
Lemon meringue cupcake
I have one particular guy friend who pretty much doubles as my evil fraternal twin despite the fact that we were born two and a half years and several hundred thousand miles apart. I mentioned Floyd in passing during the Aberdeen buttery rowie entry from a couple or so weeks ago as the Scots lad whom I asked if his local baker made butteries during the summer. We met whilst discussing story concepts for a possible teleplay and have since grown to be fast friends and fellow foodies.
The past few weeks have been punctuated by round upon round of online one-upmanship sessions between us as we’ve been constantly trying to outdo each other with regard to home cooking, home baking, grocery finds, and local restaurants. I’ve accused him of not playing fair as his lovely Missus lends him a hand while I have to do all my kitchen work alone. On the other hand, he accuses me of not playing fair as I live and work in places where really good restaurants and specialty food shops are but a hop, skip, jump, or a phone call away.
So far, the battles have always ended in a draw and I supposed they would pretty much stay that way till a couple days ago when I was telling Floyd about CBD, a burger and cheesesteak joint over at the Ayala Triangle that serves superb sandwiches and has a rather ingenious way of serving desserts.
ME They call it a Shake and Bake.
Floyd Shake and Bake? Isn’t that an American breading mix?
ME Yeah, but in this case, it’s a cake blitzed into a milkshake.
Floyd What?! Bluidy hell, what a notion! Is it any good?
ME The rumor mill says so; I’ve not tried it myself though. But I’ve a notion to spin it out at home. 😀
Floyd Ye’re bonkers, woman. (Pause.) But do lemme know if it works, ‘kay?

A cupcake, some ice cream, a glass of milk; looks like we're set...
That’s right: you toss a slice of cake, pie, or cheesecake (or a cupcake, single-serve cheesecake, or a small pie) into a blender along with the usual ingredients for a milkshake, blitz it into a liquid, pour it into a glass and enjoy it. The idea was featured in Food Network Magazine a few months ago, too.
All that said, I went out and picked up a really lovely lemon meringue cupcake from Frostings (P 45.00 each – and they’re pretty big ones, too). It’s a lush, moist, buttery, citrusy treat on its own as the cake is just yummy with tiny bits of lemon zest punctuating each bite and the lemon curd within and the crisp-tipped meringue on top make it utterly irresistible. Tossed into a milkshake, however, I had my reservations: would it end up ludicrously sludgy and unappealing?
Thank goodness, my fears were unfounded when I tried it out this morning! (Yes, I’m mad enough to have these things for breakfast!) It all blended up into a gorgeously smooth drink with wee bits of lemon zest to keep it interesting. Despite the sugar in the meringue, it wasn’t very sweet and the lemon flavor was balanced beautifully by the mild vanilla ice cream I used.

All gone! Sorry, Floyd...
Floyd told me to send him pictures if it all worked out, including the one with the glass above: that glass devoid of everything save for some foamy smudges on the sides. So as I am writing this particular blog entry, my evil twin is in a chat window in another tab plotting nefariously…
Floyd The missus and I were thinking of tossing a slab of raspberry tart in with a few scoops o’ raspberry ripple ice cream an’ some strawberry milk. 3:)
ME Hah! My officemates and I were thinking of tossing in a slice of apple streusel pie with some caramel ice cream, a dab or two of homemade butterscotch, and full-fat milk. (Pause.) Plus a dusting of cinnamon on top.
Floyd Hah! Child’s play, lass! One wee chocolate lava cake, chocolate ice cream, chocolate milk, and a swirl o’ chocolate syrup!
ME Bo-o-oring! Kahlua-drenched mocha cupcake, coffee almond crumble ice cream, half bottled cafe au lait, and half single cream. (Smug grin.)
Floyd (Pause; glare.) Bring it, woman; bring it!
And so it goes, dear SybDive reader; so it goes…

Shaken, not stirred: just like Mr. Bond likes his martinis...
Lemon Meringue Cake Smoothie
- 1 large lemon meringue cupcake or 1 medium slice lemon meringue pie or 1 small lemon tart/tart au citron
- 8 oz. very cold milk
- 1 generous scoop vanilla ice cream or 1 vanilla ice cream cup
- a few ice cubes
Put all the ingredients together in a blender. Cover and blend on maximum speed for 30 seconds. (If using an Osterizer Pulse-matic blender, set on Liquefy.) Drop speed to medium (Frappe on an Osterizer) and blend an additional 30 seconds. Pour into a 16 oz. glass. Serves 1.
Variations: The banter between me and Floyd above should give you some ideas. Plus, if you want a thicker shake, skip the ice cubes and add an additional scoop of ice cream. Other combinations are as follows:
- 1 slice blueberry cheesecake or 1 mini blueberry cheesecake + vanilla ice cream + milk
- 4 rose macarons + vanilla ice cream + splash rose water (or a tablespoon of Indian rose syrup) + milk
- 1 slice rum bundt cake + rum raisin ice cream + milk
- 1 slice plain cheesecake + cheese ice cream + milk
- 1 slice ube cake + ube ice cream + unskimmed carabao’s milk + a few pastillas de leche