Mocha Ice Cream Cupcakes

Rachael Ray you are my hero. Since I love cupcakes, mochas and ice cream, stumbling upon this recipe was pure excitement. What a genius idea to combine three delicious treats into one delectable dessert. And who can look at that picture and not want to sneak a bite? They look incredible. While the recipe only makes 6 cupcakes it is simple to double your ingredients to make 12. And the coffee taste is subtle enough that these are sure to please everyone. Make sure if you are preparing these the same day you're serving them, that you allow at least one hour of 'chill-time' for the ice cream to set. It would be no good to have ice cream sloshing all over the place! (for reference, this recipe is by Silvana Nardone in the September 2007 issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray)

Mocha Ice Cream Cupcakes

One 12-count box sugar ice cream cones

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup almonds, toasted and chopped

One 3-ounce bar semisweet chocolate, plus more for shavings

3 cups coffee ice cream, softened

1/2 cup chocolate-covered espresso beans, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

To make your cupcake 'shells' as I call them, use a food processor to grind the ice cream cones into fine crumbs. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the butter. Divide the crumb mixture among the cups of a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan and press about three-quarters of the way up the sides of each cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon almonds into each cup. These will be your cupcake wrappers.

In a small, microwaveable bowl, melt 3 ounces chocolate at medium power in intervals, stirring occasionally so it does not burn. Top the almonds with the melted chocolate until they are covered and freeze for 10 minutes. Once the chocolate is cooled after 10 minutes, spoon about 2 tablespoons of ice cream into each muffin cup. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon chopped espresso beans onto the ice cream and flatten with the back of a spoon.

Add another 2 tablespoons ice cream and the remaining almonds and flatten again. Add the remaining ice cream and espresso beans, and flatten. Finally, freeze for at least 1 hour. Near the end of the hour of freezing time or either right before you plan to eat/serve the cupcakes, whip the cream and confectioners sugar until soft peaks form and you have a whipped cream consistency.

To remove the cupcakes, gently run a knife along the edges of each muffin well and wiggle out the shell. Top the cupcake with a dollop of whipping cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings and serve. For a cute touch, add a chocolate covered espresso bean to the top of each whipping cream poof. Enjoy!

Happy baking, and until next time, Rhiannon