Pre-portion ice cream into paper muffin cups
Atlanta Jill made quick work of the ice cream service at a recent birthday party:
We had a birthday party, and I remembered my neighbor's ice cream hack. She scoops it out into muffin cups the day before the party. I even added some colored sprinkles since I wasn't in any hurry. When the party is started, and cake and ice cream need to be served up pretty quickly, all I have to do is pass the ice cream cups out.
Jill? I've got a question for you: did you need to let them thaw for 5-10 minutes first? Perhaps my freezer is extra cold, but the one time I did this the ice cream scoops were rock-hard. (Backstory: I had the brilliant idea of making clown cones for my daughter's birthday last year. Not only was the ice cream too hard, the dye on the M&M eyes ran. These were some SCARY clowns. Did the three year-olds care? No. They were devoured in minutes.)
You can thaw a carton of ice cream slightly by sticking in the microwave for 30 seconds...
Posted by: Jack | May 9, 2007 6:30:55 AM
Asha: I get them out when I get the cake ready. By the time we've sung, blown out candles and sliced the cake, the ice cream is usually ready to go. It couldn't hurt to get them out early- I prefer soupy ice cream anyway!
Posted by: Atlanta Jill | May 9, 2007 7:38:07 AM
Very sweet and GREAT idea ..im gonna "scoopt" it !!!!
Posted by: Lisa | May 9, 2007 10:31:43 AM
Brilliant- this also prevents portion negotiation problems.
This would work really well with (your freezer Asha or) a deep freeze for taking ice cream to a school party. They would probably soften just enough on the cooler ride there. I'm passing this tip on to my elementary school teaching mom. I think you just simplified her ice cream sundae parties immensely.
thanks!
Posted by: adrienne | May 9, 2007 11:03:40 AM
What a great idea!
This would be handy when serving a crowd and short on bowls. I assume the muffin papers would need support of plates. The plate is needed to hold the slice of birthday cake, anyway.
We have two birthday parties coming up in the next month, (and then we're DONE with Birthday Season until January! w00t!) and I plan to put this tip to use.
Posted by: clkl | May 9, 2007 11:49:55 AM
Since the muffin cups are kinda flimsy.. I would think it would be tougher. The foil ones are a tad bit sturdier. I have used 5 or 7 oz. dixie cups in the past. I have made my own mango pudding and portioned it out in the cups before referigerating it. I have used the dixie cups for ice cream too. It's the perfect portion size for the littler ones.
Posted by: Oona | May 11, 2007 12:30:21 AM
Not a week later, Rachel Ray nabs the idea as her own... Bleh, she sucks
Posted by: Jasi | May 15, 2007 7:35:06 AM