Homemade Magic Shell

A friend of mine recently told me about this awesome website called stumbleupon.com.  Now that she has, I have to admit that I'm kind of addicted to it.  Especially when I have nothing to do!  The purpose of the website is to navigate you to other websites that contain topics that you are interested in, but might not otherwise have known were out there.  All you have to do, in order to get started, is check off things that you're interested in based on the categories provided.  Then you just have to click the "stumble" button. It's that easy!  The website will do the rest for you, by automatically popping up other websites and blogs that relate to your interests.

So, you might be wondering why exactly I'm telling you about this website.  It's how I happened to "stumble" across a recipe for magic shell.  I have to say that I am a huge fan of ice cream and all the toppings that go along with it.  I know that homemade ice cream is always the best, but as I was walking through the grocery store yesterday, I noticed that ALL Bryers ice cream was buy 2, get 3 for FREE!  Who could resist such a fantastic offer?  Not me, that's for sure!  Sooooooo many delicious flavors were calling to me, but my husband and I decided on our top five and I figured that this would be the perfect time to try out the new magic shell recipe I had stumbled upon.  I knew that the recipe would definitely make more than a little store bought container, but that is fine because I have plenty of ice cream to put it on! 

I'll admit that I was a little sketical of this recipe at first, seeing that there were only 2 ingredients called for, but to my surprise it turned out great and hardened up exactly the way that it should.  I will definitely be making this again and again, and also experimenting by adding different flavors.

Here is what you will need:

That's all!!

Homemade Magic Shell

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Ingredients:

1 cup coconut oil (must be the hard kind, not the oily kind)

2 cups chocolate

dash of salt (optional)

Feel free to incorporate any extract flavors you want.  I think next time I might experiment by melting in some peanut butter!

*For an 8 oz jar use 90g coconut oil and 135g chocolate*

Directions:

In a small or medium saucepan melt the coconut oil over a very low heat.  Slowly stir in the chocolate until completely melted and well blended. 

 Here is where you could add in a dash of salt or any other flavors that you desire! 

Now, serve over your favorite ice cream!

 Store your homemade magic shell in a mason jar or squeeze bottle with cap.  In warmer climates the magic shell with remain in the liquid state and in cooler weather it may begin to solidify.  If this is the case, just microwave it for a few seconds until it becomes a liquid again.  Do NOT store in the refrigerator!

Source: Instructables

Cake Batter Ice Cream

I cannot believe how hot it is outside this week and not just hot, but also humid!  My thermometer is currently reading 99 degrees, which to me means that it is a perfect day for a scoop of ice cream and I have just the flavor to make.  Cake batter!!!  This works out nicely because it calls for 1/2 a cup of yellow cake mix, which I just made.  I told you that I would find a good use for the mix.  It is also my husband’s birthday so the cake batter ice cream will make an excellent side dish to help us celebrate!

I think that the next time I make this I will bake a small yellow cake to break into pieces to include in the ice cream.  The possibilities with this one are endless.  For now, I chose to top it with magic shell and sprinkles!

Cake Batter Ice Cream

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Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream, divided
½ cup homemade yellow cake mix
½ cup sugar
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups milk

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup of the heavy cream with the homemade yellow cake mix, sugar and salt.  Heat on medium until the mixture is warm, but not boiling.  Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.  In another medium bowl combine the remaining cream, vanilla, and milk with a fine mesh sieve over the top.

When the mixture in the saucepan is warm, slowly pour a small amount into the bowl to temper with the egg yolk, while whisking constantly.  Continue pouring the cream mixture in a steady stream, whisking continuously until well combined.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and continue heating while stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan, until mixture begins to slightly thicken.

Take the saucepan off of the heat and immediately pour the custard mixture through the mesh sieve into the cream and milk mixture.  Mix to blend.  Cover and chill the mixture in the refrigerator.  Once the mixture is chilled through, place in an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions.  Store in an airtight container in the freezer or enjoy immediately!

Source:  Annies Eats; originally adapted from The Kitchy Kitchen