Everyone makes Rice Krispy treats, sure. But I like to change it up sometimes and the colors of the “berries” (yeah, right) in the Cap’n Crunch make this treat pretty festive.

ingredients:
1 bag of large marshmallows
2 Tablespoons butter
pinch of salt
6 cups Cap’n Crunch Crunch Berries Cereal

Grease a 9″x13″ pan with melted butter. Set aside.

In a large pot heat the marshmallows and the butter. Once it starts to break down and melt, add the pinch of salt. Stir up this sticky mess and once it is all combined fold in the cereal, careful not to crush it.

Once the cereal is coated in the marshmallow mixture, pour it into the prepared pan. Push down to even it out flat, and let sit to cool. Cover with plastic wrap until you are ready to serve. Then cut into squares.

These are definitely sweeter than your traditional rice cereal treats, but they are a yummy colorful alternative!

I think it’s about time I retired these ’sleeping baby’ cupcakes, as I tend to make them A LOT. However, for the Cupcake Camp O.C. amateur competition – they fit right into the theme of ‘childhood inspired’ cupcakes!

Since the cupcake were supposed to be memories of childhood, I used the sleeping babies and put them on a bed of Ovaltine cupcakes – that seems like what you’d drink to help yourself nod off for a good night’s sleep.

I topped them with a cream cheese frosting, and of course the baby blankets were made out of Starburst that I rolled out by hand – another childhood favorite!

I then made little signs of the babies dreaming happy dreams…

The babies looked great – and the crowd of over 800+ people (!) seemed to love them! I put out 48 cupcakes, turned around and literally they were gone in SECONDS! Wow!

Cupcake Camp O.C. was a great event for a good cause and though I didn’t win, I still made the TOP THREE!! I was so happy to be a part of it and can’t wait for the next one!

Wonder why the ice isn’t melting? It’s SUGAR!

Shave Ice is THE thing to eat in Hawaii, so for a Hawaiian themed 1st birthday party, I thought I’d make…SHAVE ICE cupcakes!

ingredients:
Cupcakes (I used Very Vanilla Cupcakes, recipe – here.)
frosting
red sanding sugar
blue sanding sugar
yellow sanding sugar
4 oz styrofoam cups
red cocktail straws
wooden spoons

The key to making it look like shave ice is to go with the typical ‘rainbow’ shave ice colors. Yellow in the middle, flanked by red and blue on the side.

Place the sugars into separate bowls, then use a spoon to carefully stick the sugar to a freshly frosted cupcake. The tiny granules of the sanding sugar start to look like fine pieces of ice.

Once the cupcakes are frosted and sugared, place them into the 4oz styrofoam cups, this really helps make them look realistic…

but if you really want to put it over the top, add a thin red cocktail straw and a wooden spoon: two things which complete any shave ice and make these faux ones look VERY real.

Lined up, they make a great addition to any summer dessert table. Best of all, they’ll never melt!

If you need a quick and easy treat for a party, I’ve got ‘em. I made these for a Snack Bar at a kid’s birthday party. No one can resist chocolate covered marshmallows. NO ONE.

ingredients:
1 pound bittersweet chocolate (I prefer Callebaut)
1 bag regular sized marshmallows
sprinkles, nuts, etc

Poke the stick into the end of the marshmallows. I use extra long lollipop sticks so that I can get TWO marshmallows on one stick. Set aside.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate down to a nice runny consistency. I like to use bittersweet chocolate, just because the marshmallow itself is so sweet, there’s no need to go into a total sugar coma overload. The bittersweet is a nice contrast.

Dip the marshmallows into the chocolate to coat. I like to leave the bottom ‘white’ of the marshmallow showing, just to give people an idea of what they are eating.

Then coat with sprinkles. Nuts, candies, whatever you like. Color coordinating with the party’s theme is always a winner.

Place the dipped sticks on a silpat lined baking tray. Place these in the fridge to set.

I like to bag them up with a ribbon for a nice presentation. The kids love these because….well, let’s face it – pure sugar. These make great favors for a party!

This is sorrrta like a homemade peanut butter cup (recipe, here) but think BIGGER and BADDER. In any case, any version of chocolate and peanut butter is ok by me.

ingredients:
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, melted
1 cup nilla wafers, crushed
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips

I always seem to have a LOT of nilla wafers leftover, but I’m sure any cookie will do. I’m sure you can use a food processor, but I am old skool and use a freezer bag and a rolling pin. Bash the heck out of them and you’ll feel better about yourself AND end up with a bag of crumbs.

In a bowl mix together the melted butter, crushed nilla wafers, powdered sugar and peanut butter. You’ll get a mighty fine buttery paste.

Prep a cupcake pan with liners – drop the peanut buttery mixture by the Tablespoon into each cup, portioning it out equally into all 12.

In a double boiler, melt the chocolate to nice runny consistency. Pour the chocolate evenly over each peanut butter mixture.

Pop the tray into the freezer until you are ready to serve. These make a great quick and EASY little dessert for parties!

I’ve told you of my love for my Mini Donut Maker. Some days just require tiny little chocolate donuts, dunked in a luscious chocolate glaze. That’s the way to start your morning…or end your day. These are ALL DAY donuts!!

ingredients:
2 cups cake flour
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 Tablespoons Valrhona Cocoa Powder
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tablespoons Sour Cream
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk

Chocolate glaze ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup whole milk (more if necessary)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the sour cream, eggs and buttermilk, just until combined.

Spoon the batter into your donut maker and bake according to the directions. Let cool on a wire rack.

For the glaze, in a small bowl mix together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk and vanilla. Whisk until combined and you have a nice thick glaze. Dip the donuts into the glaze and place on a wire rack to set.

You can add sprinkles, nuts, chocolate chips, coconut – or just leave ‘em plain!

Yes, these aren’t fried to an inch of their life like a typical donut, but they are still good, and CUTE and great for a nice sweet treat!

I love my musubi maker – it’s so versatile, I use it for sweets! Just like the Brownie Ice Cream Musubi, I wanted to press, press, press my way to sweet satisfaction.

ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
1 package regular sized marshmallows
6 cups rice krispies cereal
pinch of salt

milk chocolate ice cream (recipe, here)
strawberry ice cream

My recipe is slightly different from the traditional rice krispy treat, in that I use a little less butter, a little more marshmallow and a touch of salt to complement the ice cream.

Prep a 9×13 dish by greasing it with a little bit of melted butter.

In a large pot, melt the 2 Tablespoon of butter and the marshmallows. Stir until you get a lovely gooey melted mess. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt then add the rice krispies cereal, carefully this stuff tends to jump everywhere, until it is completely coated.

Press the coated cereal into the greased pan. Press down so it is compact and even. Let cool.

Once the treats have cooled, use the musubi maker as a guide and cut out the rectangular shapes.

Place one of the rectangles in the bottom of the musubi maker – then spread the softened chocolate ice cream on one side, and the strawberry on the other. Work fast, the ice cream will melt quickly. Can you do just one flavor? Of course, but I thought it’d look cool and almost neapolitan-like to have two different sides.

Press it down a bit to give it a nice even surface.

Place another square on top of the ice cream and using the musubi press, squish it down together quickly. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze to keep until you are ready to serve.

You can slice these into skinnier pieces and serve them or just eat the whole darn thing yourself while no one’s looking…

I’ve been meaning to post this recipe forever – but hey – I’ve been busy! I have a Mini Donut Maker and it’s so much fun. This is my base recipe, I tend to change it up here and there, but it’s what I use for my coffee + donut cupcakes…

ingredients:
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (as needed)

In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and buttermilk – you may not need all of the buttermilk, but I don’t like the batter too thick, myself. Stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter into your donut maker and bake according to the directions.

I make a lot of ice cream bombes, but see…it’s cake that I love.

It’s amazing how easy it is to make an ice cream cake. You can do it in steps and take all the time you want – just keep going back to the freezer here and there. Take an hour, take a week – it’s dessert for the lazy!

chocolate cake ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup Valrhona cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

chocolate ganache ingredients:
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 quart ice cream, softened (homemade or bought)
2 cups crushed chocolate cookies

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9″ round cake pan, line it with parchment, and butter the parchment. Set aside.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, oil, egg and vanilla. Stir until combined.

Pour into prepped cake pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes, checking with a toothpick until done. Let cool in the pan, for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

When the cake is cool, even it out so you get a flat surface.

Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer.

Line a 9″ cake pan with plastic wrap. Pour the softened ice cream into the lined pan, spread evenly – then place in the freezer to chill.

Now you can do this step within the hour, or heck, the next day – who cares. When you are ready – make the ganache. In a small saucepan combine the chocolate chips, heavy cream and vanilla. Stir over medium heat until everything is combined. Keep stirring! Keep your eye on it! You will magically get an amazing ganache in a matter of minutes. Set it aside to cool down.

Once the ganache has cooled, take the frozen cake out of the freezer, place it on top of the ice cream in the cake pan, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Simple!

In cake they don’t stack evenly, take a paring knife and just go around the edge to even it all up.

Pour HALF the ganache onto the TOP of the cake and spread evenly, just to the edge.

Now pop the cake back in the freezer. WHOA, hold up, why are there TWO cakes in my freezer? Cause I couldn’t decide what ice cream to use and I just went for it and did one mocha and one mint. Don’t judge.

Wait about 15 minutes (or the next day), for this next step. See? Do it now, do it later, no one will know the diff.

When you are ready for this last step, take the cake out of the freezer and using the remaining half of the ganache, go around the edge of the cake, following up with the crushed cookie crumbs on top, going around the edges.

One last time, place the cake back in the freezer until you are ready to serve. Honestly – this is a really easy recipe and people think you worked so hard on it. Just do it in steps, if you have a party on the weekend, do a step a day – don’t sweat it. You’ll have an impressive dessert at the end of the week to show for it.

Whee! My Tiny Rainbow Sherbet Ice Cream Cupcakes are one of three finalists for the Best Ice Cream Cupcake!

PLEASE go HERE and VOTE for me – you just might win a prize pack too!! Thanks!