cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Chocolate Cake Donuts

My grandma got me a donut pan for Christmas (which I have been wanting forever!), and I absolutely could not wait to use it.  Right after Christmas, I was busy with getting things ready for our New Year’s festivities and didn’t have time to use it.  I then got my wisdom teeth out, so it didn’t seem likely I’d get to use it then, either.  The second day of having them out, I made these donuts.

Looking back on it, it wasn’t the best idea, seeing as I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to take a bite.  Fork and knife out, I devoured one of those babies that day, although I don’t think I got to truly enjoy the flavor chewing it up with my front teeth.  😉

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Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream

Because my ice cream maker came with two pint sized bowls, it is the perfect size to fit in my freezer at school.  So of course, because we had two packs of oreos, I had to make some chocolate oreo ice cream immediately!

This ice cream tastes extremely light and satisfying.  I’ve been using this recipe over and over again; I can’t get enough of it!  I need to expand my horizons soon, although we still have almost a full pack of oreos left (double stuffed this time!).  I’ve been quadrupling this recipe and using both of my bowls to make it so we have enough for a few days.

Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream
yields one 6-oz. serving
1/2 cup half-and-half or light cream (or 1/4 cup milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream)
2 T sugar
4 t cocoa powder
1/4 t vanilla
3 T crushed oreos (about 3 oreos)

Combine cocoa and sugar and stir to mix.  Add a small amount of the half-and-half and mix.  Add remaining half-and-half and vanilla; mix until smooth.  Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s directions, adding in the oreos in the last five minutes of churning.

Chocolate Raspberry Frozen Yogurt

Alex got me an ice cream maker for Christmas.  While he was teased a bit by his family because it wasn’t jewelry or whatnot would be considered normal for your girlfriend, I thought it was absolutely perfect.  There are few things I love more than I love ice cream.  As soon as I opened it, he told me he’d also take me and get me the ingredients for the first thing I wanted to make in it.  I went searching and decided on chocolate frozen yogurt, and then of course I had to throw raspberries in the mix.  Chocolate and raspberry is definitely one of my favorite flavor combinations.

I didn’t think to use a strainer, so the yogurt was a bit seedy, but otherwise, the flavor was good.  Alex didn’t enjoy it because I used greek yogurt, which he is totally against, for whatever reason.  I just ordered a set of three strainers so I’ll able to make it better the next time!

Alex also brought me some sumatra lilies, which were beautiful (lilies are my favorite!).

Chocolate Raspberry Frozen Yogurt (yields about 4 servings)
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup good quality chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 70%)
2 T cornstarch
1 cup plain, non-fat greek yogurt
12 oz. fat free milk
1 t vanilla extract
6 oz. raspberries
With a food processor, puree the raspberries.  Stir together the cornstarch and sugar and place in a saucepan. Stir in the evaporated milk and the chocolate chips. Cook over medium heat until chocolate is melted and the mixture has thickened.  Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the yogurt, raspberry puree and vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled.  Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions.