Cake!

Even though this is an ice cream blog, I have to mention cake.  In fact, ice cream and cake go together like pizza and pepperonis, so I decided to mention cake. Most of us have eaten cake especially birthday cake.


The word cake comes from the old Norse word kaka. This word is related to the word "to cook." Now you know the origin of the word cake, so what is a cake? If you get down to the nuts and bolts of cake, you are looking at a recipe of eggs, flour, sugar, and, depending on the cake, nuts, icing, fruit, or other ingredients. However, the taste of a cake can't be boiled down to a few basic ingredients. The delicate and fluffy mix of high quality ingredients yields a remarkable taste sensation in the mouth.

There are a variety of types of cake (there is even a rock band called Cake, but that isn't what we are talking about!). I list some of them below:

- Spice cake
- Italian wedding cake
- Red velvet cake
- Chocolate cake
- Fruit cake
- Pineapple Upside Down Cake
- And many, many more

If you want to truly enjoy your cake, you will want to pair it with ice cream. Most of the time the best choice is vanilla ice cream, because you don't want the taste of the ice cream to overtake the flavor of the cake. Thus, you wouldn't pair a lemon cake with chocolate ice cream, although some adventurous souls may dare to combine the two!

You can't have an ice cream blog without discussing cake, so there you go!

The Ice Cream Sandwich

Today I noticed that my family didn't have any dessert, so I went out to buy us each an ice cream sandwich. Most people love ice cream (I know I do!), but it seems that just as many people, especially kids prefer the ice cream sandwich to plain old frozen dessert.

So what is an ice cream sandwich? Most people know, because they have eaten them since they were kids, but I'll repeat the definition before I give you the history of it. It is ice cream, usually vanilla, placed between two cookies or slices of cake, making a delicious chocolate and vanilla sandwich. The ice cream sandwich appeals to our desire for ice cream, cake, and chocolate, all in one sweet product!

The current style of the ice cream sandwich was invented by Jerry Newberg in 1945 when he sold ice cream at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. However, images from as early as 1905 show that similar products existed and often were sold for a reasonable price. It is funny, but some sources say that there is even an ice cream sandwich day. It apparently falls on August 2nd, although you aren't likely to be able to take off of work that day. Either way, my family and I will sit down and enjoy a tasty, creamy, ice cream sandwich whenever we get a craving.

Chocolate Ice Cream

There is a debate raging in America these days, and perhaps around the world.  That is the debate between chocolate ice cream, and vanilla ice cream.  The people that love chocolate ice cream fall in line behind each other, and defend their position with their very lives!  Well, maybe their love for chocolate ice cream doesn't do to giving their life, but the people that love it REALLY love their cocoa based frozen treat!

Now, I understand this, since I love ice cream of all flavors and colors, and that includes chocolate. Why can't the chocolate ice cream lovers, and the vanilla lovers just get along?!  It is possible for everyone to get along like brothers and sisters!

I will say that not all chocolate ice cream is created equal.  This is possibly where the misunderstanding possibly finds its origin.  If you don't like chocolate ice cream, it is perhaps because you haven't tried the RIGHT kind!

When you are looking at chocolate ice cream, it is important for you to look at the ingredients of that chocolate ice cream.  A lot of what you buy in the store has artificial colors and flavors.  While it may satisfy your sweet tooth, the best chocolate ice cream has real cocoa and other natural flavors in it.

You know that you have found authentic chocolate ice cream when you taste that wonderful full bodied taste that fills your entire mouth with flavor.  When you taste the real cocoa beans in that chocolate ice cream you will know, because it will have that full bodied flavor that sugar and artificial flavors like corn syrup simply can't provide.

One of my favorite ways to eat chocolate ice cream is a dessert called "Death By Chocolate."  This is chocolate ice cream, on top of chocolate cake, covered in fudge syrup!  Doesn't that sound like a good way to eat chocolate ice cream?!  With MORE chocolate!?

Again, I think we need to get past our chocolate ice cream discrimination and bias and get along.  Often when I have vanilla ice cream, I have it with my chocolate ice cream- there is nothing better than a swirl soft serve ice cream with both vanilla and chocolate Ice Cream!