The weather turned cold here this week and reminded me that the holidays are almost upon us.  It’s time now to start thinking about Christmas cards.  After you have your perfect vacation picture, family photo shoot, or dog dressed up as Rudolph pic, what to do with it? NGH.com has teamed up with some holiday card printers to bring you some great deals while supporting the Next Generation Housewife.

First, because I can’t suggest one thing and do another, I gotta tell ya that I usually get our Christmas cards from Costco.  They’re great quality and super easy to create. If you’re a Costco member and you don’t mind sending the same photo cards as every other Costco member, it’s certainly the most economical route. Bonus tip: The coupon book that arrived last week has a coupon offering your first set of 50 photo holiday cards for $5.  Going this route doesn’t support NGH.com, but my goal is to give you the best info so I have to include my favorite.

Now, if you’d like to send something a little different this year, there are a couple business printers that are now offering products for our personal use: Overnight Prints and Vista Print.

I’ve used Overnight Prints for business cards and am always very pleased with them. Right now they are actually offering a deal of 100 free business cards (you only pay shipping) — something to check out if you have a blog of your own or just want an easy address card to give out. But, back to Christmas cards: They currently have a deal offering 50% off greeting cards. What makes these cool is that 1) they’re different from what most people send, 2) you can start with a nice design and add your photo and message 3) you get the option to upload a complete design for the card. I think that third part is pretty cool for all of you creative ones because you can create whatever your heart desires and they print it on a nice professional card.

Vista Print is a similar printer also offering 50% off photo cards just in time for the holidays. I have never personally used them, but their online ratings are quite good so I’m thinking they must be doing something right. They have lots of options of different size flat cards as well as folded cards — or skip the picture and go with one of their pre-designed cards that allow you to add your own greeting that’s printed right on the card.

Happy creating! I can hardly wait for our series coming up after Thanksgiving on homemade holiday gifts. If you want a head start and would rather click and buy, NGH has partnered with Amazon.com (for your gift shopping) and Endless.com (for your holiday shoe and accessory needs) to help you support NGH while doing your Christmas shopping. All you need to do is use the links in this post (and soon to be in the sidebar) and shop as usual. Fun fun!

- Clarissa

I just had to post a couple quick pictures of the inside gooey deliciousness of the ice cream cake.

Isn’t that amazing?  Mmmm mmmm

Missed the ice cream cake discussion?  Start with the first ice cream cake post.

- Clarissa

The ice cream cake was a HUGE success.  I don’t want to pat myself on the back too hard, but it was awesome.  Even better, it received rave reviews from the birthday boy as well as a couple visitors.  Here’s the finished product:

Now the fun part, how to make it yourself.  I explained the inside last week in “Fake” Dairy Queen ice cream cake.  So once the ice cream and oreo layers are stacked and well-frozen, we’re ready for frosting.

I learned that ice cream cakes need a little different frosting because the frosting needs to allow freezing.  The frosting used to cover this cake is a mixture of half vanilla ice cream and half Cool Whip.  I know, I know, I am very outspoken in my hatred of cool whip, but in this case I needed something whipped that is made to be frozen (unlike real whipped cream).  So I bit my tongue and bought a container of cool whip.  It didn’t help that NGHubby taunted me as I removed the cool whip from my grocery bag.  Anyway, half ice cream and half cool whip in a bowl and mix them together well (but not too much so they get soupy).  Then place the bowl back in the freezer for just a few minutes to be at a perfectly spreadable consistency.  After that, work very quickly to spread the icing over the entire cake.  If it gets too soft, just throw everything back in the freezer for a few minutes again.  To make the ridges in the cake, I used a little triangle tool that Wilton makes that I just slid along the side of the cake.  I think it adds a nice touch for about 60 cents at Hobby Lobby.  That’s another funny story because I got an interesting look when I used a 40% off coupon to buy a 99 cent item.  Hey, 40 cents is 40 cents.

Next is the decorative icing.  To be as close as possible to Dairy Queen, that is half whipped buttercream icing and half Cool Whip.  You can make some vanilla buttercream (and whip it to be a little lighter than the normal stuff) or buy a container of whipped vanilla icing.  Combined with half cool whip, the frosting freezes nicely instead of cracking like pure buttercream would do.  Again, you need to work fairly quickly with this icing (partly because the canvas will melt beneath you).  So plan what you want to do with it before removing anything from the freezer, and don’t hesitate to return it all to the freezer for a few minutes if it starts to feel too soft.

After that, it can be served anytime, but I thought it was nicer after an overnight in the freezer.  I never thought I would say this when I started the ice cream cake adventure a week ago, but I absolutely recommend this cake!  It tastes amazing and is really quite easy to make using all purchased ingredients.  It does require advanced planning because of the freezing required between each step, but the actual hands-on time is quite minimal.  I would estimate total prep time at 3-4 days, but hands on prep time of no more than an hour total.

So, here’s your ingredient list — now get going:

• 2-3 types of ice cream (vanilla plus two others unless you use vanilla as one of your flavors)
• 1 package of oreos
• 1 small jar of hot fudge topping
• 1 container of Cool Whip (or two for a larger cake)
• 1 container of whipped frosting (or a couple cups of homemade whipped buttercream icing)
• Food coloring if you want colored frosting

Update: See the inside in the Update to ice cream cake post

- Clarissa

A long-standing birthday tradition in my family was to pick what kind of cake Mom would make for our birthday dinner or party.  One time I said cheesecake and was told I was supposed to say vanilla or chocolate (or maybe fun-fetti).  Now that Adam and I continue that in our family, I have had some strange requests to which I respond, “you were supposed to say vanilla or chocolate.”  But, of course, just like I got my cheesecake as a child, I oblige Adam’s birthday cake wishes as well.  Two years ago was chocolate pecan pie and last year was french silk pie, so who knows what to expect.

With Adam’s birthday arriving today, I asked him last weekend what kind of cake he would like.  This year an ice cream cake was the style of choice.  That was not at all what I expected, but I’m always up for a new adventure.  So, after some good old-fashioned Google searching, I took bits and pieces of recipes to create a Dairy Queen (-ish) ice cream cake.

The recipe starts with any two types of ice cream.  The traditional cake would be vanilla and chocolate, but I went out on a limb to use our favorite peppermint stick flavor instead of vanilla.  So the cake ended up like this, from the bottom up — oreo and butter crust, chocolate ice cream, crushed oreos, hot fudge, a few more crushed oreos, peppermint ice cream, and frosting.

I read conflicting opinions on starting from the top vs. starting from the bottom.  It seems to me not to really matter, so I actually did a combination.  It’s easiest to use a high cake pan and do the whole thing in there, although that does require more advanced planning because each layer has to freeze.  I don’t have a tall one, so I used two.

After the ice cream softens a bit to be spreadable and you’ve covered the inside of the cake pans with plastic wrap, spread the top flavor (peppermint in my case) into the first pan.  Then,  sprinkle a layer of crushed oreos on top, followed by slightly warmed hot fudge.  That pan immediately goes into the freezer before the fudge gets through to melt the ice cream.  For the second pan, mix some crushed oreos with a couple tablespoons of melted butter and press it into the bottom of the pan (I made up that step, but it seemed like that would pretty much make that special Dairy Queen crust).  Then, spread the chocolate ice cream into a nice thick layer.  If your birthday boy requests extra oreos like mine did, you can put another layer of crushed oreos on top of this layer too.  I also thought that extra layer of oreos would help bond the two ice cream layers together when stacked.  After all of that freezes overnight, you can stack them up on a cake board placing the crust layer on the bottom (with plastic wrap removed ) and then flip the top layer over on top.  Put it all back in the freezer.

That’s as far as I got for the day, so we’ll talk about the special frosting and if I succeeded in making it like Dairy Queen in the next post.

Update: Continue to “Fake” Dairy Queen ice cream cake – Part II to see the finished product and learn how to create it yourself.

- Clarissa

This weekend NGHubby and I enjoyed a fun trip to Nebraska to see where pork comes from.  Really…we toured the Farmland plant and saw pork complete from pig to bacon, sausage, ribs, dog food, and human pharmaceuticals.  I was afraid I might have some trouble viewing it and still eating my daily morning bacon, but it was so impressive that it actually makes me enjoy bacon more.  I also learned that I could keep my kitchen a whole lot cleaner because if they can make pork in a place that spotless (the workers actually wore perfectly clean white clothing) what’s my excuse?  So, this trip to the pork plant inspired a new series of bacon recipes on NGH — stay tuned for that in the coming weeks.

For now, though, we’re back to the sweeter life and continuing last week’s frosting series with a very handy icing tool, Royal Icing.  Royal icing is very easy to work with (easier than buttercream in my opinion) and can be used in many different applications.  Because it dries very hard and sturdy, it’s perfect for creating flowers and decorations as well as icing cookies to be mailed.  Decorations made with royal icing can be stored in a plastic container or ziplock for months.

Last week I used royal icing to decorate some cookies we mailed to a friend who lost his brother.  I know, not the most traditional condolence gift, but NGHubby actually came up with the idea that I think is great because cookies make anyone feel a little better.  Because royal icing hardens very nicely, the cookies can be stacked so it’s perfect for shipping.  For these cookies I used the recipe below to pipe the outlines on the cookies and designs, and then added some water to the icing to spread within the outlines.  This was my second attempt of decorating cookies using royal icing, so I have some more practice to do, but I think they turned out pretty well.

Here is a picture of some of the finished cookies (they are big Kansas State fans).

and my frosting replica of the K-State logo…

To show you the versatility of royal icing, I also used it to create these flowers…

that were eventually made into this “basket of flowers” cake.

A couple warnings for your work with royal icing.  First, it dries very quickly so be sure to keep it covered when you can while working.  You can keep extra frosting for weeks in a glass container to use later.  Second, be sure the icing touches absolutely no grease (or it will separate strangely) so all utensils and containers should be completely grease-free.

Finally, here’s the recipe.  I can’t wait to see your creations!

Royal Icing (Stiff Consistency)

Yields 3 cups

• 3 tablespoons meringue powder
• 1 lb. confectioners’ sugar (about 4 cups)
• 5-6 tablespoons lukewarm water

Place confectioners’ sugar and meringue powder in a bowl.  Stir or mix at low speed until blended.  Add water and mix 7-10 minutes at low-medium speed until icing loses its sheen.  To prevent drying, be sure to cover the bowl with a damp cloth while working with icing.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.  To reuse, beat on low speed to restore original texture.

- Clarissa

After a quick Halloween insert, we’re back to the World (icing) Series.  I wrote last week about the basic Wilton frosting recipe used for cake decorating.  Today we get chocolaty!  I used it on this cake…

and then modified it a little for this one…

The chocolate frosting starts with the exact same recipe as the “regular” frosting and then adds the best ingredient — chocolate.  As a recap, start with the shortening, flavoring (vanilla in this case), and water.  Then add the sugar and meringue powder.  Next, add cocoa powder or unsweetened chocolate squares and an additional 1-2 tablespoons of water.

The recipe below makes the deep dark extremely chocolaty frosting shown in the first picture.  For the lighter chocolate I used on the second cake, I made the basic frosting and then just added cocoa powder and water slowly until it was the color I was looking to get.  That method created the light brown color and a nice chocolate flavor that was not so rich that half the frosting gets left behind on guests’ plates — perfect!

Wilton Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1 teaspoon flavoring (I’d suggest vanilla for the chocolate frosting)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 lb. pure cane confectioners’ sugar (approx. 4 cups)
• 1 tablespoon meringue powder
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder or 3 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate (melted and cooled)
• 1-2 tablespoons water

Cream shortening, flavoring, and water.  Add sugar and meringue powder and mix until ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.  Add chocolate and water and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.  Blend an additional minute  until mixture is creamy.

You won’t be able to resist licking the beaters with this one!  Next, we’ll talk about frosting coloring and consistency.  I’d love to hear your stories and see the pictures of your adventures with the chocolate frosting.

- Clarissa

Belated, I know, but I had to share my pictures of these cute ghost cupcakes I made on Halloween.

This idea came from loyal NGH reader, Janell.  She came across a picture of these cupcakes from Wheatberry Bakery in Pasadena and sent it to me.  I took it as a fun challenge to try.  There are a few things I would do differently next time, but I’m proud of my first attempt.

I started with basic white cupcakes that I made using this White Cake Recipe.  This was my first time using the recipe and I was very pleased.  It is very easy and quick, uses basic ingredients, and tasted better than the box mixes.  It probably took an extra 3-5 minutes over using a box, but actually saves 20 if it cuts out a visit to the grocery store for a cake mix.  Anyway,  now we’re to this point…

Now it’s time to frost the cupcakes because who wants a cupcake without frosting?  You can use the white frosting recipe I posted last week or just buy a can of it since it’s just for taste and not for looks.  Before the frosting sets, place a marshmallow or gumdrop in the middle.  That will hold up the “ghost.”  I experimented with different heights by cutting the marshmallows.

Next is the slightly harder part of rolling out some fondant.  You can buy fondant at craft stores or make it yourself.  I have been advised making it is hard, so I haven’t tried it yet but plan to soon.  Either way, roll out the fondant and use a cookie cutter, pizza cutter, or knife to cut little circles about 6 inches in diameter.  I used a flower cookie cutter to get the scalloped edges.  Make sure to cover it in plastic wrap (or work very quickly) so the fondant doesn’t harden flat on the counter.  Like this…

Now it’s as simple as laying each fondant circle over the marshmallow on the cupcake and, voila, you have cute little ghost cupcakes.  As a finishing touch, I melted a few chocolate chips and piped them on as eyes.  The original picture cut eye holes in the fondant before draping them over — that probably would have been a good idea.  Next time, I would also roll my fondant not quite so thin and slightly larger circles (6 inches or so) but I was trying to use the last little fondant scraps instead of opening a new package.  You know how that goes.

Here’s the whole group!  Enjoy!

(Don’t worry, we’ll get back to the frosting series right away.)

- Clarissa