Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Cake
An Easy, Creamy Dessert Recipe Perfect for Birthday Cakes
A refreshing and surprisingly simple dessert recipe. Make an ice cream cake that tastes like it came from a specialty shop!
Ice cream cake is a distinctive dessert, usually reserved for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions because they can be quite expensive. Making an ice cream cake at home is easy and economical, and this recipe is nearly foolproof. Impress guests with this sweet treat that is comparable to those bought at ice cream shops.
There are a few things to keep in mind when making an ice cream cake. First, make it a day ahead of time for best results. The ice cream needs to be completely frozen at serving time, or it will end up mushy and oozing in the pan. Using good quality ice cream is also important, as lower-end products will refreeze and form big ice crystals, changing the texture of the cake. For the same reason, fat-free or even reduced fat ice cream doesn't work well in this recipe. Good quality frozen yogurt can be substituted for the ice cream, however.
For the chocolate sauce, look for something thick rather than thin and pourable. Hot fudge topping is perfect. The thicker sauce will still be somewhat pliable after freezing, allowing perfect slices to be cut from the cake. The thinner sauces will freeze solid, making the cake difficult to both cut and chew.
This is a very rich, extremely sweet dessert, so thin slices will be plenty for each serving. Cut the slices the same width as the cookies circling the outer rim, using a sharp knife dipped in hot water and quickly towel dried. Dip and dry the knife between each slice made.
The cake can be decorated in any number of ways. Whipped cream topping and a scattering of mint chocolate chips is easy and quick. Make it fancy by spooning some chocolate topping into a pastry bag and piping a pattern or a message such as "Happy Birthday" on top. Mint leaves, either fresh or of the candy variety, make a pretty colour contrast. Or crush some of the cookies and scatter them on top for a bit of extra crunch.
Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 large bag mint-chocolate cookies, such as Mint Oreos
- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
- 1 1/2 cups thick chocolate sauce
- 1 quart chocolate ice cream
- 1 quart mint-chocolate-chip ice cream
- whipped cream, chocolate chips, extra chocolate sauce, or chocolate mint candies for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
- Place about 40 of the mint chocolate cookies in a zippered plastic bag. Press out any air in the bag and seal. Crush the cookies with a rolling pin, creating cookie crumbs.
- Remove half of the cookie crumbs and place in a small mixing bowl. Combine crumbs with melted butter or margarine and mix well. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Line the inside rim of the pan with whole cookies, pressing the bottoms into the crumb mixture to keep them standing upright. Spread crumb crust with 3/4 cup of the chocolate sauce, warming the sauce in the microwave if necessary to make it easier to spread. Freeze crust for 15-30 minutes.
- Soften the chocolate ice cream by leaving it out for 10-15 minutes. Spread the ice cream over the crust. Top with remaining 3/4 cup chocolate sauce and the rest of the cookie crumbs. Freeze for one hour.
- Soften the mint chocolate chip ice cream. Spread the ice cream evenly over the chocolate sauce/cookie crumb layer. Freeze cake for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- Before serving, decorate ice cream cake with whipped cream, mint chocolate chips, and/or chocolate sauce. Remove outer ring of the springform pan and slice. Serve immediately.
Makes 12 servings.
If chocolate mint doesn't sound appetizing, try these ice cream cake flavour variations instead!
