Ice Cream Cake

My all time favorite cake to make during sultry summer months is Ice Cream Cake. Its main ingredient—ice cream—is America’s most loved dessert.  An ice cream cake is no bake, easy to make, and you can prepare it weeks ahead of time and keep it in your freezer until ready to serve.  With the wide variety of ice cream flavors on the market, you can customize a cake to suit any occasion.

I’ve provided a recipe for a chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream cake, with an Oreo cookie filling and a chocolate wafer crumb garnish.

My recipe calls for 6 pints of ice cream.  Feel free to use only one ice cream flavor, or up to 6 different flavors.  You can also substitute other cookies and wafers for the filling and garnish.  Consider using graham crackers, vanilla wafers, chocolate chip cookies, ginger snaps, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, or any other favorite cookie.

When you are ready to serve, remove the cake from the freezer, and release it from the sides of the spring form pan.  Sprinkle with your favorite crushed cookie crumbs and/or jimmies, pipe some whipped cream in the center, top with a maraschino cherry, and—Voilà—your showstopper summertime dessert is ready for its debut. Enjoy!

Before you begin, make sure to have on hand a 9×3-inch round spring form pan.

Crumb Crust

Place the chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter in a mixing bowl and combine well.  Place the crumbs on the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan and press firmly to line the bottom and the sides of the pan with the crumbs.  The crumbs should go up about an inch around the sides of the pan.  Chill in the freezer for at least an hour.

Ice Cream Layers

Take the chocolate ice cream out of the freezer and leave at room temperature for fifteen minutes or until it is soft enough to spread, but has not melted.  With a spoon or knife, spread the chocolate ice cream evenly along the chocolate crumb crust on the bottom of the spring form pan.  Arrange of layer of Oreos on top of the chocolate ice cream and press lightly into the soft ice cream.  Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the strawberry ice cream from the freezer and leave at room temperature for fifteen minutes or so.  When soft enough to spread, remove the spring form pan from the freezer and spread the strawberry ice cream evenly above the chocolate layer.  Arrange a layer of Oreos on top of the strawberry ice cream and press lightly.  Place the spring form pan into the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

As with the previous two layers of ice cream, remove the vanilla ice cream from the freezer and leave at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.  When soft enough to spread, remove the spring form pan from the freezer and spread the vanilla ice cream over the strawberry layer.

Smooth the top of the vanilla layer of ice cream.  It should reach the top of the spring form pan.  Sprinkle some chocolate wafer crumbs on top of the vanilla ice cream.  Place in the freezer for at least an hour before serving.  Cake can be made several weeks ahead of time and kept in the freezer.

When ready to serve, remove from freezer and gently release the cake from the sides of the spring form pan.   You can dip a kitchen towel in warm water and wrap the warm towel around the sides of the pan to ease the release of the sides of the pan.  Pipe some Cool Whip onto the center of the ice cream cake and top with a maraschino cherry.

Serves 10 to 12