Matsumoto's: Shave Ice with a Surprise



My sister Aulani and I getting really excited!

It's a given.  If you visit the North Shore, you stop at Matsumoto's. 

I love stopping at Matsumoto's because that means two very important things have happened: I'm home! And we're driving to the North Shore!

Of course there are probably hundreds of shave ice places on Oahu, but Matsumoto's has always been my go-to stop since I was a little girl.  (By the way, say "shaved" and you'll get a slap on the head from a local.  You're welcome, Greg).

The drive to the North Shore is one of my favorite things to do when I'm back at home visiting family and friends.  It's not hard to see why.  The gist is, you drive around the beautiful island viewing some of the most gorgeous scenery in the world, occasionally stopping to eat some of the best food in the world.  Perhaps you can see why I like this idea.


Wonderful Waimea Bay



Lush Pali Lookout

And as much as I love New York, and all of the wonderful places I have had the privilege of visiting, for me, Hawaii has the best of everything, especially when it comes to food. 



The iconic sign that hangs above the little shave ice shack

Shave ice is such a lovely treat, especially after a hot day at the beach.  So after a stop at Waimea Bay, we pulled into a pretty packed Matsumoto's parking lot.  Normally we battle it out with vans and buses full of tourists, and a line snaking around the corner, but today was our lucky day: a parking spot under the trees, and a line of only 20 people!  Score!

One of the reasons I love this place is that even though it's incredibly successful, they've kept everything pretty much the same, just as I remember it years ago.   

So many flavors, so little time!

Despite the abundance of flavors, I tend to stick to a few favorites: coconut, guava and lychee.  Trust me, I've tried almost every flavor, and I officially declare these three as the best.  

Icy, sugary, bean-filled yumminess

The really cool thing about Matsumoto's is that in addition to the finely shaved ice, you can choose your own surprise!  At the bottom of your little cone, you can choose from ice cream, azuki beans or both.  I was feeling beany so I went with the lovely, slightly sweet azuki beans. 

Getting down to the good stuff

After slurping every last drop of sugary syrup, fishing out every last bean, and taking a bite of my mom's ice cream, we bid farewell to our favorite little shave ice stop. 

A hui ho, Matsumoto's.

Matsumoto Shave Ice

66-087 Kamehameha Hwy

Haleiwa, HI 96712

808-637-4827 www.matsumotoshaveice.com

The Incredible Edible Ice Cream Birthday Cupcake

I just love birthdays.  Of course I love celebrating my birthday most of all, but I also adore celebrating anyone's birthday because birthdays mean BIRTHDAY CAKE!  Hooray!

Well hello,  Fudge.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a vanilla cake kinda girl.  I like to keep life interesting.  So when my sister Aulani's birthday approached, and she asked for an ice cream cake, I thought well, anyone can make an ice cream cake.  I take your ice cream cake and raise you.  And just how do you take ice cream cake to the next level?  Ice cream cupcakes, of course.

I have never made an ice cream cake nor ice cream cupcakes, but I was confident that because ice cream would be included--in the form of the cupcake no less--that no matter what happened, these things were going to be phenomenal.  (I was right.)

Oreo cookie crumb crust...a really good start.

I started with cute little sports cupcake holders (we're big sports people).  My mom suggested an easy crust--crushed Oreo cookies mixed with melted butter.  Please do me a favor: if you find pre-crushed Oreos, don't tell me.  One of the most hilariously fun things about this on-the-fly recipe was my mom and I peeling off the Oreo lard and crushing them into tiny pieces.  Trust me, do it by hand and watch the laughter (and Oreo crumbs) fly.

I continued to build the cupcake by adding two separate layers of ice cream--Pralines and Cream and Cookies and Cream--both favorites of the birthday girl.  (A Redo Tip: I'd grab two or three different colored flavors--say, chocolate, strawberry and green tea--so the difference in the layers really pops).   I topped it with whipped cream, drizzled it in dark chocolate fudge, and added fun sprinkles on top.  Voila!  A super easy, colorful, fun, and decadent birthday treat!

Happy Birthday Aulani!

We quickly sang Happy Birthday (hello hot candles sitting on ice cream), and each promptly devoured our refreshing little "cakes".  The cookie crust combined with the ice cream, fudge, and whipped cream was pure yumminess.  And really easy to make.  Also, I can't say enough about the convenient portability of this little treat--very easy to grab and go, or stick in the freezer for another time.  

The birthday girl, ridiculously excited about
the most incredible ice cream cupcakes ever invented.

Champagne Almond Cupcakes with Raspberries

The now famous Champagne Almond Cupcakes with Raspberries

The name alone makes me smile.

My friend Sylvia was having her annual Summer BBQ and I wanted to make something spectacular.  So I thought, what better way to properly celebrate any event than with champagne?  And I love cupcakes...hmmmm...what would happen if I combine them?  Sheer genius.

I was pressed for time so I decided to wing it.  Btw I should warn you that this is a common theme--I know baking is a sciencey artform blah blah blah.  But life is short people and who has the time to test 5 different iterations of champagne cupcakes before their big debut?  I prefer to have a general idea of what I want to do, and then I cross my fingers.

I decided to skip some steps and bought a box of Duncan Hines white cake mix.  I substituted the water with champagne, added some almond extract, and gave it a stir.  It was light, airy, a bit bubbly.  But the best thing about the batter (and I am a very experienced fan of batter so I say this with confidence), it wasn't overly sweet.  Too many times when I make box mixes, the dough is so incredibly sweet it makes your teeth hurt.  Not this batter.  It was lovely, even elegant.

But I wasn't sure how it would hold up in the oven.  So I waited with bated breath and tried not to check on them every few minutes.  Luckily they came out perfectly.

I then added some almond extract to a creamy white frosting, gave it a vigorous stir, and gently placed a dollop on top of each one.  I swirled the frosting to a tip in the middle so they resembled a little fluffy cloud.  I then placed two fresh red raspberries on top and voila, the Champagne Almond Cupcake with Raspberries was born.

They disappeared shortly after this picture was taken

But how did they taste and how did people react?  They were a HUGE HIT and the talk of the party! (This may have something to do with the fact that I was running around asking people, "So what do you think of my delicious cupcakes?" "You should totally try the cupcakes, I hear they're to die for.")

My fabulous sister Aulani enjoying the cupcake
with a glass of almond champagne