorry, Jeni, but we're not all rich. If you love that book, they recently published another, this time focused on ice cream-based desserts. Cream puffs, filled with vanilla? Two slices of meringue, with a center of pistachio? Mmm. You can buy both books at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and more. Yum!

A Spectacular Birthday Cake

     Last weekend was my mother's birthday. So, naturally, I wanted to create an amazing cake for her. She's on a diet, so I didn't want to make anything too rich. Lots of fruit would be a plus, too. For both of these to be true, I collected a few recipes to combine into one glorious cake. I made a Hot Milk Sponge Cake, from The Joy of Cooking, and pastry cream with a half-cup of added lemon, from the same cookbook. Sliced strawberries and whipped cream were the other two foods I needed. I cut the cake in half, to make two layers, and spread the pastry cream on the top of each. The strawberries were artfully arranged on top of the custard, the two layers were stacked, and the whipped cream was spread around the edges. Voila - Strawberry Lemon Birthday Cake.

     I found that the cake was better after being chilled. The second time round, when it was a little colder from sitting in the fridge overnight, I put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It melded nicely with the lemony custard. Both times, my family was thrilled with the result. This was most definitely a success - I highly recommend making it. Enjoy!