This summer has been so hot, and the thought of using the oven is just not very appealing, except for special occasions, of course.  However, what do you do when your oven is out of commission, yet you still want to make that special cake.  Well… if there is a will there is a way…so here comes my own creation of an ice cream cake.

Last year I made an Atkins diet chocolate cake for this birthday boy, so this time I decided to put together a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and came up with this Super Chocolate Ice Cream Cake with Double-Stuffed Oreo, topped off with Rich Chocolate Ganache.

I love the rich and satiny creaminess of ganache.  Absolutely heavenly!

It would have been even more decadent, had I flavored it with liqueur, but it did not seem suitable for an office party.

If you love ice cream, chocolate, and Double Stuffed Oreo cookies, this cake will hit the spot for you.

Ingredients:

• 2 boxes of Double-Stuffed Oreo cookies
• 4 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (softened)
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 gallon of Chocolate Ice Cream (I used Breyers Triple Chocolate – Milk, White, Dark)
• 1/2 gallon of Vanilla/ Chocolate Chunks Ice Cream
• 1 cup of Heavy Cream
• 1 Hershey Dark Chocolate Bar(4 oz)
• 1 Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Bar (3.4 oz)
• 1 Tbs of Rum, or Grand Marnier liqueur (optional)

Directions for Oreo cake layer:

1. Place the cookies in a Food Processor and pulse/mix until all creamed up
2. Add sugar and cream cheese
3. Mix until well blended into smooth paste
4. Line a 9 inch spring form with a strip of parchment paper, wide enough to extent at least an inch over the top edge of the pan.  For easier fit, grease lightly the sides of the pan so the paper sticks to it. I needed to strips.
5. Spoon the Oreo paste into the pan, and evenly press onto the bottom of the pan, and if you wish, you can extend it about an inch up the side.
6. Set aside.
7. Place 1/2 of second box of Double-Stuffed Oreo cookies, into a plastic zip lock bag, and using a rolling pin, crush the cookies to coarse chunks.
8. Set aside.

Directions for Ice Cream filling:

1. Remove the Triple Chocolate ice cream from the freezer, scoop it out into a bowl, and keep at room temperature for few minutes, until it starts to soften slightly (not too long, so it does not get runny).
2. Scoop the ice cream evenly onto the Oreo “crust”.
3. Smooth the top to with a spoon, dipping it often into a cup of hot water.
4. Place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden slightly.
5. Remove the Vanilla/Chocolate Chunks ice cream from the freezer and scoop into a bowl.
6. Set aside.
7. Remove the cake from the freezer.
8. Sprinkle the crushed Oreo cookies over the Chocolate ice cream layer.
9. Even it out.
10. Scoop the Vanilla/Chocolate Chunks ice cream over the crushed cookies.
11. Using a spoon dipped in hot water, smooth the top of this ice cream layer.
12. Select 12 Oreo cookies, and spacing them evenly (like the hours on the clock), push them halfway into the vanilla ice cream layer.
13. Cover and place it in the freezer to chill thoroughly (at least an hour).

Chocolate Ganache

Preparation and Application:

1. About 10 minutes before taking the cake out of the freezer, start preparing the ganache.
2. Crash the two chocolate bars into small chunks in a mixing bowl.
3. Set aside.
4. Pour 1 cup of the heavy cream into a sauce pan, and bring it to low boil.
5. You must keep an eye on the cream, because it can spill over very quickly once it starts boiling.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Pour hot cream over the crushed chocolate, and mix with a spoon until all melted and a smooth paste has formed.
8. You can add your favorite liqueur flavoring here, if you wish, and mix it in well.
9. Once the Ganache is cooled to room temperature, you are ready to apply it to the cake.
10. Remove the ice cream cake from the freezer.
11. Place it on a plate, or a larger round pan (pizza pan which will be able to fit into your freezer later on)
12. Loosen the spring and remove the sides of the pan.
13. Loosen the cake away from the top edge of the parchment paper.
14. Pour slowly the cooled Ganache over the top of the cake, starting from the middle, so it spreads evenly into all directions of the cake.  It will start to solidify quickly, on top of the cold ice cream.
15. Remove the parchment paper from the sides, and pour some more of the Ganache at the edge of the cake, so it runs down the sides, at even intervals.
16. You need to watch your cake, so it does not start to melt.
17. Decorate the middle of the cake with Oreos, if you wish.
18. Place it in the freezer for about 1/2 hour.
19. Remove the cake from the freezer.
20. Gently loosen the bottom of the cake pan, and remove it (so you do not scratch it while cutting the cake).
21. Place the cake on a plate.
22. Cover the cake with foil paper, and return it back to the freezer for several hours, or over night.
23. Before serving, remove from the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

TIP:  For easy cutting to serving portions, dip your knife in a glass of hot water, as often as needed.

Ice cream cake is my husband’s favorite cake, especially for his birthday.  Every year we would buy a Carvel’s Ice Cream cake, but this year I decided to make one (for a fraction of the cost of Carvel’s cakes).  Making this cake was quite simple, since all the ingredients are ready made, and no baking is required.  All I had to do is to assemble, freeze, and serve.  The most laborious part of this project, was the unwrapping of the ice cream sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 14 ice cream sandwiches
• 1 ½ Quarts Vanilla Ice Cream (his favorite)
• 1 Quart Vanilla with Black Cherries Ice Cream (my favorite)
• 1 cup Vanilla Wafers, crushed
• ¼ cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Unwrap the ice cream sandwiches, one at a time, keeping the remaining ones in the freezer.]
2. Cut 12 ice cream sandwiches in half, vertically.  Leave two uncut for now.
3. Place in a container, and return to freezer, to keep them from melting.
4. Take the vanilla ice creams out of the freezer, to thaw slightly.
5. Mix the cookie crumbs with the melted butter, set aside.
6. Grease a 10 inch springform cake pan with butter.
7. Cut a rectangular strip of parchment paper, 34 inches long x 3 inches high, to fit inside the cake pan to line the sides.
8. Press the cookie/butter crumbs on the bottom of the pan.
9. Take out the cut up ice cream half from the freezer, and arrange vertically against the sides of the pan, forming chocolate and vanilla stripes.
10. Fill in gaps with additional vanilla ice cream.
11. Place the 1 ½ quart of vanilla ice cream into a bowl, and mush slightly with a spoon to even out its consistency.
12. Form a vanilla layer, by spooning the vanilla ice cream over the cookie crumbs.
13. Smooth it out.
14. Prepare the vanilla with black cherries ice cream as above.
15. Spoon over the vanilla layer, and smooth it out.
16. Remove the one unwrapped ice cream sandwich and cut vertically, into ½ inch thick slices.
17. Decorate the top of the cake with these slices, to create a design.
18. Cover the cake with a foil parchment paper, and foil wrap, and return it to the freezer.
19. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving, for easier handling.
20. Before serving, unwrap the cake, open the spring form, and remove sides, peel off the parchment paper from the sides.

May serve with hot fudge drizzled over the ice cream slices, with whipped cream on top.