Happy 6th Anniversary WITK!

It's that time of year to celebrate here at WITK! It's been six years since I first opened up a blogger account and put my fingers to the keyboard to write. Over the years I've gone through pounds and pounds of sugar, butter and flour. I've tested out recipes from Thailand, Spain, Italy, China, Vietnam and countless other countries. I've deep fried, sauteed, crystallized, baked, but most of all, I've had so much fun.

The best part of blogging over the years is being inspired by the other bloggers out there in the world. I'm constantly amazed at the creativity of the bakers and home cooks living in the blogosphere. Reading through my Bloglovin' feed tempts me to try new things and motivates me to up my game.

However, recently I've been feeling decidedly uncreative. My time has been taken up by work, travel and life and I haven't been able to spend as much time as I would like here at WITK. This is the reason why my anniversary cake for 2016 is more than a little inspired by Sweetapolita. This cake is directly pulled from her 2015 cookbook. The colors were so cheerful and vibrant, the sprinkles so happy and bright, I decided not to deviate from the original design.

Thankfully, I have a few life changes planned in the next few months. These upcoming changes will hopefully bring me more time for creativity and baking! I have a massive desire to finish my 2015 and 2016 challenges and bring you all more candy than your teeth can handle. Until that time, please enjoy this beautiful cake. It is not only stunning, it is super delicious. Major kudos go to Rosie from Sweetapolita. She is such a talented baker and businesswoman. I want to buy all of her sprinkles!

Thank you all for coming along on this journey with me!

One Year Ago: Strawberry Cake
Two Years Ago: Neapolitan Cake
Three Years Ago: Milky Way Cake
Four Years Ago: Buffalo Sponge Candy Cake
Five Years Ago: Banana Coconut Muffins
Six Years Ago: Chocolate Cupcakes (with high altitude recipe)

Yum, Sprinkles!

Celebration Cupcakes

I'm constantly on the hunt for the perfect chocolate cupcake recipe. I think this one comes pretty close to perfect! The cake is soft and fluffy. The flavor is rich, with the perfect combination of chocolate and coffee. They bake up round and don't fall when cooling. I think I've found my new favorite chocolate cake!

I've called them celebration cupcakes simply because they make me so happy! The fluffy, white marshmallow frosting paired with the shiny chocolate drizzle and colorful sprinkles make this cupcake the perfect one to bring to any special event. Even though they look like they took all day long, each component of the cupcakes comes together really fast! 

I made the cupcakes while my lunch was heating up in the microwave. The frosting requires a bit of attention to heat the eggs, but then you toss it in the stand mixer and walk away. The chocolate glaze is as simple and melt, mix and drizzle.  Trust me, you can make these treats in under two hours. If you have helpers, you can probably knock them out in an hour!

I don't really have anything special to celebrate right now, so I'm sending these cupcakes to work with the boyfriend! Otherwise, I'll eat the entire batch. Maybe in a few weeks we'll have something to celebrate in the Wilde household. Until then, I'll try to eat healthy this summer and keep my cupcake consumption down to one per day!

One year ago: Celebration Sprinkle Cake
Two years ago: Neapolitan Cake
Three years ago: Momofuku Celebration Cake
Four years ago: PB&J Mallomars
Five years ago: Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream

Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Summer has unofficially arrived! I had planned to post these treats a week ago, but silly work got in the way. I was off in Chicago for a conference and completely neglected to share these before I left. Thankfully photos don't go bad and these ice cream sandwiches will be amazing all summer long.

I made something similar last year, but with a different brownie recipe. This recipe (inspired by Cookies & Cups) worked so much better for this purpose! The thin brownies are soft and chewy and perfect to eat right out of the freezer. No need to wait before diving in with your face! 

As per usual, I only celebrate summer with Perry's Ice cream. These brownie ice cream sandwiches were made with the new summer flavor - Deep Sea Treasure. It's caramel ice cream with salted caramel swirls and chocolate bits and paired really well with the sweet and chocolaty brownies. If you aren't in the Perry's Ice Cream shipping zone (Western NY & PA), you can fill these brownies with your favorite flavor. I can't imagine a flavor of ice cream that wouldn't pair well in this recipe. 

I cut the recipe into six ice cream sandwiches and thought they were a little bit big. You might want to cut the slab of browniewich into eight bars when making these yourself. If you want an even thinner layer of brownie, try making them in a 10x15-inch sheet pan! 

You can personalize these browniewiches in so many ways. Add chocolate chips to the brownies! Dunk them in chocolate magic shell! Roll the edges in chocolate sprinkles! Make them your own and then share them with your favorite people. 

Disclaimer - As a part of Perry's Ice Cream Inside Scooper team, I received several pints of the new summer ice cream flavors. I have been a fan of Perry's ever since I was a kid in school. I only work with brands that I love and enjoy and all opinions are my own. Other than free ice cream, I receive no compensation for posting.

One Year Ago: Grasshopper Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches
Three Years Ago: Momofuku Celebration Cake
Four Years Ago: Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes (These are amazing, you should make these too!)
Five Years Ago: Coconut Joys