I’ve built two houses this month. The first one (shown above) is make of butter, sugar, and flour. The second one is made of clay, sand, straw, and water (cob). They’re both a bit rustic, but full of flavor and character. Each house was built using a series of layers that form a strong bond when tied together.

Mixing cob is a bit like mixing cake batter, except you use your feet instead of your hands. The final material is used to construct thick, strong walls with an incredible insulation factor and gorgeous flowing shapes.

This building adventure was a community effort. Most of us had never built anything with cob before, let alone a house! As we worked together to stomp on mud and smooth it into walls, the worksite echoed with conversation and laughter. Building with earth is unlike anything I’ve experienced before. The workshop has inspired me to continue my natural building education, and I hope to share more projects and insight with you soon! During the seven day workshop, we completed almost the entire first story of the house!

It goes to show that you don’t have to be a building expert to build your own house. But if you’re not ready to take on a cob house quite yet, you could always build a smaller scale replica with Petit Fours.

With any building project comes a set of challenges. My largest challenge in constructing the Petit Fours was due to the different temperature requirements of each layer. The ice cream layer in the middle needed to remain frozen, yet the poured buttercream coating wouldn’t pour unless it was warm. This resulted in some melty edges. I would recommend using a glaze that is pourable at room temperature to achieve a perfectly square finish.

If you’re not interested in a perfect shape, I’d like to say that the combination given in the recipe is amazing! The brown butter pound cake and vanilla bean ice cream are made to be sandwiched together. These Petit Fours tasted incredible, both glazed and unglazed.

The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.

I made this dessert over the course of three days:
Day 1 – Make ice cream
Day 2 – Make brown butter pound cake and assemble the layers
Day 3 – Slice into Petit Fours and decorate

Vanilla Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup sucanat (Note: the sucanat makes the ice cream a tan color. If this bothers you, use white sugar)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, salt, and sugar until it steams. Use a paring knife to scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod and into the milk, adding the bean pod as well. Remove from heat, cover, and let infuse for one hour. If you are not using the vanilla bean, heat the milk, salt, and sugar until the liquid steams, then let cool to room temperature.

Make an ice bath for the cream by placing a 2 quart bowl inside a larger bowl partially filled with cold water and ice. Your ice bath is even cooler (figuratively speaking) if you use Pi ice cubes!

Set a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the saucepan until warmed. Gradually pour 1/4 cup of warmed milk into the egg yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from cooking. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.

Remove the vanilla pod and freeze in an ice cream maker.

Brown Butter Pound Cake

19 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sucanat, finely ground in a coffee grinder or food processor
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325° with the rack in the center position. Grease and flour a 9″x9″ pan.

Place the butter in a large light-colored skillet or pot over medium-low heat. Let the butter cook until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. The stages of browning butter are as follows:

First, the butter melts:

Then it foams:

Next, it gurgles and spits at you:

Finally, it browns:

It’s best not to walk away while the butter is browning. It goes from brown to burnt in no time flat!

Pour the browned butter into a shallow bowl and chill it in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.

Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

In an electric mixer, beat the brown butter and sucanat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Beat in the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.

Pour the batter into the pan. Ensure that the top is as level as possible, and rap the pan on the counter. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the entire pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and invert the cake twice so that it cools right side up on a cooling rack.

To assemble the Ice Cream Petit Fours:

Line a 9″x9″ pan with plastic wrap, making sure to hang it over the edges for easier removal later. Spread about 2 cups of ice cream into the pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze for a few hours (preferably on a level surface, if you can find one in your freezer).

When the brown butter pound cake has completely cooled, level the top with a serrated knife or cake leveler. Split the cake in half horizontally to make two thin layers (this is tricky!).

Place one layer of the cake onto a piece of plastic wrap larger than the cake by a few inches on all sides. Unwrap the frozen ice cream layer and invert it onto the cake. Peel the plastic wrap off the ice cream and place the second cake layer on top. Carefully lift the bottom layer of plastic wrap and lower the entire cake back into the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.

The next day, invert the cake onto a cutting board and remove the plastic wrap. Here’s where the original recipe tells me to cut of 3/4″ on each side and then divide the cake into 2.5″ squares. I realized that I had had some cake shrinkage and wouldn’t be able to duplicate those measurements.

So I suggest using your math skills to create Petit Fours sized ideally for your cake. Slice off the edges of the cake so that you’re starting with four (mostly) even sides. Slice into squares as evenly as possible.

Poured Buttercream
The original recipe suggested covering the Petit Fours with a chocolate glaze but I decided to attempt poured buttercream. This recipe would work well on a cake without ice cream in it! The buttercream must be warm to pour, so it tends to melt the ice cream around the edges. This resulted in Petit Fours that weren’t exactly square, but still delicious!

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream, plus extra for melting
3 cups powdered sugar

In an electric mixer, beat butter, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup cream until smooth. Sift the powdered sugar and slowly add it to the creamed butter until the desired consistency is reached.

Reserve buttercream for piping decorations if desired.

Place buttercream in a microwave safe dish. Heat in 5-10 second increments, stirring in between heating. If it gets too thick, add some cream, a tablespoon at a time. The buttercream is the correct consistency for pouring when a spoon lifted from the bowl creates a ribbon of buttercream that disappears back into the rest.

Place one Petit Four on a fork over the bowl. Dip the bottom of the Petit Four into the buttercream. Use a large spoon to drizzle buttercream over the top and sides of the Petit Four. Place Petit Four onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper and return to the freezer immediately.

As the buttercream cools it will become too solid to pour smoothly. Reheat in the microwave in 5-10 second intervals until it is pouring consistency.

Once the buttercream coating has cooled and hardened, decorate the Petit Fours as desired. Feel free to go vertical!

I rarely make ice cream, though I love to eat it. I don’t own a fancy ice cream maker, just this simple hand crank Donvier model that we used when I was young. This ice cream maker is 22 years old! In fact, I can tell you that we made our first ice cream from this machine on December 27, 1988 (it must have been a Christmas present). And we liked it. Thanks, mom, for keeping good notes!

I generally make a custard ice cream (in other words, using eggs) so it was interesting to try these simple recipes with just cream, sugar, and flavor. They did come out delicious! The only issue I had was that the chocolate ice cream never froze solid. It remained soft, even after sitting in the freezer overnight. I’ve never made chocolate ice cream before, so I’m not sure if this was my error or a problem with the recipe.

The original recipes called for caster sugar, which is unavailable where I live. It’s basically superfine sugar, so I created my own substitute by grinding some organic sucanat in a coffee grinder. It worked beautifully!

Since there are so many lovely berries available right now, I decided to give my cake a berry twist. I used fresh strawberries in the Swiss roll filling, and fresh blackberries in one of the ice cream layers.

The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

Swiss Swirl Ice Cream Cake
Adapted from Taste of Home

This recipe is best made over the course of two (or more) days. I made the Swiss roll and blackberry chip ice cream on the first day, and the hot fudge and chocolate ice cream on the second day, while assembling the cake. The cake sat in the freezer overnight, since I had some difficulty with freezing the chocolate ice cream.

Chocolate Swiss Roll With Strawberry Whipped Cream Filling
Yield: one Swiss roll (approximately 10 slices)

For the cake:
3 eggs
1/2 cup sucanat, finely ground in a coffee grinder or food processor
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon boiling water

For the filling:
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
5 tablespoons fresh strawberry puree

Preheat the oven to 390°. Prepare an 11 inch by 9 inch baking pan by spraying with cooking spray then lining with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sucanat until the mixture is very thick. This will take about 10-12 minutes. The mixture is thick enough when you lift the beater and it leaves a trail for 10 seconds.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Fold into the egg mixture in three batches. Gently stir in the boiling water. Spread the batter into the pan, as evenly as possible. It will be very thin.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the center is springy and the edges are starting to curl away from the sides of the pan.

Spread a dish towel on the counter and sprinkle it with some confectioners sugar or finely ground sucanat. When the cake comes out of the oven, invert it onto the dish towel. Peel away the parchment paper and trim off the crisp edges.

Carefully roll up the cake and the towel together. Doing this while the cake is still warm will allow the cake to keep its shape once filled. Cool the cake, rolled up in the towel, on a cooling rack, seam side down. While the cake is cooling, prepare the filling.

Place the mixer bowl and beater in the fridge for 10-15 minutes (this step is optional, but will make it easier to whip the cream). Puree the strawberries in a food processor (or like me, if you don’t have one just use a potato masher).

Add the cream and vanilla extract to the bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in the confectioners sugar and continue to beat until the cream forms stiff peaks, or to your desired consistency. Fold in the strawberry puree. If you’re not using the whipped cream right away, place it in the fridge.

Cover your work surface with confectioners sugar to prevent the cake from sticking. When the cake has completely cooled, carefully unroll it onto the sugared surface. Spread the whipped cream over the cake, to within 1/2 inch of the edges.

Gently roll the cake up again, without the towel this time. Sprinkle the cake with confectioners sugar and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate, seam side down, until ready to use.

Blackberry Chip Ice Cream
Yield: slightly less than one quart

2 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sucanat, finely ground
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/3 cup grated chocolate

Whisk together the cream, vanilla extract, and sucanat. Stir in the blackberries and chocolate. Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions.

If you’d like to make the ice cream without an ice cream maker, David Lebovitz gives some excellent instructions.

Hot Fudge Sauce
Yield: 1 3/4 cups

1 cup sucanat
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sucanat, cocoa powder, cornstarch, and water. Heat over medium heat, stirring contantly, until the mixture comes to a simmer. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Ice Cream
Yield: one pint

2 cups whipping cream
1 cup sucanat
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, and place over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture begins to bubble around the edges. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (even better, cool and then place in the fridge for an hour or two).

Pour into your ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions.

To assemble the cake:

Select a freezer-proof container of the size and shape you desire for your cake (I used a 2.5 liter Pyrex bowl). Line the bowl with plastic wrap to facilitate easier removal of the cake. Slice the Swiss roll and line the bottom and sides of the bowl with the slices. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until the slices are firm (about one hour). In the meantime, remove the blackberry chip ice cream from the freezer to soften (about 20 minutes).

Spread the softened ice cream over the Swiss roll slices, cover, and place back in the freezer until the ice cream is firm (about 2 hours).

Pour the fudge sauce over the ice cream to the desired thickness (I only used about half of the sauce). Cover and place back in the freezer until the fudge sauce is firm (this took 3 or 4 hours).

Soften the chocolate ice cream. Mine had never firmed up so I didn’t need to remove it from the freezer ahead of time. Pour the softened ice cream over the fudge layer. Cover and place back in the freezer until firm (I left it overnight).

To remove the cake from the bowl, invert the bowl onto a plate. Carefully hold down the plastic wrap and lift the bowl off. If the plastic wrap sticks to the bowl, run a cloth dipped in warm water over the outside surface of the bowl. Peel the plastic wrap off the cake, slice, and serve.