Mom’s Ice Cream Cake
How does one define an ice cream cake? Obviously ice cream is the key component, but what else should one expect to find in an ice cream cake? Some recipes call for layers of actual baked cake, others simply layer different flavors of ice cream together, some might call for brownie or cookie elements, some include frosting of some kind while others do not. You might consider looking to different commercial ice cream chains to see what they offer as an ice cream cake, but you’ll find just as much variety (and potential confusion) there. Consider Cold Stone Creamery cakes (which alternate layers of baked cake and ice cream) vs Carvel cakes (which layer chocolate and vanilla ice cream with a chocolate crunchy layer between) vs Baskin-Robbins cakes (which have a base layer of baked cake topped with a layer of ice cream). Even the likely precursor to the ice cream cake, the Victorian bombe dessert, doesn’t provide a clear answer. Some bombes are just layers of frozen creams, custards and/or mousses, others include sponges or biscuits and some include fruits and/or nuts.
Mom’s version of an ice cream cake most closely resembles the Carvel style ice cream cake. We have a chocolate ice cream layer and a vanilla ice cream layer separated by a chocolate sandwich cookie crumble layer. She adds a chocolate sandwich cookie crumb crust as the base, and, since she never liked whipped cream, she forgoes the frosting in favor of brightly colored sprinkles on top.
Both my older brother and my brother-in-law agree that her ice cream cake is their favorite dessert mom made but it turns out that even though mom has numerous ice cream cake recipes in her dessert binder, none of them are for the ice cream cake she made every year for Christmas and which became a family favorite.
After comparing memories from several family members, it appears that mom took elements from a few different recipes she had in her binder and used them as her inspiration for her final ice cream cake. I used those as my starting point for recreating her recipe so I could share it with all of you. I will say that this recipe is somewhat deceptively simple (and admit that I screwed it up the first time 😉).
Here’s a few tips for success when you try it for yourself:
- Do not get over enthusiastic with pressing the crust into the spring form pan – if you compact it too much it will be unpleasantly hard after freezing. (Also, do not be tempted to bake the crust, that will definitely result in a crust that is too hard when frozen)
- Be patient! Make sure you allow the first layer of ice cream and the chocolate sandwich cookie crumble to freeze completely before introducing the next layer of ice cream. It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t, but the layers will not be clean and straight if you try to add the second layer of ice cream too soon.
- Keep your work area cool and work quickly. There is a fine line between softened ice cream and melty ice cream. Melty ice cream will find its way out of every seam on your springform pan. You want to work with the ice cream when it is soft enough to be pliable and spread, but you want to get it back in the freeze before too much of it becomes liquid.
This is another recipe that I’m going to encourage you to play around with:
- Try mixing up the ice cream flavors. As long as you enjoy the flavors you choose (and they complement each other) you’re going to love the result. I would suggest that you keep to flavors that offer a visual contrast, but that isn’t a requirement.
- Try different flavors of sandwich cookies to complement your ice cream flavor choices, there are sooo many sandwich cookie flavors out there including seasonal options.
- Try adding ice cream toppings to the filling – hot fudge, caramel, butterscotch, marshmallow, or peanut butter would all be great options.
- Try changing up the toppings – there are a plethora of different color combinations and shape options for sprinkles, or you can try chopping up your favorite candy, crushing up cookies or chopping up brownies or blondies to decorate the top.
Equipment
Ingredients
Method
- Take the chocolate ice cream out of the freezer and allow it to sit at room temperature to soften while making the crust.
- Place the sandwich cookies and sugar in the bowl of a large food processor. Pulse until the mixture is a consistent, fine crumb.36 (504 g) cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies, 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- Add the melted butter to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand and just starts to clump together.1/2 cup (112 g) butter
- Reserve about 1 cup of the mixture – you will use this as your filling between the layers of ice cream.
- Press the remaining crust mixture in the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 10" spring form pan.
- Scoop the chocolate ice cream into the prepared crust. Use an offset spatula to spread the ice cream into an even layer.1 1/2 qt (1.42 l) chocolate ice cream
- Crumble the reserved crust mixture over the surface of the chocolate ice cream. Put the pan in the freezer for about two hours or until the chocolate layer is very firm.
- About 15 minutes or so before the chocolate layer is done chilling, take the vanilla ice cream out and allow it to sit at room temperature to soften.1 1/2 qt (1.42 l) vanilla ice cream
- Scoop the vanilla ice cream over the top of the crust crumbles and chocolate ice cream already in the pan. Use an offset spatula to spread the ice cream into an even layer.
- If you are using sprinkles, distribute them in an even layer over the surface of the vanilla ice cream.sprinkles
- Return the pan to the freezer for about four hours or overnight before serving.
- Allow the ice cream cake to warm up slightly (about 10-15 minutes are room temperature) before attempting to remove the outer ring of the spring form pan and slicing the cake.
Notes
- I like to add up to 1/2 tsp of salt to the crust, I think it helps to balance the sweetness.
- You can replace the chocolate and vanilla ice creams with your favorite flavors. I used chocolate moose tracks ice cream in place of the chocolate ice cream and salted caramel ice cream in place of the vanilla ice cream.
- You can also play with different flavors of sandwich cookies to compliment the ice cream flavors you choose.
- The sprinkles can be any color or shape you like, mix and match to suit the occasion. Since mom often made this for Christmas, I chose to use Christmas themed sprinkles (although, I think she often used traditional rainbow sprinkles)
- You can also play with other toppings, like chopped candies (Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers, Milky Way, Heath Bars, etc.), crushed cookies, chopped brownies or blondies.
- If you’d like to give it more of an ice cream sundae feel, you can drizzle some ice cream toppings like hot fudge, caramel, butterscotch, marshmallow, or peanut butter over the crumb mixture between the layers.
Private Notes
Nutrition
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