Ok so here’s the story 14 or 15 odd years ago Ben and Jerry’s use to make this delish ice cream called “Cool Britannia”.  I loved it, it was my favorite.  Vanilla ice cream with chocolate covered shortbread and pieces of strawberry.  I was seriously in love and had it often.  Like most real true love stories there’s always a tragic twist.  Cool Britannia got discontinued, and my heart still aches over the love lost.

Today I was dreaming up a no bake dessert that would be perfect to celebrate the ice cream month, and keep me from turning on my oven. Then I thought of shortbread crust, maybe some chocolate, had to be vanilla ice cream, oooooohhhhhh and strawberries.  I realized the hole in my heart was calling out to Cool Britannia.  Except I added almonds to this yummy combo just to mix it up a bit, because I’m nuts that way.  Here’s a simple dessert that won’t heat you up, it’ll just COOL you up!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for no-bake crust:

10 – ounces Lorna Doone shortbread cookies

4 – tablespoons sugar

1 – stick of room temperature butter

Add cookies to a food processor. Pulse till powdery/crumb texture.

Add sugar and butter. Pulse till all crumbs come together to form a dough.

Take a 9 inch springform pan, and butter the bottom, press the cookie dough into the bottom.  Then place in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm.

Ingredients for ice cream surprise:

2 – cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 – gallon vanilla ice cream (I used haagen daz)

1 – cup coarsely chopped almonds

2 – baskets strawberries

Take ice cream out of the freezer, and place in the fridge to soften while cookie crust firms for 30 minutes. Once cookie crust is firm,  place chocolate chips in a double boiler to melt chocolate. Once chocolate is melted place on top of crust and spread to cover entire crust.

Place back in fridge to firm for 15 to 20 minutes. Then take out ice cream and chocolate covered crust and fill with half of the half gallon of ice cream. Spread it out evenly, and sprinkle top with almonds. Place ice cream back in fridge and place ice cream surprise in freezer to firm up for 30 minutes.

Once ice cream surprise is firm-ish take out of freezer and take ice cream out of the fridge, then add the second half of the half of gallon ice cream to almond layer. Spread even. Cover top with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 5 hours or overnight.

Strawberry time!

Once ice cream surprise is ready to be served chop up strawberries and reserve on the side.  Now pull ice cream surprise from freezer and remove plastic wrap. Release springform pan and cut into desired serving.

Top with strawberries and take a whirl around the gorgeous taste of ice cream a la chingon! 🙂

We’re number ONE!  We’re number ONE!  I could say that being a REAL California girl. Me and Real California Milk share something in common, we were both born and raised in the golden state.  Does that make me part of the creme de la creme?  Well either way, since July is National Ice Cream month I wanted to come up with a yummy recipe that reflected my love for California and all the hard working dairy families that have made us number one in the country for total milk production.  In short, that means we are making A LOT of Ice Cream here in sunny California! Happy Ice Cream Month folks!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for Presley’s signature sundae:

1.75 – quarts vanilla ice cream with the real california milk seal on it.

2 – disks mexican chocolate coarsely chopped (I use Ibarra) (will measure out to one cup)

1 – cup pepitas coarsely chopped

1 – banana

2 – flour tortillas (I use Guerrero – fresquiricas)

1 – cup vegetable oil

1/3 – cup sugar

1 – teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place a  9 x 13 metal baking pan in the freezer and allow to chill.  At the same time place your vanilla ice cream in the refrigerator  for 10 to 15 minutes to soften.  While you wait for your ice cream to soften.  Chop chocolate and pepitas.

Take metal pan out of freezer and immediately fill with vanilla ice cream, chocolate and pepitas.

Mix well.  Then place ice cream mixture back in freezer for an hour to harden again.

In the meantime….. Let’s make the bunuelos.

On a plate mix sugar and cinnamon together and set to the side.

Over a medium flame in a small frying pan add oil and allow to get hot.  Take a cookie cutter of your choice and cut shapes out of the tortillas.

Then  add tortilla pieces to oil and fry on each side until golden brown.  Remove from oil and let rest on a paper towel for 30 seconds to drain off oil, then dip in sugar cinnamon mixture.  Set bunuelos to side to use in sundae once assembled.

Once ice cream is hard frozen again…. pull it out of the freezer.

Then cut two banana slices, and place in a cup. Scoop in some of the ice cream mixture and top with a bunuelo! That’s it….. your done! So addicting. Creamy. Chocolate. Cinnamon. Nutty. Crunch.

For the CREME de la CREME!

Cobbler is something I’ve been baking for years, but don’t make very often, because I feel that it’s too special.  It’s like going to the Griffith Observatory, I don’t make my way there all the time, but when I do I’m in awe of the views, remember my love for science, and blanket myself in the night sky!  That’s my relationship with cobbler, everytime I bake it I swear OFF all other desserts!  Why wouldn’t I?  It’s cosmic, it belongs to the STARS!

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for Apple Filling:

6 – cups sliced apple (you’ll need about 4 apples, I use granny smith)

1/2 – cup water plus 3 tablespoons

1 – cup brown sugar

1 – teaspoon cinnamon

1 – teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 – tablespoons corn starch

In a big pot over medium high flame, add 3 tablespoons of water, sliced apples and brown sugar.  Mix to combine, then let cook for a minute or so.

Then add cinnamon and vanilla.  Give your apple mixture a nice stir, and let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes. It will look like a nice brown syrup is sitting at the bottom of all the apples.

Continue to let it cook, until it starts to boil. Then take a small cup and add 1/4 cup of water and cornstarch. Mix to combine, then slowly add it to the apple mixture. Mix constantly and once a thick gel forms around fruit then add additional 1/4 cup water and continue mixing.

Once apple mixture is well combined. Turn off flame and set to the side.

Time to preheat the oven: 350 degrees fahrenheit.

Ingredients for cobbler cake:

1 1/8 – cups sugar

3 – cups flour

1 – teaspoon baking soda

1- teaspoon baking powder

1/2 – teaspoon salt

1 – cup cold butter (2 sticks)

2 – large eggs

3 1/2 – tablespoons half and half

1 – teaspoon vanilla

1 – cup sour cream

In  a large bowl mix all dry ingredients (sugar, flour, baking soda and powder, salt) together.  Then add in cold butter, and with two butter knives start to cut in butter into the flour mixture in a criss cross motion.  This will take about 10 minutes. Flour mixture will eventually become crumbly with the butter pieces the size of peas.  Set to the side.

In a medium bowl add eggs, half and half, vanilla, and sour cream. Then take a fork and as DEVO would say… WHIP IT! Whip it good.

Now add egg/sour cream mixture to flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until combined/moistened. Divide cobbler cake batter in half.

In a 9 x 13 inch greased metal baking pan, add half of the cobbler cake batter, and spread evenly across.

Now take your lovely apple filling and slowly spread across the top a little at a time until completely covered.

Now add remaining cake cobbler mixture to top in big drops to try and cover top, leaving some apple filling exposed.

Ingredients for cobbler topping:

1/2 – cup sugar

1/2 – cup pecans (chopped)

Lastly take cobbler and sprinkle with sugar and pecans!

Bake for 60 minutes or until tester toothpick comes out clean. Your cobbler will be golden and your kitchen will smell sweet.

🙂 Cobbler Tip: I like to eat mine warm with ice cream on the side, and let it melt a little.

Apple Cobbler for you, my sweet
For Max, with Love!

I celebrate life everyday, but when there is a party to behold not only will I be there with bells on, I intend to have a BALL!  This past weekend one of my cousin’s turned 25, and held a theme party (hence the pink Marie Antoinette wig).  I wanted to make something sweet, simple and fun since she was having a candy bar along with a tribe of other sweets that included cupcakes and cookie sandwiches.  Donut Poppity Pops…  You are the winner!  The perfect hybrid between a lollipop and something cakey sweet!

Photos taken by: Nicole Presley and Mando Lopez

Ingredients for Donut Pops:

24 – glazed donut holes (I used Winchell’s)

24- small marshmallows (I use Kraft)

24 – lollipop sticks

1 – 11.5 ounce bag of milk chocolate chips or white chocolate chips or both (I use Nestle)

1 – cup dyed coconut…. any color you like

candy sprinkles

Take a small marshmallow and push it an inch down lollipop stick then place/push donut hole on top.  Repeat until all donut holes are prepared.  Set to the side.

In a double boiler, or in a pot with boiling water and a metal bowl sitting on top, add chocolate chips and wait until they get shiny, then mix with a rubber spatula.  Mix constantly until chocolate is melted smooth.

Then take a donut pop and dip it into the melted chocolate.  Then hold chocolate covered donut pop over a plate and decorate with candy sprinkles or coconut or whatever else your heart desires.

Line a flat surface with wax paper and place decorated donut pop down for chocolate to dry/harden.  Continue making the next one and so on.  Let dry for 3 hours depending on weather.  If it’s super hot in your kitchen place in refrigerator.

That’s it…your done!  Take them to a party or enjoy your Donut Poppity Pops at home!

LET THEM EAT DONUT POPS!

I am a cookie CREATURE.

I am the COOKIE fiend.

Cookies are THE ONLY thing that make me WEAK in the knees.

I’ll eat them, till their all GONE…..

and believe you me, it won’t take LONG.

COOKIES for PRESIDENT!

COOKIES ARE KING!

Eat these cookies, their guaranteed to make you sing.

Cookie Ingredients:

1 – cup apple juice (I use Martinelli’s)

3 – cinnamon sticks

1 – cup raisins

2 1/3 – cups flour

1 – teaspoon salt

1 – teaspoon baking soda

1/4 – teaspoon cinnamon

2 – sticks butter (room temperature)

3/4 – sugar

3/4 – packed dark brown sugar

1/2 – teaspoon almond extract

1 – teaspoon vanilla extract

2 – eggs

2 – cups chocolate chips

1 – cup coarsely chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees fahrenheit.

In a saucepan over a medium flame, add apple juice, cinnamon sticks, and raisins.  Cook for 10 minutes.  Then take off flame and drain.  Set raisins to the side.  This step will rehydrate your raisins, and make them juicy plump!

In a medium bowl add flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Set to the side.

In a mixer add butter, sugar, and dark brown sugar. Mix until creamy.

Then add almond extract and vanilla. Mix in. Next add eggs, and mix to combine.

Adding a little at a time, add in flour mixture. Until all is combined.

Then add raisins, chocolate chips, and almonds. Mix in well.

On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat, drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoons 2 inches apart.

Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.  Take out of oven and let cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

SNACK TIME!

As a kid I looked forward to Easter every year.  To me it meant: Confetti eggs, a new Easter dress, a cute little bunny pin on my sweater, yellow ribbons in my hair, and a fancy basket that my mom would put her heart into.  She knew exactly how to make it special and filled the basket with all my favorite treats.  I would pull the brightly colored cellophane off to find yellow marshmallow bunnies, colorful plastic eggs filled with jellybeans or sweet tarts, a chocolate egg from See’s, chocolate malt balls with a hard white shell, Jordan almonds, a variety of small japanese toys, and a big solid chocolate bunny wrapped in pink foil.  Complete kiddie heaven.

Come Easter day we would have a huge family picnic with all the fixings.  Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, ham, macaroni and cheese, and some sort of green salad.  Dessert was a whole party on it’s own…. Chocolate banana cream cake, finger jello, ambrosia salad, sugar shortbread cookies, and lemon meringue pie. A sugar high for all. Then the grand Easter egg hunt would take place, my cousins and I would scramble in a frenzy to try and find the golden egg, that was the one with money in it.  It was a day of absolute family closeness, and a spirit of fulfilled happiness.  Once the sun would start to fade the festivities would die down, everyone would say their good-byes, and return home.

I would jump into my pajamas first thing, and settle in for a screening of “The Wizard of Oz”, which showed annually every Easter evening on regular television.  But nothing was complete until my mom would serve me a bowl of warm capirotada topped with whipped cream and candy sprinkles.  It was the finale to my Easter.  The end all of end all’s.  It was made of the things I dreamed about.  Sweet rich softness on the inside, crystallized and crispy on the outside.  The most divine taste you could put in your mouth.  I relished every bite, and till this day capirotada is what I look forward to the most when Easter/Lent rolls around. Hippity Hippity Hoppity Hoppity Easter’s on it way!

Capirotada Ingredients:

7 – pan dulce (conchas) (sliced and toasted, should make around 10 cups)

6 – cups water

3 – piloncillo (cane sugar)

5 – cloves

6 – cinnamon sticks

2 – anise stars

1 – teaspoon vanilla extract

2 – granny smith apples (peeled and sliced)

3/4 – cup raisins

1/2 – cup pecans (coarsely chopped)

1 – cup cheddar cheese (I use Tillamook)

1/2 – cup almonds (coarsely chopped)

1 – cup sweetened shredded coconut

2 – cups monterey jack cheese (I use Tillamook)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

On a chopping board slice each pan dulce into 12 to 15 pieces.  Reserve all sugar topping crumbs for later use.

Then line two cookies sheets with aluminum foil and place sliced pan dulce evenly across each sheet.

Place in the oven and bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until golden brown.

Once you remove toasty pan dulce from oven, reduce temperature to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  In a saucepan, over a medium flame, add water, piloncillo, cloves, cinnamon sticks, anise stars, and vanilla extract to make syrup. Stir every so often to help piloncillo melt, once melted, reduce flame to low and let simmer while you build your capirotada.

In a buttered glass baking dish 9 x 13, place 5 cups of toasted pan dulce slices to bottom to form your first layer.

Now peel both granny smith apples and slice into thin wedges. Divide in half.

Next, use half of the granny smith apple slices and raisin to layer on top of toasted pan dulce.

Here comes the next layer. Add pecans and cheddar cheese.

Again add another layer of pan dulce with the remaining 5 cups, and almonds.

Now for the fun part. Take piloncillo syrup and pour over the top of toasted pan dulce layers to soak all the way through. The pan dulce should be very soggy and drenched.

Take other half of granny smith apples and coconut, and layer on top of soggy pan dulce.

Lastly add monterey jack cheese to layered apple/coconut. Then take pan dulce sugar topping crumbs and sprinkle over the top.  Place in oven for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes, pull capirotada out of oven and it should be golden and crunchy. Then loosely cover with aluminum foil and put back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes. This step will help to keep the top of your capirotada from burning, but allow more of the moisture to evaporate from bread pudding.

Pull it out of the oven, remove aluminum foil, and allow it to sit for a half hour.

🙂 Capirotada tip:  I like to serve mine warm with candy sprinkles on top.  If you’re feeling decadent add whipped cream to that equation.

“Te Sacastes Un Diez!”

I have a good friend named Adrianna who I nicknamed A-dre, my partner in food crime.  It took a little convincing at first, my girl wasn’t big on onion or mushrooms when we initially became friends, but once she was introduced to proper preparation, that all became a thing of the past.  It doesn’t take much nudging on my part to get her to come along when I get a hankering to scour Los Angeles in search of the yummiest macaroon, baked ziti, french onion soup, torta… you name it.  She jumps in gung-ho and puts her seat belt on, sits back and smiles.  That’s my girl A-dre.  But if anything goes wrong, I always have to absorb the blame.  She’ll complain right in front of me to other friends that it’s my fault that she gained a pound or two.  I take it because I realized many years ago that it’s hard to be a size zero and be a girl who loves to eat.  Especially when you love bread or cake.   Which I do.  But this one time….It was A-dre who was taking the blame.

A-dre and I have literally criss-crossed this entire city tasting all cakes… from the fanciest bakeries to the hipster bakeries to the mom and pop hole in the wall bakeries.  We don’t turn our noses up when it comes to good cake.  We just want to taste them all and praise the best of the best and leave the bad ones in a distant memory.  I introduced her to all the bakeries that I had grown to know and love and in exchange she introduced me to her favorites.  One day she surprises me with a delicious Choco-flan cake.  Oh my word!  I thought it was the most genius thing the food gods had ever created.  I inhaled that cake and when I caught my breath I asked for more.  I was smitten.  I needed to know exactly where this bakery laid in the land.  She went on to tell me it was located in an area that didn’t have the best reputation and in fact was a bit on the scary side.  I didn’t care.  I wanted to go there and get more of this amazing cake.  It happened to be my mom’s birthday in a few weeks so I had the perfect excuse.  I got their phone number from A-dre and ordered my mom’s cake.  My mom was just as blown away by this choco-flan cake as I was.  The day after my mom’s birthday, I ask my mom to bring me a piece of cake.  As soon as the cake enters my house I dig my fork in and savor the taste again.  That evening I tell my fiance he should try the cake…. he’s sitting in the kitchen having his slice, when all of a sudden he bites into a good sized rock.  He totally freaks out because he almost broke his tooth, and tells me “There is a cussing rock in my cake!”  I say “No, maybe it’s a hard clump of sugar?”  He assures me it’s a rock as he pulls it out of his mouth and let’s me examine it up close.  Sure enough it was a rock.  Immediately we start making unpleasant comments about the bakery and questioning the cleanliness of their workspace.  We start saying A-dre introduced us to a shady bakery.  I vow never to step foot in that bakery again.  When I tell A-dre what happened, she is absolutely horrified and embarrassed.  She feels awful and apologizes for ruining my mom’s birthday cake and almost breaking my fiance’s molar with her bakery suggestion.  I think her eyes even welled up with tears.  I tell her it’s not her fault and not to worry about it, we’ll just never go to that bakery again.  Problem solved.  Come to find out, my mom remembered when she was loading the cake into her car to drive it over to my house, she dropped the cake plate on the newly graveled driveway, and a little pebble must have flown on the cake.  So all along it was really my mom’s fault. Hahahaha.  Sorry A-dre.

The good thing is: that whole dilemma prompted me to make my own Choco-flan and see what I could do to improve this already mouthwatering cake. I wanted the cake part to be super moist, and the flan to be ultra creamy supreme….. Here is my interpretation of the wonderful cake named Choco-flan!

Coconut Chocolate Cake Ingredients:

1/2 – cup cajeta (I use Coronado- cajeta quemada)

1 1/2 – cups water

3 – cinnamon sticks

1 3/4 – cups flour

1/2 – cup natural unsweetened coco powder (I use Hershey’s)

2 – teaspoons baking soda

1 – teaspoon baking powder

1/2 – teaspoon salt

2 1/4 – cups sugar

2 – large eggs

1 – cup buttermilk

1/2 – cup vegetable oil

1 – teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 – cups sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.

In a small sauce pan over a low- medium flame, add water and cinnamon sticks and let simmer.

In a bowl combine flour, unsweetened coco powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and 1/4 cup sugar.  Set to the side.

In a mixer bowl, combine 2 cups sugar, 2 eggs, and vegetable oil. Mix on medium for 3 minutes.

Next add buttermilk and vanilla extract and beat for another 2 minutes.

Slowly add the chocolate flour mixture a little at a time to the egg/buttermilk blend to make cake batter.  Add the shredded coconut to the last 1/2 of cup of flour mixture and toss to coat, then add to the chocolate cake batter. Mix for another minute to combine.

Now take cinnamon stick water off of flame and strain into a cup. Then add  1 cup of hot cinnamon tea to cake batter, and mix for another 2 minutes on low or just to combine.

In a 12 cup bundt pan.  Coat with a non-stick baking spray, then pour in cajeta to bottom of pan.

Then take cake batter and slowly pour over cajeta.

In a tea kettle, fill with water and place over a high flame. While waiting for water to boil, make flan blend.

Flan Ingredients:

5 – ounces cream cheese (I use Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temperature)

1 – 12 0z. can of evaporated milk (I use Carnation)

1 – 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (I use Carnation)

1 – tablespoon vanilla extract

4 – large eggs

In a blender add cream cheese, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Blend on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Once flan mixture is blended, slowly pour in a circle over cake batter, a little bit at a time.

Next take a piece of aluminum foil (enough to cover top of bundt pan) and coat with non-stick baking spray.  Loosely place sprayed aluminum foil on top of bundt pan and cover. Then place covered bundt pan in a large baking dish and fill halfway with super hot water from tea kettle.

Lastly, place the covered pan in hot bath in oven on middle rack and let bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes (80 minutes total).

Once cake is baked,  remove from hot bath and remove aluminum foil. Let cool in the pan for 2 hours, next run a butter knife along the edge of pan to pull cake away from pan, then flip it over onto a plate.

Slowly lift pan up away from plate. There you have it….PERFECT coconut Choco-FLAN! Put it in the fridge for another 4 hours and eat it chilled.

It’s FLAN-tastic!