The appeal of ice cream cake is obvious: These two beloved desserts belong together, and a cold, creamy slice of ice cream cake is far more satisfying than a scoop of ice cream haphazardly dolloped onto a slice of cake.
We wanted to develop a basic ice cream cake that would be a hit at any party. We started with three crowd-pleasing flavors — chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry — to create a striped Neapolitan cake. Oreo crumbs served as a sturdy bottom crust and also provided a welcome bit of chocolatey crunch between each layer of ice cream.
When it came to assembling the cake, we found that the key was patience. We didn’t start until the crust was completely cool, and allowing the ice cream to soften to a spreadable consistency ensured it wouldn’t mar the crust. For clean lines and to avoid a melty mess, it was essential to freeze each layer before adding the next.
We dressed up our cake by pressing party-ready rainbow sprinkles into the sides, but you could also use chopped nuts or crushed candies or cookies. You can also pipe a greeting on top once the cake is fully frozen. Use the entire Oreo — filling and all — for the crust. Before removing the cake from the springform pan, run your paring knife under hot tap water for 10 seconds or so.
BASIC ICE CREAM CAKE
Servings: 8-10
Start to finish: 10 hours
25 Oreo cookies, broken into rough pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pint strawberry ice cream
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 pint chocolate ice cream
1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
Nutrition information per serving: 469 calories; 228 calories from fat; 25 g fat (11 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 47 mg cholesterol; 252 mg sodium; 59 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 42 g sugar; 4 g protein.
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