Cubicle kitchen: Gingerbread Cubed

Gingerbread is one of those things, like fresh cranberries and peppermint-flavored things, that seem to disappear for the most part come January.  And while I understand the value of seasonality and limited availability, I wasn't quite ready to let the warm, spicy comfort of gingerbread go yet.  Plus, I have a few boxes of mix that were on super-duper clearance because of that sudden disappearance.  So last week, I refused to give into the mainstream, and kept the festive flavor going.

More than once, I've used ice cream to enhance a cake mix.  Just the week before, I made one with pineapple mix and coconut sorbet.  But why stop there, I thought?  Why not also utilize this wonderful frozen treat in the frosting of the resulting cake?  Especially when you happen to have a 1/2 gallon of Blue Bell's Gingerbread House.  That's where the 'cubed' comes from in the title, because you've got gingerbread mix, made with gingerbread ice cream, topped with gingerbread frosting.

Gingerbread Cubed
makes a 7 x 11" pan
(adapted from Cookies & Cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Hodson Mills Whole Wheat Gingerbread Mix
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups melted Blue Bell Gingerbread House ice cream (less than what it calls for for cakey gingerbread, more than for roll-out cookies)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, mix the gingerbread mix with the egg and ice cream.
3. Spread the batter (it will be very thick) into a pan lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely.

For the frosting, I used the same Gingerbread House ice cream along with this recipe from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.  I needed the full 5 cups of powdered sugar, then I let it chill for a little while before frosting the cake.  I cut the cake into squares, then used the parchment paper to lift them back into the pan so I could frost them in one big square but not wrestle with actually cutting the cake once the frosting was on.