If you have been reading here you already know that the past few days have been rough for me. Unfortunately, Duke had to work & that left me alone to mope. Back and forth, back and forth, between my couch and bed. Pathetic, really. Finally around 4pm, I forced myself to get up & shower.
Kawai (my sis-in-law)had texted me earlier to invite me over. I had made Karlee these cupcakes for her official birthday party, but had prepared a smaller cake for the family to eat together. I had to leave the party early and assumed they would have gone ahead and eaten the cake. No, Kawai texted "we can't do it without the ohana*. Come over. And bring Akua(my other dog), too". Aww, she loves me. I may not be an emotional eater, but that doesn't mean I'm not a hopeless, sentimental sap.
Akua in my back seat, we headed to Kawai's home. I was greeted by my niece & nephew. Big hugs. Kisses even. A handmade card that featured Choco in the clouds. My other sis-in-laws, Sissy, Pume & Titi, were all there too. More heartfelt hugs.
We let Karlee open her presents. No matter how sad you are, who can help by smile as a child squeals with delight with each opened gift. Dansen blew up balloons & passed them to all the family.
I got the ice cream cake out of the freezer & placed the final touches on it. I removed the sides of the pan & found the cake had started to melt. "Uh-oh. Can we have dessert first?". Pume chimed in, "Yeah, dessert first".
So please forgive the melty mess in the pictures. This cake was really delicious. So delicious we all just got our spoons and ate it straight out of the pan. It's okay. We're family! We ate until we were full & barely had room for supper.
Akua & I left that night in much better spirits than we had arrived. Food therapy? Maybe. Family therapy? Without a doubt.
Oh and FYI, Karlee had an assignment on her favorite food that she had done in school that day. Guess what it was? Yup, banana splits. Gosh, I'm a great auntie!
*Ohana(for those of you whom have never watched 'Lilo & Stitch')"means family. And family means no one gets left behind...or forgotten.
Ingredients:
15 whole Oreo cookies 3 tbsp. melted butter 3-4 ripe bananas, sliced ½-inch thick 1 pint strawberry ice cream, softened slightly 1 cup hot fudge sauce, warmed 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened slightly 10 oz. frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed and drained Whipped cream, for garnish Chopped walnuts, for garnish Maraschino cherries, for garnish Chopped or crushed pineapple, for serving
Directions:
Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with wax or parchment paper. Place the Oreos in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Add the melted butter to the bowl with the cookie crumbs and pulse until evenly moistened. Pour the crumbs into the bottom of the springform pan and press down firmly in an even layer to cover the bottom (not the sides) of the pan. Lay the slices of banana over the cookie crust, fitting as many as you can into a single layer. Add the strawberry ice cream to the pan and smooth in an even layer over the banana slices. Cover and transfer to the freezer to chill until the ice cream is very firm.
Spread the hot fudge sauce over the strawberry ice cream and smooth with a spatula. Return to the freezer until the fudge layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Once the fudge layer is firm, spread the vanilla ice cream in an even layer over the top. Cover and return to the freezer until the ice cream is very firm.
When you are ready to serve the torte, soak a towel in very warm water and squeeze out all the excess water. Wrap the towel around the sides of the springform pan for about 30 seconds to help loosen them from the torte. Carefully remove the sides of the pan. Top with the thawed strawberries. Garnish as desired with whipped cream, chopped walnuts, and maraschino cherries. Let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with crushed pineapple.
Source: adapted from Sweet Anna’s via the Tasty Kitchen Blog, via http://annies-eats.net/2011/07/29/banana-split-ice-cream-torte/
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Try it again
ReplyDeleteYeah it worked :)! I'm so proud of you n enjoy your blog esp now that I can leave a comment. Give my g-boy Akua some extra lovins for me.
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