Squishy Science

Well, I finally broke down and bought some Cakesters. It had to be done--in the name of science.

Allow me to explain. I'm trying out some new ice cream sandwich combinations for my upcoming column. In the research, using regular Oreos, dismantled, as the exterior of the sandwich didn't work too well. The ice cream squirted out the side. You know like Newton theorized, every action (biting into the sandwich) has an equal and opposite reaction (the ice cream fleeing out the sides).

We needed softer "bread" for our sandwiches. Hence, Oreo Cakesters, billed as "soft snack cakes," seemed like the answer.

Split in half, they certainly worked better than regular Oreos as an ice cream pseudo-sandwich. In general, though, I'm not wild about the Cakesters' texture. But I never liked Devil Dogs,either.

As for the name, I think they'd sell better as "Fluffy Oreos." Then again, maybe not.

When I told the Spoonstress' visiting friend Jeanne about this "project," she made a day-saving suggestion: 'Have you tried assembling the ice cream sandwiches and then freezing them?'

Of course I hadn't, because that would have made too much sense. Not only does this method help the sandwiches keep their shape, it reduces the "squish out the sides factor." Freezing the ice cream into shape--now there's some science for you.

Sandwich Situation

The Spoonstress, Peter and I had fun playing with our food last night. More specifically, our dessert.

We were testing different ice cream "sandwiches," the definition of which was pretty flexible. Some combinations of filling and "bread" were better than others (I'll spell that out more in the column), but one thing that doesn't work is any kind of ice cream between two Oreo halves.

As you can see, it got messy. The filling--orange sherbet here--squirted out upon first bite. The conclusion: Oreos are too hard for ice cream sandwiches. In the long term, soft is good. In the short term, we went with the open-faced ice cream sandwich (pictured here).

It wasn't a solution for making an ice cream sandwich, but it was a tasty solution to a messy situation. Learning from our mistakes, I was resigned to not using Oreos in ice cream sandwiches. Then I saw them.

Oreo Cakesters.

They're supposedly "the classic taste of Oreo in a soft snack cake." While opinions on this new product vary, I'm sure they'll at least hold the ice cream well (Even if they are a blatant Devil Dogs rip off). Then again, aren't they just regular ice cream sandwich wafers??