- Itsy Bitsy Foodies - http://itsybitsyfoodies.com -

Baseball Brownies à la Mode

 

If you’re searching for a quick yet festive dessert for a {belated} Father’s Day, the College World Series, a baseball team party or any other baseball-themed party, look no further.  These Baseball Brownies à la Mode are perfect for any baseball fan and the combo of chocolate cake or brownies, vanilla ice cream and raspberry jam is a homerun.

Grandma recently gave my older son baseball mitt and bat cookie cutters.  Instead of making cookies for their inaugural use, we cut shapes out of a pan of our favorite chocolate cake.  {It would work equally well with brownies or any cake coated with chocolate frosting.}

A scoop of vanilla ice cream centered in the chocolate mitt and decorated with raspberry jam makes the baseball.  Our homemade raspberry jam is on the chunkier side and it was a little difficult to pipe exact lines when clumps of berries and seeds got stuck in the tip.  I still opted to use the jam {over red icing} because of the natural red color and the aforementioned winning combo of chocolate, vanilla and raspberry.  If I was making these for a party and wanted more exact baseball details I would take the time to either strain the jam or make a raspberry coulis.

Taking pictures of this one was hard!  My son’s fingers ended up in most of the photos.  Looking through my picture file I can hear his excited voice: Mommy, it looks like a baseball!  Can I eat it?!

Baseball Brownies à la Mode
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4+
 
The combo of chocolate cake or brownies, vanilla ice cream and raspberry jam is a homerun.
Ingredients
  • Vanilla ice cream
  • Raspberry Jam
Chocolate Cake
  • 2 squares unsweetened chocolate
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Chocolate Cake
  1. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts.
  2. Cream the shortening and the sugar.
  3. Stir in the eggs and then add the melted chocolate/water mixture.
  4. Add the flour and baking soda alternately with the buttermilk and vanilla, mixing the ingredients together until a smooth batter forms.
  5. Pour the cake batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 pan + a greased and floured 8x8 pan.
  6. Bake the cake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out clean.
Baseball "Brownies" à la Mode
  1. Let the cake or brownies cool completely so that they do not break or crumble when you are making the shapes.
  2. Cut out baseball gloves and bats using cookie cutters or patterns.
  3. Place them on a plate and warm them if desired.
  4. Top each baseball glove with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
  5. Spoon some raspberry jam into a piping bag or a Ziploc bag and pipe the baseball stitches.
  6. Serve the dessert immediately.