Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Bars

One of the things I knew I wanted to make with our freshly picked strawberries was these ice cream bars. I made them last year with a blueberry compote and lemon ice cream. They were a big hit and I even mentioned at that time that I wanted to try them again with a strawberry compote and cheesecake ice cream.


Now last year I was able to use dairy free ice cream and add lemon to it so I could eat these bars. This year though, I had a really hard time even finding cheesecake flavored ice cream. After searching a couple grocery stores, all I could find was brownie cheesecake ice cream and strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Both sounded amazing, but I really just wanted plain cheesecake flavored ice cream. I had seen it pop up in various food blogs so I knew it was possible.


Then someone suggested ColdStone. Luckily there is one near us so I stopped by to grab a quart of the stuff. Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat any of it. I’m pretty sure my stomach would hate me for at least a month even if I ate just one bite…


The bars from last year had a LOT of ice cream in them. They were actually pretty hard to eat because they were just too big to bite in to. So I knew I wanted to cut back the amount of ice cream. I ended up using about 1 1/2 pints of ice cream this time around and I think that’s a better ratio.


Hubby had a bowl of ice cream by itself while I was assembling these bars and he said the ice cream by itself was “weird”. I gave him a dollop of the compote on top of his ice cream and he just said “Oh yea, that’ll be awesome”. Hubby was able to confirm what what we assumed about these guys. They are decadent and delicious.

Two Years Ago: Blueberry Muffins

Check out my SECOND week of Strawberry Recipes HERE

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Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Bars

Yield: 8 bars

Ingredients:

For Strawberry Compote
2 cups strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch

For Sandwich Layers
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 pints cheesecake ice cream

Directions:

For the Strawberry Compote
Cook strawberries and sugar in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, thoroughly crushing strawberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into strawberry mixture. Boil, stirring, 1 minute (mixture will thicken).

Transfer strawberry compote to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour.

For the Sandwich Layers (while Compote Chills)
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter baking pans and line with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on each side, then butter foil.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. At low speed, add flour mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined.

Divide batter between baking pans and spread into thin, even layers with offset spatula. Bake until golden-brown but still tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely in pans, about 30 minutes.

Assemble Sandwiches
Drop spoonfuls of the compote on the bottom cookie, then top with all of the ice cream, then add the rest of the compote on top of the ice cream. Use a knife to swirl the compote and ice cream together. Invert second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich. Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.

Transfer sandwich to a cutting board using overhang. Trim edges if desired, then cut into 8 pieces.

Recipe adapted from Me!, originally from Gourmet

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14 Responses to “Harry Potter Cupcakes”

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    1
    clstar — August 4, 2009 at 12:31 pm

    OMG, I am in love with these cupcakes! They’re so awesome! I love HP, and I made owl cupcakes when the movie came out. I might need to give these a try before going to see the IMAX 3D movie.

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    thegreatpantryraid — August 4, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    How cute are those?! And i was wondering how you got the lettering so perfect – thanks for the step-by-step. Lol – I just dragged DH to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry – I’m sure he’ll be happy when the final movie comes out and he doesn’t have to hear about it anymore!

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    thecookingnurse — August 4, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    Great job, how lucky are your friends?

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    Jen — August 4, 2009 at 2:57 pm

    I’m so jealous! My two sisters are going to the exhibit this weekend. I thought about flying to Chicago to join them. Luckily I found out the exhibit is coming here in October. Whew!

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    5
    Erin — August 4, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    These look fabulous! You did such a great job on them!

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    Katie — August 4, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    WOW JEN!! Those are fantastic!! Better than professional! Seriously, what talent you have to make those! 🙂

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    Jen — August 4, 2009 at 7:28 pm

    Aw thanks Katie – you’re making me blush.

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    Ingrid — August 4, 2009 at 7:30 pm

    I hate when cupcakes do that to me too. Instead of baking up they bake out! 🙁

    Love your Harry Potter cupcake toppers! Very cute and creative!
    ~ingrid

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    Manda — August 4, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    Hi Jen! A friend of mine forwarded me your page for HP Cupcakes and I just wanted to drop in and say that I think they’re awesome and I want to run home now and try to create some fun hp themed cakes! I had done some in the past–cauldron cakes if you will, by buying mini cauldrons and cutting the bottom off so the tops sat just on the cakes and then used a bit of green frosting on the inside. You should join up with the HP-MA crew! We’ve been organizing some meet-ups for Boston Fans!

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    Jen — August 4, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    Sounds awesome Manda.

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    nutmegnanny — August 5, 2009 at 8:09 pm

    Oh my goodness, what adorable little cupcakes!

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    annieseats — August 6, 2009 at 1:25 am

    So so cute! And yeah, those “HPs” must have taken FOREVER. I have a fabulous vanilla cupcake recipe that never fails me here: http://annies-eats.com/2008/07/18/vanilla-cupcakes/. Also, I recently made Dorie’s perfect party cake into cupcakes and had great results with that as well.

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    13
    bcallegra — August 7, 2009 at 12:47 am

    I love your HP cupcakes! I too am a huge Harry Potter fan but I have to admit, I don’t think I’d be patient enough to make cupcakes and toppings as cute as yours!

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    Karin — April 8, 2010 at 9:23 pm

    These are so awesome!! I wish I would have seen them and did some of these with the HP cake I did!!

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