So... by now you know that I have my heart set on making my own cake for my wedding this fall. I'm also determined to make ice cream to go along with it. (Using my new toy!) I'm planning one kind of ice cream and one kind of sorbet. I have a few ideas on flavors, but I'd love some input from you, dear readers.
What kind of ice cream goes best with lemon and chocolate cakes?
For my wedding cakes I am making both a fudgy chocolate cake, very little flour included. This will be dense and moist and hold up well in the freezer.
The other cake will be Gourmet's Lemon Olive Oil cake - one my husband-to-be's favorite desserts. It's light, luscious, and also very freezer-friendly.
Neither will be frosted; I may slap a little stiffened whipped cream between double layers of the chocolate cakes and stack them up on cake stands, while the lemon cakes will get garnishes of seasonal fruit and powdered sugar.
So that's the menu. What kind of ice cream goes with both these cakes? Sorbet too? have some ideas - namely plain old vanilla or rich honey ice cream. For sorbet I may go with an herbal sorbet, or a raspberry. Any better ideas for me? Remember the season - the wedding is near the end of September.
Related: Wedding Friday: Customized Recipe Cards
P.S. - Watch out next week! We have a big announcement coming up...and it's all about ice cream!
(Images: Faith Hopler; Flickr member I am K.E.B licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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Mmmm. I normally don't like weddings, but your menu is making me rethink my position!
But anyways . . . ginger ice cream might go well with both.
I think fennel or anise ice cream would be a really interesting choice.
I would like caramel or pistachio with either one. Raspberry would also be good with either, and blueberry would be good with lemon.
A jasmine tea infused ice cream could go nicely with both. (Or an earl grey or a lady grey if you wanted a different tea option.)
A blood orange sorbet would be striking and would also go well with both.
I also recently made a white chocolate ice cream with a raspberry ripple that would work well with both flavors. Gourmet's website also recently featured a sour cream ice cream which could be a nice rich neutral-but-interesting option.
Good luck with the process!
I was going to say raspberry sorbet... but Julie beat me to it. Lemon/raspberry is a great combo, as is chocolate and raspberry (my mouth is watering at the idea of a moist chocolate cake whose richness is cut by a thin film of raspberry jam!)
As far as the icecream goes, you could go with a gentle sweetened cream cheese or marscapone flavor. Not terribly exciting, but smooth and delicious.
Strawberry or raspberry are the first flavours that come to mind as going well with both (and being delicious on their own for those who aren't fans of cake).
mint ice cream or sorbet would work, as well as the above mentioned strawberry or raspberry. Rhubarb sorbet could also work.
I vote for ginger. I know ginger ice cream is delightful with both lemon and chocolate ice creams so I'd assume it would go well with cakes. Lavender might also be very nice.
coconut sorbet!
Lavender sorbet/ice cream might work with both those cakes
Last weekend I made a lychee sorbet with a small bit of ginger that made it so good, the very definition of a palate cleanser. I love lychees. I don't know if I can recommend it with lemon or chocolate but it would be a delicious experiment.
yumm...lavender and honey ice cream and pistachio sorbet... both go with both cakes!
i think blueberry and lemon is a match made in heaven, so maybe that'd be appropriate for the celebration of a human match made in heaven. :) congratulations, by the way!
I definitely second the ginger idea, but I would take it a step farther and think ginger bread. I love pairing gingerbread with lemon curd and/or chocolate ice cream so I'd imagine a gingerbread inspired ice cream would blend wonderfully with both cakes.
I'm thinking something nutty might go nicely with these two cakes -- maybe this Pine Nut Honey Ice Cream?
I love the idea of jasmine tea ice cream!
This recipe uses my favourite jasmine tea, Dragon Pearls, or Dragon Tears -- it is so beautifully scented...
http://figswithbri.com/?p=33
A palate-cleanser of Champagne sorbet or raspberry sorbet would be nice.
Have to put in another plug for my favourite flavour though -- lemon ice cream. Lemon sorbet can be too tart or too sweet, but lemon ice cream is perfectly balanced -- lemony, but smooth. I think it would be a lovely accompaniment to the lemon cake.
So... chocolate cake with jasmine ice cream, lemon cake with lemon ice cream, and palate cleansers of either champagne sorbet or raspberry. Mmmm....
I agree with the berry votes ... raspberry sorbet or a homemade berry ice cream would be divine with either cake.
I love coffee ice cream with chocolate cake...yummm.
As for the lemon cake, everyone else made great suggestions!
Vanilla. Really. I know it's ordinary. But vanilla tastes wonderful with both flavors!
I had a lavender and wild honey ice cream with my chocolate wedding cake. I think the flavor profiles would go well with either cake -or a simple rasberry would also go great with either cake.
Raspberry with either!
What about mint ice cream? Unless the mint flavor might overpower the cake, I would try mint (peppermint or spearmint).