EIFFEL TOWER CUPCAKES & STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

For those of you who follow this blog you know that I volunteer for Alzheimer's Idaho and one of the things that I do is to make the dessert for their monthly support group.  Last nights dessert was chocolate malt cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting with a chocolate Eiffel Tower topper (Paris in the spring time theme) and homemade strawberry ice cream.

 The first thing I did was make my "Eiffel Towers." Very simple using dark cocoa candy Candy Melts. Using an Eiffel Tower candy mold, melt the chocolates in the microwave using the instructions on the package.  I used about 1.5 packages to make 24 Eiffel Towers.  I note that the chocolate Candy Melts are not as easy as the non-chocolate ones by by the last tray I was getting the hang of how to pour these and so those were perfect.  Be sure and "drop" the tray on the counter several times before you put in the fridge to cool - this will get rid of all air bubbles and guarantee equal distribution in the mold.

 A very easy recipe using ANY cake mix is to ignore the instructions on the box and melt a cube of butter and then in your mixer add the cake mix, 3 large eggs (room temperature please) the melted butter and one cup of water.  I thought with the strawberry frosting that malted milk would be good in the cupcakes so I added 1/3 cup of chocolate malted milk to the mix and because I was adding some additional dry ingredient I put in a little extra splash of water.

They came out just about perfect and I love these Wilton spring cupcake papers.

Next came the frosting.  I made my regular buttercream frosting but added some Watkins Strawberry Flavoring.  I was out of pure strawberry extract (can be hard to find) so I used the Watkins and I thought the taste was good.

Recipe

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or ½ pound), softened (but not melted!)
• 3½ cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• ½ teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons strawberry extract
• 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Soften the butter (do not melt) and add the butter and salt to your mixer and when combined gently add the confectioners sugar and then the milk.  If the consistency seems too thick add a little more cream.  Then I just put the mixer on medium and let it mix for several minutes.

Using your favorite tip, put the frosting into a pastry bag, frost your cupcakes.  Put the cupcakes in the fridge for about half an hour and when cooled you can then put the Eiffel Towers in as toppers.

 Using Corel Draw and a graphic from The Graphic's Fairy I printed out the description of the cupcakes on a large label (there was plenty of room for the ice cream label), cut the label out and added to a little piece of folded cardstock.

 Added them to pink edged plates and put them into a two tiered display stand with some pink ribbon.

Paper cartons of homemade strawberry ice cream finished off the dessert.

I just used my normal vanilla ice cream recipe but added the strawberry extract in place of the vanilla and then just a few minutes before the ice cream was finished I added about 1/3 cup of good strawberry jam that I had put into a bowl and stirred with a spoon until it was a consistency that I could just add dollips to the ice cream as the machine was whirring away.

Recipe

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups whole milk
1-1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1-1/2 strawberry extract

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving

Resource

Two tier display stand, Tuesday Morning

Wilton Candy Melts, Walmart and online as in Wilton.com

Eiffel Tower candy mold CK Products 3-Inch Flat Eiffel Tower Chocolate Mold

Ribbon, Wide pink Hobby Lobby, narrow Martha Stewart at Michael's

Wilton Petal Cupcake liners, Walmart, online as in Wilton.com

Paper cartons 25 ct White Paper Ice Cream Pint Containers (16oz) - For Hot And Cold Food Items

Eiffel Tower graphic, The Graphic's Fairy

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