Our son turned eleven while we were on our cruise to the Bahamas, so we decided to celebrate it at home later in the summer. My son has never been a cake fan. From the time he was a toddler, he has been fobbing off remnants of cake for his mom and dad to finish at every birthday party. He and I decided an ice cream cake would be best for his birthday, because he loves ice cream — he always eats it with a fork even when it’s served in a bowl!
As usual these days, I was swamped with work and had a big book deadline on top of travel plans right before the celebration! I found a solution, though, with this cake, which can be prepared days in advance.
The base is a brownie layer which you can make from a mix or from scratch. Here is my recipe for a decadent Truffle Brownie. Because I was pressed for time, I used Trader Joe’s Truffle Brownie mix. Then after I baked the brownie layer and let it cool completely, I spooned softened Cookies and Cream ice cream on top and smoothed. I froze the cake until hardened, then melted chocolate chips and white chocolate chips in two separate bowls in the microwave. The white chocolate chips did not melt properly, and I thought it was a fail, but I crumbled them on top, and it was actually quite tasty! I was able to wrap the whole thing pan and all in saran and foil and store in the freezer for a few days.
An important thing to note is to use a spring form pan — the kind used for cheesecakes. When you are ready to serve the cake, simply release the sides and remove the bottom. If you don’t have a spring form pan, you could line a cake pan with saran and remove the cake and peel off the saran when ready to serve. But you won’t have as crisp an edge. Do not thaw this cake before serving! It is best to serve immediately after removing from the freezer while the ice cream is hard. Otherwise, cutting gets very messy!
The birthday boy blowing out the candles.
The cake was a hit and there were no leftovers on plates for the parents, so we had to get our own slices!
Easy Ice Cream Cake
1 package of brownie mix
1/2 gallon container of ice cream
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
non-stick spray
whipped cream (optional) for garnish
- Spray non-stick spray in spring form pan and set aside. Or line a cake pan with saran.
- Preheat oven and prepare brownies according to package.
- Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Bake brownie layer and cool completely.
- Meanwhile, let ice cream thaw for about 25 minutes while brownie layer is cooling.
- Spoon ice cream on top of brownie layer and smooth with an offset spatula or spoon. Freeze until hardened.
- Melt chocolates separately in two bowls at 30 second intervals in the microwave, stirring occasionally. When completely melted, spoon chocolate in center of cake and smooth out. Top with white chocolate crumbles.
- Wrap cake in saran and foil and freeze until hardened.
- When serving, do not thaw cake! Release spring form pan and remove bottom. Or if using a cake pan, lift cake out of pan with saran and remove saran wrap. Cut cake immediately while ice cream is still hard and serve. Enjoy!