Ice Cream Cake Recipe

We had friends in from out of town and it seems eating ice cream cake with them on warm summer nights has become a tradition over the years.  I've always loved ice cream cake.... I remember requesting ice cream cake just about every year for my summer birthday.  Pool parties, bike rides, sleepovers.... and ice cream cake!  It always seemed like a perfect ending!  So, the tradition continues....

Ice cream cake is probably one of the tastiest-melt-in-your-mouth summer desserts.  All you need are just a few ingredients:

Ingredients
1 gallon of ice cream (two half gallons make it easier)
1 cup of frosting (any flavor.... or preserves, peanut butter, butterscotch, fruit, etc.)
1 pkg creme-filled cookies (i.e. Newman-O's, Country Choice, Oreos, etc.)
2 cups of whipped cream

Directions

Gather the creme-filled cookies (test-taste a few :)), then put them all in a gallon zip lock bag and crush them into tiny pieces.  The girls and I took turns smashing the cookies, we alternated between using a potato masher and our hands as a crusher.

Once the cookies were smashed, we poured them in a 9x13 glass dish.  We spread them on the bottom of the dish until the glass was completely covered.

After the cookies were layered, we took a 1/2 gallon of ice cream out of the freezer (keep the other 1/2 gallon in the freezer for now).  For this cake, we decided on chocolate ice cream for one layer and vanilla for another (you can use any flavor.... it's fun to get creative with the many, many flavors available).  I cut open the box.... one slit in each corner... to make it easier to slice the ice cream.

Slice the ice cream from top to bottom, about 1/2" thick and place each slice over the cookies until the cookies are covered.....

Spread the ice cream layer to make it smooth and level.

Then add the middle layer.... this can be anything from cake frosting, to chocolate chunks, to cut-up fruit.  For this cake, we used left-over cream cheese frosting (from the almond-scented cake) and spread it over the chocolate ice cream..... gotta work fast with this layer... the frosting starts to get cold and hard to spread....

Once the middle layer is done, it's time to add the final layer of ice cream (it's time to take it out of the freezer).  We used vanilla.... just like the first ice cream layer, I cut the box, then cut slices, then layered the ice cream on top of the frosting...

.... then spread the ice cream to make it smooth and level.  Honestly, it can get a little messy (but the taste is worth every mess), so I clean off the edges with a paper towel as I go....

Now for the final layer.... whipped cream!  For this, I made whipped cream (I love the creaminess!)... I mixed 1 cup heavy cream, 1 tbsp vanilla and 3 tbsp powdered sugar in an electric mixer until soft peaks formed (if you'd rather skip this part, there's several ready-made choices available in the store to make it easier).  Spread the whipped cream on top and make it smooth.... by now, the ice cream is really starting to melt so work fast (my ice cream usually mixes in with the whipped cream as I spread).

We added colored sprinkles on the top for color.... and now the cake is finished and is almost ready for the freezer!!! 

Before I place it in the freezer.... this may sound weird, but I let it sit out.  I want the bottom ice cream layer to melt a little (ok, maybe more than a little) so it mixes in with the creme-filled cookies.  This way when the cake is cut, the cookie crumbs are coated with ice cream.  There's really no way of timing this, so about every five minutes, I lift up the bottom of the dish and look to see if there's ice cream seeping down through the cookie crumbs...

Once the ice cream has seeped to the bottom, I wrap the top and place the dish in the freezer for at least 4 hours.  I know, too long.... but, there's probably some left over ice cream to satisfy while waiting :)

Once the four hours has past (or even overnight) and the cake has hardened, it's time to take it out and serve... (if you wanted to write something on the cake or really decorate the top to make it pretty, now's the time, but simple, colorful sprinkles are fine by me)!

One extra tip when slicing the cake is to use a warm knife.  Fill a glass with hot water and before every slice, dip the knife in the water.  Then slice, wipe the knife, dip in water, slice again and repeat... it'll give nice smooth cuts...

Yum!!!  Any day is a good day to make ice cream cake!!! 

Other great combos we've made in the past:

• Mint chocolate creme cookies, mint chocolate ice cream on both layers and Andes candies as the middle layer
• Chocolate cream cookies, vanilla ice cream with peanut butter swirl, vanilla ice cream and peanut butter as the middle layer
• Creme cookies, strawberry ice cream, strawberry cheesecake ice cream and cut-up strawberries as the middle layer
• Chocolate creme cookies, coffee ice cream, vanilla ice cream and coffee frosting as the middle layer
• Vanilla Creme cookies, pecan praline ice cream, vanilla ice cream and crushed pecans drizzled with caramel as the middle layer
• Creme cookies, cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate ice cream and chocolate frosting as the middle layer

What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

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