"I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!"
~ Johnson, Moll, & King, the "Ice Cream" song, 1927
We're having a birthday BBQ for our cousin Sarena, and while I was asking her what kind of cake and ice cream she liked, I thought it might be cool to combine them and make her an ice cream cake! She likes chocolate cake, and she said mocha almond fudge was a favorite ice cream of hers. I just happened to have a box of chocolate fudge cake mix, too (next year I'll make you the cake part from scratch, Sarena!). Perfect! I whipped up the cake batter.
The "recipe" I found online (it was really just instructions, but they were helpful!) for ice cream cake had just one layer of cake and one layer of ice cream (like how they apparently do at Baskin-Robbins - I can't remember), but I thought it would be cool to have the ice cream in the middle of two cake layers, like a regular cake would have, so I divided the batter into two tins, one having just a little more than the other (the thicker one would be the base layer).
After the cakes were cool, I wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. The recipe I was using called for ice cream in "a rectangular carton", but I couldn't find mocha almond fudge in those. The closest I could find was coffee ice cream from Breyer's, which was in a somewhat rectangular container. I like Breyer's anyway (they don't have a bunch of crap in their ice cream like some others), so I figured it was the closest we'd be able to get. When the cakes had been in the freezer for a while, I decided it was time to put the "ice cream" in our "ice cream cake" - ha ha ha! I inverted the container and cut away at the carton. The ice cream was softer than I thought it would be, so it was a little messy. I used a piece of floss to cut the block in half, then put the slices side by side on the silicone mat.
I put the thicker layer of cake on top of the ice cream (like my Giant manicure?). The cake and ice cream went back into the freezer for a bit to firm up again - the ice cream was really melty!
After some time in the freezer, I got another cookie sheet ready, and flipped the cake and ice cream over onto it. I smoothed out the ice cream - it wasn't too bad that the ice cream was a bit soft - I got to spread it out onto the cake pretty easily. I just had to work fast.
On went the second layer of cake, and the whole thing went back into the freezer again.
One of the commenters on the recipe I was using said a great frosting to use was actually MORE ice cream, and I thought, "Why not?" After the whole cake got to chill a bit more, I started frosting the cake with vanilla ice cream.
Here's the "frosted" cake!
Now, I was actually supposed to cover this with crushed Butterfinger candy bars, since they're Sarena's favorite, but with everything going on with the BBQ, I completely forgot (I bought four of them, too!). When it was originally served, it was plain like this, but later I added the candy bars (sorry, Sarena! I'll make it up to you!). Here's a shot of the original (and a nice shot of the layers), and then a shot of how it was intended to be (they were both delicious):
This was really yummy, and not that complicated to make. I would just suggest allowing PLENTY of time to make this cake though, so you can let it sit in the freezer for a few hours between steps (that will definitely make the process less messy). Also, don't forget time to let the cake(s) cool before freezing (to firm), and remember to have everything you'll need for the current step on hand so you're not running around like crazy while the ice cream melts all over the place!
If you have a special event coming up, and you (or the guest of honor) likes ice cream and cake (who doesn't?), I'd totally recommend making your own ice cream cake for the occasion. You're limited only by your imagination as far as the fun combinations you can come up with!
Related Links:
Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix 18.25oz (Pack of 2)
Butterfinger King Size, 3.7-Ounce Candy Bars (Pack of 18)
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