Make an Ice Cream Cake

Captain Project loves ice cream.  No, he doesn't just love it, he lives for it.  If he could survive on only one foodstuff for the rest of his life, it'd be ice cream.  I tease him that his love of ice cream, and all dairy products really, is because of his birthplace ~ Wisconsin.

(He buys Twyla Frosty Paws for her birthday!  Look at Twyla licking her chops!)

For his birthday this week, I got a wild hair and decided to make him an ice cream cake.  This was a big deal because I'm not a very good cake baker (pie, well pie I can make!).

Making this was easy.  It did take a lot of time, mostly because of all the freezing that's required.  And I really mean it when I say a LOT of freezing!  Here's how to make it...

1.  Bake a cake.  (I baked a box cake.  Don't judge ~ remember, I'm not a very good cake baker).  After the layers cool, level off the tops:

2.  Wrap your cake layers in plastic and place them in the freezer for about two hours:

3.  Thaw out your ice cream of choice (Captain Project's fave is chocolate chip) for 30 minutes until it is softened but not melted.  Line one of your cake pans with plastic wrap and fill it with the softened ice cream:

4. Smash the ice cream down into your pan until it is smooth and level.  Fold over the plastic wrap and put the pan into the freezer for a couple of hours:

5.  Make your icing or use store-bought (I made a simple vanilla frosting ~ it's not pure white because I only had wheat flour on hand).  Take one of your cake layers out of the freezer, place it on a cake stand and spread a thin layer of icing onto it (helps adhere the cake layer to the ice cream layer).

6.  Remove your ice cream layer from the freezer, carefully unwrap it and place it on the cake.  Spread another thin layer of icing on top of your ice cream layer.

7.  Remove your second cake layer from the freezer and place it on top of the ice cream layer.

8.  As quickly as you can (don't want your ice cream to soften, otherwise your cake may become lopsided), frost the cake and place it back into the freezer (again with the freezing!) for about a hour:

9.  Remove your cake and frost it with a second coat of icing and place it in the freezer for another hour.

10.  Now, here's the really fun part!  Whip up some chocolate ganache (equal parts heavy whipping cream and dark chocolate, melted, plus a dash of salt and a splash of vanilla).  Place a scoop of ice cream (frozen this time, not softened) on top of the cake, gently stab a waffle cone onto that, and slowly pour the ganache over it:

11.  That's it!  Well, first put your cake...you guessed it...back into the freezer until you're ready to enjoy it.

This was my inspiration for decorating my cake.  Found it on Pinterest:

Yeah, my version isn't quite as pretty (wish I had some sprinkles!)...

...but Captain Project doesn't care.  It's ice cream.  He thinks it's delicious!

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