Cookbook Preview: ‘Buttercream Dreams’ tells story of Smallcakes’ sweet success

This summer favorite will remind you of the bell of the ice cream truck coming through the neighborhood. The one thing better about this version is you don’t have to worry about the sun melting it away so fast — you can slowly savor the creamy orange goodness.

Cupcakes:

Orange Buttercream:

To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl using a hand mixer, blend together the butter, sugar and orange zest on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at time, blending well after each addition.

Measure the cream into a liquid measuring cup, and stir in the orange juice, orange extract and vanilla extract. With a hand mixer on low speed, work in three separate batches, blending in the flour mixture alternating with the cream mixture. Be sure to begin and end with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined after each addition.

Fill each cup three-quarters full with batter. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, rotating the muffin tin once halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool several minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

To make the orange buttercream: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the powdered sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase the speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add the vanilla, cream, orange extract and orange food coloring and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream for the desired consistency if needed.

Transfer the frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cupcake. Garnish with a small orange slice just before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

When you take a bite, you’ll be rewarded with a chewy chocolate chip cookie taste filled with little tiny pockets of marshmallow and finished with a little crunch from the cornflakes. Pure magic.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl using a hand mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla on high for 2 to 3 minutes, until creamy. Gradually add the flour mixture in two separate additions, mixing on low until the dough just comes together.

Add the chocolate chips and mix on low to distribute. Reserve handful of the marshmallows to decorate the cookies and add the remaining marshmallows to the dough, mixing on low until evenly distributed.

Carefully mix in the cornflakes by hand so they don’t get too crushed. Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into golf ball-size balls and place on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Press a marshmallow or two on top of each cookie. Make sure they have ample room to spread out. Bake for 13 minutes, until light brown. Let cool on the baking sheet.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

My son, Jax, loves Nutella. One morning he asked if he could help make a Nutella ice cream. So we started experimenting that day and came up with this very popular ice cream.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, half-and-half, 1 cup of the Nutella and the salt. Set aside.

Place a few cups of ice in a large bowl. Set a medium bowl inside the larger bowl of ice. Place a fine strainer over the medium bowl and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat until just before it comes to the boil (it will bubble along the edges). Turn off the heat. Slowly whisk the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture, a little at a time, being careful not to curdle the eggs. Once incorporated, pour the entire custard mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it thickens slightly. The custard is ready when it coats the back of a spoon. (If you want to use a candy thermometer, you’re shooting for 175 degrees.) Pour the custard through the strainer into the medium bowl. Add just enough water to the ice so that the cold water rises up to the level of the custard. Stir the custard occasionally until it is cool. Remove from the ice bath and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for several hours.

Place a 1-quart storage container in the freezer, preferably something flat so that it’s easy to swirl in the remaining Nutella. Transfer the chilled custard to an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Fill the frozen container halfway with the ice cream. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the Nutella all over the surface. With a fork, swirl it through the ice cream. Break up large blobs of Nutella because once frozen, they are hard to chew and make the ice cream challenging to scoop.

Cover with the remaining ice cream. Swirl the remaining 1/4 cup Nutella into the ice cream.

Cover and freeze for a few hours or overnight. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up 2 weeks.