Friday, June 25, 2010

Decadent Two Tone Ice Cream Cake

Ahhhh, summer.  End of school.  Picking fruits, going to the beach, going to the park, playground, crafts, library, get togethers with friends and family...  We always celebrate the end of the school year.  (And we also celebrate the beginning of the school year).  I wanted to make an ice cream cake, I thought it would be fun.  Besides it has just been to muggy for baking.  I did a search on the internet for an ice cream cake.  I found some good ones but they were not really kid friendly.  Then there were some that called for Oreos.  While I have nothing against Oreos, in fact it's one of my favorite store bought cookies, I wanted to use what I had. After some research and thought I came up with a plan for the cake. 

You know ice cream cakes are SO EXPENSIVE.  It's really amazing how easy (albeit time consuming) they are to make.  The hardest part is getting the ice cream into layers.

Decadent Two Tone Ice Cream Cake
Of course you can use any flavors you want.  This is merely a guideline of what I did.  Sprinkle nuts in if you like too! You could even do a banana split theme.  The possibilities are endless.

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1/2 gallon chocolate ice cream
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
1 stick of butter
1/3 cup dulce de leche or caramel
4 cups rice crispy cereal
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar

equipment needed:
1- 10 inch spring form pan (chill ahead of time if you can)
cookie sheet
plastic wrap
rubber spatula

Melt chocolate in a large bowl with butter- either in the microwave or a double boiler.  Spoon out half of chocolate/ganache mixture into a measuring cup.  Add rice crispy cereal to the chocolate in the large bowl and stir until combined.  Spread out on cookie sheet and let cool.

Take a 10" spring form pan and place plastic wrap on bottom and up sides if you don't want to deal with struggling to get the cake out after it freezes. 

Soften either the chocolate or the vanilla ice cream.  Because the ice cream melts at different rates, you need to spoon the softened ice cream into the spring form pan and place the pan in the freezer until the rest of the ice cream softens.  Once the first layer of ice cream is in, sprinkle the chocolate rice crispy cereal over the top.  Spoon dulce de leche over the crispy chocolate cereal.  With a spoon spread it out as best as you can.  Place pan back in the freezer. 

Place next 1/2 gallon of ice cream on the counter and repeat the process. Once all the ice cream is smoothed into the pan return to the freezer once again. Spread reserved ganache over this layer once it is firmed up.  Finally whip up the heavy cream until frothy, sprinkle in sugar.  Whip until peaks form.  Smooth the whipped cream over the top.  Decorate top at this point if you like.  Return to freezer.

Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving.

Note:  I kept the spring form pan on a cookie sheet because it did dribble out of the pan a little.

15 comments:

vanillasugarblog said...

lori! i love ice cream cake. and hate waiting for the layers to come together. i have family in rochester and will find you & this cake. LOL

Avril said...

Absolutely decadent that is for sure!!!! What a great job you did on this cake! How did you decorate the top of the cake?

Lori said...

You are welcome. You know I would make you something good.

Avril- I used plastic chocolate. It sounds weird but it is just white chocolate with corn syrup and coloring. There is a post about it on my site. http://lipsmackinggoodness.blogspot.com/2009/02/daring-bakers-flourless-chocolate-cake.html

Dana said...

Hey Lori! Taking a few minutes to catch up on your cooking and baking adventures, and may I just say that my Domino's pizza tonight seems so very inadequate right now! LOL! That cold asian noodle dish looks so yummalicious! And ice cream cake, there's just no beating it. Awesome job!

Joanne said...

I can't think of any better way to celebrate the end of school than with this cake! My mom always used to take us out for pizza...but I would have rather had this :P

Johanna GGG said...

thanks for dropping by - I love your blog and all the great recipe - I am not a fan of ice cream cake but this is something I want to try - anything with dulce de leche and chocolate does it for me

grace said...

ice cream cakes are SO expensive--it's definitely a case of homemade being the better option! great recipe and method, and your little decorations are terrific!

Mary Bergfeld said...

You certainly can count me in on this one. It looks stellar and what a treat for kids and adults alike. I hope you are having a wonderful summer day. Blessings...Mary

Barbara Bakes said...

Nothing says summer like ice cream cake - especially yours. I love ice cream cake, but haven't made it at home - thanks for sharing.

Mimi said...

Move on over and hand me a fork! this really looks so perfect for summer.
Mimi

Megan said...

Who doesn't love ice cream cake and this one is adorable! Love the flip flops. And yes, those cakes are terribly expensive.

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I grew up eating and lovin' ice cream cake. My dad always bought me Carvel's with the little crispy chocolate thingies. I'm gonna keep your recipe in mind. I think Jalen wants an ice cream cake for HIS half of his and his twins' birthday. :)
~ingrid

Lisa said...

Lori..I don't know where to commet because I'm in lust with this ice cream, the sweet potato-cinnamon swirl bread and taco chili salad. Oh, who am I kidding? Everything you make is amazing! This ice cream cake is a keeper..bookmarked. It looks so beautiful - you are a master decorater! I always thought an ice cream cake..plus making your own ice cream, would be a great Summer DB challenge.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

That's just brilliant! I have never made or eaten ice cream cake before. I can tell I have been missing out :)

M. said...

oh, my this is fun looking dessert :)
I'm sure it was delicious, too.