Friday, May 8, 2009

"Potted Plant" Ice Cream Cake - Giving Mom the Gift of Edible Dirt

The potted plant has always been a popular Mother's Day gift. Available at any grocery store, this foil-wrapped afterthought does a great job showing just how little effort you spent. Well, this year's going to be different.

This "potted plant" ice cream cake is so easy to make, and it's as beautiful as it is delicious. No matter how disappointed your mother is in you, one look at this creative cake you made for her, and she is guaranteed to be slightly less disappointed.

By the way, do a little research and use her favorite cake, ice cream, and flowers in its construction. I really hope you give this a try, and show her just how much you really do care. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
ceramic flower pot(s)
pound cake
ice cream
oreo cookies
flowers
straws

Thanks to a commenter, we have identified the website where I first saw this. You can see the original post here on thepioneerwoman.com.

36 comments:

Adrian said...

This is great, Chef John! I think I'll try it out someday and surprise my wife (she loves flowers). But she's not a big fan of sweets and hates chocolate (weird, right?), so I'll have to get creative and use some of her favorites.

Hey, I'm lucky she loves flowers more than jewelry! But what about those who are not so fortunate? Any ideas for edible jewelry? ;)

nigritude.short said...

this is good. i'm gonna do this! thanks John!!

Guat said...

man you really save my mother's day present hehe :) great great copied idea
love it
thankz a lot

Anonymous said...

hehe very creative!

Anonymous said...

My mom has made dirt "dessert" for a few years now, but it was more of a pudding base instead of ice cream.

When the cake is for kids, she thows in a couple those gummy worms.

Afua said...

This recipe, and your commentary in the video, reminds me why I love your site. Keep the great Food Wishes Videos coming.

Chef John said...

what? you needed reminding? ;-)

Anonymous said...

reminder: SOME glazes are not food safe.
Luisa Vacaville

Chef John said...

true, but I believe that's more for serving hot food isn't it?

The Science Dogood said...

How do you eat it???!!!!

Chef John said...

you scoop it into a bowl and use what we refer to in the business as a "spoon" which will transfer small amounts from the bowl or plate to your mouth. It's quite easy once you get the hang of it.

Jesse from Detroit said...

CJ to the Holiday rescue.. =)

An Ng. said...

Alas, finally my mother's disappointment in me will subside! This should more than make up for everything I've done/failed to do so far.

The Warren Family said...

all you need is a gummy worm (-:
Very cool idea! Love your website!

Mari said...

Oh my god, this might be one of the cutest things ever! Don't be surprised if this idea pops up on 1-800-flowers eventually.

Anonymous said...

I daresay you originally found it at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/04/springy-flower-pot-desserts-a-blast-from-my-past/ since it was posted on tastespotting.com about a year ago.

...and I still haven't tried making it yet.

SheREXpdx said...

This is great, wish my mom was was in portland. Im totally making it for my friends though, they will love it.

CollegeGourmet said...

Haha, this is pretty creative!
Your mom won't even know how little effort it took hehe

Unknown said...

THATS SO COOL!!!!!!!

Ela said...

very creative. definitely PLUS points from mom. I still have time to make them for my mom! Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Leaching out of lead in glazes used in foreign countries like China, Mexico, comes from storage in the container. Acid foods are the worst culprits, like fruits, fruit juices, vinegar, lemon juice, wine or tomato based sauces. Milk has lactic acid.
However they do make bowls that are "flowerpot style" that are food safe. Of course they are pricier.
If you line it with plastic wrap and don't keep the stuff in there too long, probably okay.
Luisa Vacaville

Chef John said...

i think i'm ok, it was in there a very short time ;-)

milkshake said...

lets snack on this potted ice-cream flower while riding a subway train and watching the puzzled reactions of strangers. I think dark chocoloate ice-cream would be called for as to not to give away the joke.

Judy R. said...

I loved this idea
I made some but used ice cream cones for the "pot" and baked the cake right into them.
I then iced them and put the "dirt" on top of that and place a flower in a straw.
The result was really cute.

Thanks for the great idea!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3543/3516189241_2afaedbbb0.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3516188819_a0e6794141.jpg?v=0

Food Of Miami said...

SHUT UP!! SO COOL!!!

Anonymous said...

you probably got it from this website.. it'd be nice if you mentioned them.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/04/springy-flower-pot-desserts-a-blast-from-my-past/

Chef John said...

yes, that was it! I added a credit link at the bottom of the post, thanks!

asd said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Adriana A. said...

Thanks so much chef John!!
I made 6 flower pots (mother, grandmother and aunts) by filling them with (2 layers of) Sarah Lee pound cake, different kinds of ice creams and smashed Oreos.
You can't imagine all the praise I got today! Everyone said it was a very thoughfull, unique and delicious gift! (And all of them were skeptical when I told them to try the "dirt" haha!)
The gifts were very worth the (about) $4 i invested for each of the filled pots, including the real flowers.
I wish I could post the pictures of the pots over here, they all turned out so colorfull!
It was a beautifull idea and fun experience, and i think I will repeat it next year!
Thanks chef John for your help, recipes and ideas!

-Adriana A. Hernández (Honduras, C.A.)

Chef John said...

thanks! please post your photos on the new fan page! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Wishes-Video-Recipes/75435231614

Adriana A. said...

I closed my facebook a couple of weeks ago :( but if I still had my FB, i would be a fan of the page!
Maybe I could send you the pics so you could post them if you like?
-A.

Unknown said...

IT'S YOU! if you were Italian...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPZHy7b8yOI&feature=related

Sepi said...

This is very life-like. I made this for my mom's birthday yesterday. I had promised her a birthday dessert and her reaction of disappointment was pretty funny: "That's nice...but where is the dessert?"

Paola said...

I made this today! My mother was horrified when I asked her, "Happy Valentines Day mom! Now eat it."

Unknown said...

This video is not available in your country. 8(

Chef John said...

Sorry, YouTube bug. They are looking at it.