I first set my heart on making an ice cream cake when I noticed that the assignment for Daring Bakers July was to make a Swiss Roll Ice Cream Cake. It was ingenious! Layers of silky ice cream and rich fudge resting inside a delicious chocolate swiss roll cake. I knew such a project was a two day affair, and since my patience is of a five year old, I compromised and made this ice cream cake.
Choosing for the layer cakes to be chocolate was simple, for in my mind, homemade cakes can only compare to the artificial (but amazing) box mixes if they are chocolate. Not any chocolate cake, but Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake. The butterscotch was an easy decision as I've always adored Smitten Kitchen's Easy Butterscotch Sauce, and have made it many times. Warm, it can make even the cheapest ice creams taste gourmet. Frozen, it melts in your mouth.
As for the pudding, well, let's just say at one shopping spree to whole foods I literally bought 8 packs of "cook & serve" pudding, I have since used 2 of them and decided a layer of pudding should take okay. Unfortunately, I misestimated that boxed pudding really doesn't compare to homemade pudding and it freezes really hard. Because it was not quite delicious, below I have included a homemade pudding recipe. Considering it has egg yolks, it should freeze creamy, and not rock solid.
Nutella is my latest, favorite food and I decided that the only ice cream worthy of being in my creation was nutella ice cream. The recipe literally took 30 seconds to put together, and another 25 minutes to freeze. Rather than spread the ice cream on my cake, I opted for another method, and froze the nutella ice cream in a 9 inch cake pan. When I was assembling the cake, I just popped the ice cream disk out, and placed it over the pudding layer on the cake. It was very handy.
Finally, I "frosted" the cake with a pint of vanilla ice cream. Any flavor would do (coffee sounds amazing) but I didn't have the patience to make another ice cream, and I had some vanilla ice cream in the freezer just begging to be used. I also had some crunchie bars, so I crushed them up and sprinkled them on top. This dessert was a little too delicious if you ask me.
Anyways, I'll spare you any more of the details! The recipe is obviously what you want! :)
Chocolate, Butterscotch, Nutella & Pudding Ice Cream Cake
Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake
source: HERE
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Place the layers in the freezer while you continue with the rest of the recipe.
Follow the recipe HERE.
*one quick note* After making the caramel, let cool and then stir vigorously until it has the consistency of peanut butter.
Vanilla Bean Pudding Recipe
Source: HERE
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups milk, divided
Pinch salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla pastes or seeds for 1/2 a vanilla bean (optional)
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Place 2 cups milk and salt in a saucepan. Sprinkle sugar on milk and do no stir; heat over medium-high. Quickly combine cornstarch with remaining milk; add egg yolks and mix well. When milk comes to a full boil, remove saucepan from the heat and stir in cornstarch mixture. Pudding will begin to thicken. Return to the heat and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and butter. Pour into a bowl, cover the top with plastic wrap, and let cool until it is at room temperature.
Nutella Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup Nutella
2 cups (cold) Half & Half (or 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 cup 2 % milk)
Combine the ingredients in a blender, and blend on medium speed until combined (about one minute). Process through an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions. While being processed, line a nine inch cake pan with plastic wrap. When the ice cream is of soft serve consistency, pour into the cake pan, and cover with another layer of plastic wrap. Let it freeze for a couple of hours, or until firm.
TO ASSEMBLE:
Ingredients:
1 recipe Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake
1 recipe Smitten Kitchen's Butterscotch Sauce
1 recipe Vanilla Bean Pudding
1 recipe Nutella Ice cream
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened (or another flavor of your choice)
2 large Crunchie Bars, crushed (or another candy bar of your choice) [optional]
- On a cake plate, place one layer of the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake.
- Spread with 1/2 of the butterscotch sauce
- On the butterscotch sauce, spread 1/2 the vanilla bean pudding.
- Top the vanilla bean pudding with the disk of nutella ice cream.
- Spread the remaining pudding on top the nutella ice cream disk.
- Place the cake in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Take the other layer of cake and spread with the remaining butterscotch.
- Place it on top of the pudding layer, butterscotch side down.
- "Frost" The cake with the vanilla ice cream, and sprinkle with the crushed Crunchie bars.
- Freeze the cake until 10 minute before you plan on serving it. Let it defrost the the fridge for the 10 minutes before serving.
