Ice Cream filled Carrot Cake Cupcake ... Help!

[ALLex16]

For Valentines day I want to combine two of my boyfriends favorite things - carrot cake and ice cream. I found a really great dense carrot cake recipe that I'm going to make cupcakes with, then was going to fill them with ice cream. Which leads me to my questions ...

1. What kind of ice cream do you recommend? Sweet Cream or plain old Vanilla, perhaps something with cinnamon?
2. Since I am filling the cupcakes with ice cream, I do not want to use a heavy frosting. Would you all suggest using just powdered sugar? Also, I am omitting any nuts from the recipe, as I do not think they would fare well in the freezer, and was planning on putting pecans (or walnuts?!) on top, so maybe a glaze of some sort to hold the nuts in place would be a great way to top it off?

I would love to hear any feedback from my fellow 'hounds! Thanks!

[alkapal]

allex16, what did ya do?

[ALLex16]

They worked - perfectly!!!

I didn't end up using ice cream, just a light cream cheese frosting and then put caramel and a little powdered sugar on top. After I made the cupcakes I let them sit overnight, then just cut a cone into them, chopped off the bottom of the cone (thus creating a lid) and filled the inside with the cream cheese frosting.

It was WAY easier to scoop out the middle than I thought it would be, which was quite a relief! Overall, a HUGE hit.

Next time, I'm going to make Boston Creme Cupcakes : )

[chowser]

Sounds great. If you want something along those lines next time, you could also do carrot cake cheesecake, as cupcakes:

http://www.recipezaar.com/114575

I'll bet Boston Creme cupcakes would be easy to make, too and taste good.

[ALLex16]

You "stuff" the cupcakes by cutting a cone shape into the top, then remove the excess and save the "top" to put back on. To put in the ice cream, you get a pastry bag with softened ice cream (or just a spoon), and squirt in a dollop of the ice cream. Of course, you allow for the cake to cool first, then proceed with the above directions.

As I mentioned earlier, what if I created carrot cake ice cream sandwhiches? Or if I wanted to stick with cupcakes, perhaps german chocolate cake (my boyfriends other fav) would be a better choice since it is a much more simple recipe and wouldn't risk losing all its flavors? (Thanks for the heads up about the cake losing its flavors, Alkapal.)

Oh - and in regards to it being messy - that is the fun of it all, to make you feel like a kid again with your own mini ice cream cake : )

[4chowpups]

Or you can fill them from the bottom rather than the top, that is how I fill my cupcakes and as long as you don't put too much filling inside, they are fine and don't wreck the top.

[chowser]

Carrot cake sandwiches would be really fun, too. I'd bake a carrot cake bars in that case and then make sandwiches. I think carrot cake would be better frozen than german chocolate cake. Denser cakes would be better for something like this.

[ALLex16]

Thanks for the advice everyone - I think I'm gonna go ahead and put the nuts in the cake then, I was just nervous that they would get soggy (the reason I don't really like butter pecan ice cream). Which means I will probably go with a cream cheese/sweet cream ice cream with powdered sugar on top, unless there is a better idea?

I will definitely fill you guys in on the recipe/method - IF it works. I have never made anything like this, and have scoured the internet for recipes, techniques, and tips for how to pull this all off. Ha - wish me luck! If I get overwhelmed I may just end up making carrot cake ice cream sandwhiches with chopped nuts around the outside (just like chipwhiches).

Thanks again! Any more ideas are welcome, I am really quite a beginner and love any and all help! : )

[chowser]

Along the lines of a carrot cake ice cream sandwiches... You could bake the carrot cake in a springform pan. Let it cool and cut in half for two layers. Place the bottom layer back in the pan and freeze. Layer softened ice cream over it, place other layer of cake over that and freeze. Before serving, remove sides of pan and frost with cream cheese frosting or white chocolate cream cheese buttercream (page down about half way down the page):

http://forums.chef2chef.net/showflat....

I think the white chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting would be good drizzled over the cupcakes, too, while warm, and then top w/ chopped toasted nuts.

[alkapal]

i like choswer's idea -- plus one big cake will be easier to deal with than all those cupcakes. plus, how were you planning to "stuff" the cupcakes with the ice cream? interesting......

[chowser]

I was wondering the same thing about stuffing ice cream. If you used a pastry bag with softened ice cream, your hands would probably get really cold (I suffer from constantly cold hands as it is). And,if you fill from the top, you'd have a hole that powdered sugar wouldn't cover. But, I did find this recipe for cupcake w/ vanilla ice cream which might be the simplest way to go, just use carrot cake cupcakes instead:

http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple...

[alkapal]

looks like it'd be really messy to eat. drippy ice cream all on your face and clothes....

if the cupcake had a hole gouged out of the top, then after ice cream inserted, and refrozen, cupcake could be removed for a frosting with regular carrot cake frosting. problem is, the cold will diminish the full flavors of the aromatic cake. a technical challenge, but maybe i am missing what the op is trying to do?

[chowser]

LOL, I think the mess would be a fun part of it all. The OP didn't want a heavy frosting and asked about powdered sugar so it wouldn't cover up the hole. I thought a thin drizzle of the white chocolate cream cheese buttercream would be lighter than a heavy cream cheese frosting.

[chef chicklet]

now this sounds terrific! Less time consuming than filling the cupcakes, great idea, thanks chowser!

[chowser]

I can always be trusted to come up with the "lazy" option.;-)

[Katie Nell]

Nuts freeze fine, like others have said, but what about making a caramel glaze with pecans in it to pour over the top? That would be really good with the sweet cream ice cream.

[toodie jane]

nuts freeze well in breads for me, never had a problem.

[bite bite]

Good point. Come to think of it, they actually freeze very will. How my dad always keeps his walnuts in the freezer to keep them fresh and my dear friend's mom always freezes her zucchini loves and they come out perfectly -- the high fattiness of the nuts means they don't get really hard in the freezer and are ready to eat before the rest of the loaf.

[bite bite]

Would love to get the recipe/method on this if it turns out. What a tasty sounding idea!

Another idea for the ice cream might be a walnut or pecan ice cream to sub for not putting in cake. Or maybe a cream-cheese/walnut or cream-cheese/pecan ice cream. mmm

[momof3]

a powdered sugar dusting on top sounds perfect. Maybe you can find a cheesecake flavor ice cream, that coconut, or sweet cream would be great. Would you share the carrot cake recipe? Let us know how they came out!

[foodie_guru]

I think it would be delicious with a cream cheese ice cream. Here is a link to one on BHG.com. You could always google it - maybe even epicurious has one.

http://www.bhg.com/recipes/recipedeta...