Written by: Christie Kitlam Wong

Featuring: Mariam Zaidi

Ah cakes, the one true constant in life, a food that even the lactose intolerant will risk his/her bowels for.

Fun fact: the brownie was named for its colour. I know! Anyway, brownies are bars of chocolate-y cake-but-not-a-cake that you see in those American shows. Honestly, this author has never tasted one.

Ever since quarantine happened way back almost 3 months ago, I’m almost sure that everytime we open social media, most of us will be blessed by stories and posts of people cooking and of course, baking. What’s a lockdown story without at least looking at something trendy online and attempting it in your own kitchen? For Mariam it is no exception. 

So tell me, how did you come up with such a unique looking cake?

“I call it the brownie ice cream cake. It’s kind of a funny story actually. I saw it on Pinterest and tried to make an ice cream cake with a magic shell topping. I ended up forgetting to freeze it beforehand and the topping ended up mixing into the ice cream. Hence, the brown layer we all see on top (laughs). I had to refreeze everything and improvise with the biscuits and other stuff because it was too late to go out during the lockdown. Another thing was that I was making it for guests so it had to look good, even though it ended up looking nothing like the one from Pinterest. “ 

 

It certainly is quite the ‘Expectation versus Reality’ situation here but it turned out for the better. I would say this is a unique cake.

“Definitely. I wouldn’t be  able to remake this cake the same way at all since it happened unexpectedly.”

 

Would you say you have a sweet tooth since you made such a sweet treat?

“Funnily enough, I don’t actually eat a lot of sweets myself because I’ll get sick. I prefer making them for other people because desserts make everyone happy.”

 

That is very sweet of you. Have you been making since you were young or was it something that sprung up during the lockdown?

“I love cooking and baking so I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. In Malaysia, I don’t get to bake as much since I don’t have much time. Of course, I would feel more at home in my own kitchen.”

 

I see. So did anyone special encourage you to join the cook-off?

“My sister kind of did because she’s usually the photographer for my creations and because I didn’t tell any of my friends to vote, we thought there’s no harm in sending the picture because I wouldn’t win anyway. I had no expectations of winning at all.”

 

Things turned out for the better and you won anyway with that beautiful creation of yours. I can never stop staring at all. Would you mind telling me how you made it?

“Alright. So, I used your typical brownie mix where I baked the brownies according to instructions and added it to the bottom of my preferred pan. Then I layered the ice cream over the brownie and froze it. You can skip the freezing if you want a colour similar to the picture.  I made the magic shell by adding a 1:2 ratio of coconut oil to chocolate chips and heated it in a saucepan until it melted together. I then added the hot mixture over the ice cream. Be careful because the chocolate solidifies if the ice cream is frozen beforehand and mixes into the ice cream if not.  Then I topped it with my preferred toppings and froze it for 4-5 hours.”

 

Wow! That seems like an easy recipe to follow, even for beginners like me. Alright, what do you plan to do with the money that you’ve won?

“I’d like to buy something nice for my sister or my friends. Or maybe I’d save it up.”

And that’s ano-