Ice Cream Celebration

{Happy National Ice Cream Month & Day Everybody! Our Leisure Arts Food Editor, Celia Harkey, is guest blogging again today, and she’s all about ice cream and sharing a free recipe for Ice Cream Sundae Cake from our Leisure Arts’ Family Living: Our Best Cookbook Collection Book 2.}

Ice Cream Lovers, July is your month! Of course, as a life-long ice cream lover, I know firsthand that we actually celebrate twelve months out of the year. Officially, July is National Ice Cream Month, and the third Sunday of the month (July 15, 2012) is National Ice Cream Day.

Just think of all the ways you can celebrate National Ice Cream Month or Day by eating ice cream and [oh my gosh, I am having visions of scoops & scoops] then think of all the flavors of ice cream! Okay, let’s try to limit this to a few paragraphs and see what we can come up with. Plus, I’d love your input on one of everyone’s favorite foods.

Ways to Eat Ice Cream:
Ice Cream Cones – Crisp cake cones are shaped with a flat bottom. The sugar cone is crunchy, a little more durable, and sweeter with the well-known pointed end. Beyond these two cones, there is the baked waffle cone that you get in ice cream shops. To me, these large waffle cones filled with ice cream are pretty much a meal, and if you add some of the many toppings, this is a meal including dessert!

Bowls – Think of the pretty little glass dessert bowls, parfaits, or banana split ice cream sundae dishes with scoops of ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup, toasted pecans, fruit toppings, and a bright red maraschino cherry. [Please don't leave the computer to get ice cream; we are only talking serving dishes, for now.]

Over or Between Something – Over warm apple pie or berry cobbler, tucked next to a piece of chocolate cake or brownie, between chocolate chip cookies, or both over and between as in an ice cream torte.

With a spoon – Okay, I really hate to go here, but we all know that a carton of ice cream and a spoon can cut down on dishwashing. Enough said!

Flavors of Ice Cream:
Mainstream Flavors – These have got to be Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Neapolitan ice cream.

Next Step Flavors – Cookies and Cream, Coffee Almond, Rocky Road, White House (anyone else remember this – candied fruit & nuts in vanilla ice cream?), Chocolate Mint Chip, Butter Pecan, Chocolate Brownie, and Cookie Dough

Not Your Everyday Flavors – Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, Rum Raisin, Black Walnut, Maple Nut, Pistachio, and Peanut Butter Swirl

Just so you will know where I am coming from, my family made ice cream regularly in the summer when I was growing up. My Mom cooked the base for the ice cream with eggs, cream, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, vanilla, and mashed bananas. I haven’t ever heard of anyone else who made banana ice cream, but our family LOVED it, and I still make it today. I must admit, I use an electric 4-quart freezer instead of the hand-crank variety like my Dad operated. I always loved wielding the ice pick to chop the ice block into small enough pieces to fit in the freezer. Remember, it is worth the wait on something as good as homemade ice cream!

There is something that I wish you would answer for me. What kind of ice cream are you going to celebrate National Ice Cream Month or Day eating? What kind of ice cream do you like best? Maybe I should ask what is in your freezer now or, if you were at an ice cream shop, what flavor combination would you choose? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Meanwhile, our “Ice Cream Sundae Cake” (recipe below) is a perfect example of ice cream “over and between” pound cake that I know you and your family will really enjoy this National Ice Cream Day/Month. The recipe is one of 910 recipes [that is a whole lot of recipes!] in Leisure Arts’ Family Living: Our Best Cookbook Collection Book 2 with recipes for brunches, suppers, snacks, side dishes, breads & muffins, party foods, chocolate, cookies, desserts, and food gifts. Believe me, there is a lot of good food in this book just waiting to be prepared and eaten! There are even more ice cream recipes for you to celebrate the rest of July (and the other 11 months of the year) – Tortilla Ice Cream Delights, Apricot-Almond Ice Cream Pie, Cantaloupe-Raspberry Sundaes, Tutti-Frutti Sherbet (another one of my all-time favorites), Butterscotch Ice Cream Squares, and many, many yummy frozen treats.

ICE CREAM SUNDAE CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
1 package (16 ounces) pound cake mix
2/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
1 container (11.75 ounces) strawberry ice cream topping
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 jars (6 ounces each) maraschino cherries
1 container (12 ounces) non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
Chocolate sprinkles and whole maraschino cherries to garnish

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine cake mix, water, and eggs in a large bowl; beat at low speed of an electric mixer 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Pour into 3 greased 8-inch round cake pans. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, combine ice cream, strawberry topping, pineapple, and pecans. Line two 8-inch round cake pans with plastic wrap. Spread ice cream mixture into prepared pans. Cover and freeze until firm.

Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Top with 1 ice cream layer. Repeat with remaining cake and ice cream layers. Freeze until ready to serve.

To serve, process maraschino cherries in a food processor until coarsely chopped; drain. In a medium bowl, fold cherry pieces into whipped topping. Spread mixture over top and sides of cake. Garnish with chocolate sprinkles and whole cherries.

Yield: about 12 servings

Hope you enjoy National Ice Cream Month & Day as much as I’m planning to!