Ice Cream Cake

I always find it entertaining to hear what people did for their first jobs. Usually this occurs somewhere around 16, since parents generally want their kids to have jobs but don't want to play chauffeur to and from their places of work. I'm sure I've mentioned before that my first job was at Ben and Jerry's. It was a perfect job for me because a) I'm an ice cream fanatic b) I thought the tie dye was cool c) I genuinely enjoyed making sundaes and d) I never had any issues getting friends to come visit me at work. I ended up getting carpal tunnel at an unusually young age that still bothers me to this day from scooping, but all-in-all I loved working there. Who gets carpal tunnel at 16 from scooping ice cream? Only me. I feel like my life is made up of those sorts of odd stories.

One thing I really enjoyed was making ice cream cakes.  I'll go ahead and mention that ice cream cakes are much easier to make when you have a giant freezer that is significantly colder than a normal freezer, but it's not an impossible task even with a regular freezer..it just takes a bit more patience. I prefer to give myself a few days and just casually go through the steps at my leisure. Rushing this process will just leave you with a sloppy mess. I also strongly recommend buying ice cream that is a bit softer. The double churned fall in this category. For this cake I used one carton of Turkey Hill ice cream, and for some reason was cheap and wanted to save $1 so used Safeway brand for the second carton. The cake was easy to slice until I got down to the generic layer. When you're thinking about what falls in this category think of when you first scoop into a new thing of ice cream--if you have to let it sit out to even remotely get the spoon in there that's not going to work for the cake. See below for my tips of cutting into the cake. Enjoy!

Ice Cream Cake
2 Cartons Ice Cream of your choice
10 Oreos, crushed

Whipped Cream Topping
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Confectioner's Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Spray two, 8-inch cake pans generously with nonstick cooking spray. Line the sides with strips of parchment paper about two inches wide. I usually cut these strips smaller so that when I curve them around the edge they don't bubble up at all. The key is to make it smooth so that the edges of the ice cream cake will be flat and smooth as well.

Let ice cream soften for roughly 30 minutes, or until soft enough to spread evenly into pan. When ready, spread ice cream into prepared pans (one flavor per pan), and smooth out the top. Give the pan a few soft taps on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles. Cover pans with nonstick wrap, pressing wrap against the ice cream. Freeze for at least 2 hours.

Prepare whipped cream by combining heavy whipping cream, confectioner's sugar and vanilla in a bowl and beating until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Remove first pan from the freezer. At this point I usually turn the cake pan upside down, keeping my hand underneath, and run warm water over the top of the pan. As you feel the cake start to give, gently twist the pan around the ice cream layer. Do not do this for too long, as this will just leave you with a melted mess. Invert ice cream layer onto cake plate. Put cake bake in the freezer for roughly 15 minutes. Pull out and top with whipped cream. Sprinkle crushed oreos over the whipped cream in an even layer. Add second layer of ice cream cake and put the entire cake back in the freezer for another 15 minutes. Remove and coat with whipped cream. You'll find that the cake melts quickly as soon as you remove it from the freezer, so if you want to make sure you have a clean, smooth coating of whipped cream you can add multiple coats and just throw the cake in the freezer for 10 minutes or so between coats.

To serve, warm a sharp knife or serrated cake server under hot water for five seconds. Dry with towel and immediately cut into cake. This will help the cake cut easily and will also make the layers look better! Store in freezer.

Enjoy!

As you can see, using two different brands of ice cream will leave you with two very different looking layers. Stick with one brand!