strawberry ice cream brownie cupcakes with whipped cream

I'm terrible at planning birthday parties, and poor Niko is born in December, which means we're often so focused on other things that her birthday becomes a last minute affair. These cupcakes were a great save. Apparently months ago I promised her an ice cream cake for her party. An hour before the party, she reminded me. I quickly bought some strawberry ice cream, and the rest of the ingredients were already on hand. An hour later--and in time for the Happy Birthday song--were cupcakes to be further decorated by each girl.

So how did they taste? Awesome. I really threw this together, and it was so good. The brownies go so well with strawberry ice cream, and the whipped cream lightens the whole thing up.

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
2/3 cups + 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 tbsp butter
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 quart strawberry ice cream
2 cups heavy whipping cream

18 cupcakes

Directions

Preheat oven to 350º. Line cupcake pans with liners.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and salt.

Using a microwave, heat butter and chocolate on 50% power until the chocolate is mostly melted. Whisk it to finish melting the chocolate. Add the chocolate to the batter and mix well.

Divvy the batter across 18 cupcake liners, filling each about 1/3 full. Bake for 6-8 minutes.

When they are cooked by still moist, remove from the oven and let cool. Then put in the freezer to stiffen the brownies (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, place the ice cream in the refrigerator to soften. When the brownies are ready, slather ice cream atop each brownie, filling the liner to the top. If you can manage it, try to do this with the brownies still in the tray. This will help them hold their shape.

Return the tray to the freezer to let the ice cream harden (about 30 minutes).

When you're ready to go, whip up the heavy whipping cream and remaining sugar. Remove the cupcakes from the tray, and top each with a dollop of whipped cream.

90 minutes