Cookie Dough Ice-Cream Cake

I have a confession to make:  I made this cake for Mike's birthday.  No big deal?  Well, his birthday is in November.  That's right, I've been holding onto this recipe since then.  Why?  I thought that an ice-cream cake was much more appropriate to share during the hot month of August rather than the chilly month of November.  This cake was too amazing not to share, so of course, I'm sharing it with you today. 

This cake begins with a layer of Chocolate Chip Cookie "Cake".  It's amazing just by itself, and it's what I made Mike for his birthday the first year we were married.  If I have to keep improving upon his cakes, this year's going to be insane...I better start thinking of ideas.  And what about 20 years from now, oh boy!

Anyway, the cookie cake is topped with Mike's favorite ice-cream--Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  Then it is covered with a layer of chocolate ganache.  And to top it off, I used my recipe for Ready to Eat Cookie Dough to make cookie dough truffles for the decoration.  The result?  This cake was out-of-this world delicious!

Cookie Dough Ice-Cream Cake

Serves 12+

1 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake (without the melted chocolate on top)

1 carton Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice-Cream

1 batch of Ready-to-Eat Cookie Dough, rolled into 1 inch balls

Ganache:

3/4 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1.  In a microwave safe bowl, microwave cream on medium high for 2 minutes.

2.  Pour over chopped chocolate and stir until smooth.

To assemble cake:

1.  Allow the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake to cool completely.

2.  Let the ice-cream thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes, until it is spreadable.

3.  Spread the ice-cream in a thick layer over the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake.

4.  Pour ganache over the ice-cream.  It may harden quickly so work fast to spread it out.

5.  Place the cookie dough truffles on top of the ganache.

Serve immediately or freeze until you're ready to serve.  Let it thaw at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it.  Freeze any leftovers in an air-tight container.

Note: If the Ready-to-Eat Cookie Dough is too sticky to roll into balls, add a small amount of flour or refrigerate it until it is easily handled.

***Edited to Add:  I've heard from a lot of you that this cake has presented issues.  Here are a couple suggestions I've come up with to help you:
-Instead of spreading the ice-cream over the cake as suggested in step 3, line a cake pan (the same size as the one you baked your cake in) with plastic wrap.  Spread the ice-cream into the pan and allow it to freeze.  Then flip the frozen ice-cream over the cake and remove the plastic wrap.  This should make that step a lot easier!
-Per the suggestion left in the comments, make the entire cake in a 9x13" pan. 

Strawberry Peach Frozen Yogurt

In case you haven't noticed, it's hot outside.  Like 100 degrees hot.  In Michigan.  I love summer and warm temperatures but this is a little crazy!  In the past month, 26 days have been around or above 90 degrees.  Our normal average high is 82 degrees.  We are not used to this kind of heat! 
As you can imagine, with the temperatures this high, I have been trying to not use my oven.  We have central air conditioning, but why make it work harder than it has to?

That's where this month's Secret Recipe Club recipe comes into play.  I was assigned to Christine's Kitchen Chronicles.  Christine learned how to cook because she had no choice (eat or die, right?), and she learned to love cooking.  She has so many fantastic looking recipes on her blog--perfect recipes for an everyday cook.  I browsed through Christine's site looking for recipes that didn't require turning my oven on.

I came across quite a few delicious looking foods before settling on her fabulous looking Strawberry Peach Frozen Yogurt.  I love frozen yogurt but it's so expensive to buy at a fro-yo shop.  For less than it would cost for Mike and I to go out for fro-yo, I made my very own at home. 

This frozen yogurt was delicious!  The flavors of the strawberries and peaches really shined through. I loved the thick and creamy texture of the fro-yo after it had melted a little bit.  I served this with some cake for a friend's birthday last week and it was a huge hit.  Thanks for a great recipe, Christine!

Strawberry Peach Frozen Yogurt

Makes 1 quart

3 cups vanilla Greek yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups fresh strawberries, diced
2 medium peaches, pitted and diced
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoon vodka
2 teaspoons lemon juice

1.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, sugar, and vanilla extract.

2.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.

3.  In a separate bowl, combine the diced strawberries, diced peaches, sugar, vodka, and lemon juice.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4.  Place the yogurt mixture in the bowl of your ice cream maker and churn according the the manufacturer's directions.

5.  After 15 minutes, add in the fruit mixture and churn until completely combined.

Serve immediately for soft-serve frozen yogurt. 

If desired, pour the churned mixture into an air-tight container and freeze until ready to serve.  This will yield a hard-serve yogurt.  I recommend letting it sit on the counter at least 15 minutes before attempting to scoop it!

*The vodka can be eliminated if desired.  Its purpose is to prevent the frozen yogurt from freezing rock solid, but I found it did not really help.  My yogurt was still incredibly hard after being frozen.

Source:  Christine's Kitchen Chronicles

What is your favorite frozen treat?

Mike's Favorite Ice-cream Dessert

When I ask Mike what he would like for dessert, 9 times out of 10, he'll want ice-cream.  Or something made with ice-cream.  A couple weeks ago I asked him what he thought I should bring for dessert for Sunday noon.  We always go to my parent's house after church. They provide the dinner and I make dessert.  Mike decided that I should make an ice-cream dessert that is popular at his family's gatherings.  I didn't have the recipe, and he wouldn't let me make it how I thought it was made (something about it having to taste just like how he remembers!)  It took a little bit of tracking down, but I was able to get the recipe from Mike's aunt and make Mike's wish come true.

I had a little bit of trouble with the chocolate topping in the original recipe, I must have done something wrong because the chocolate stayed a runny mess.  I modified it by making a ganache-type topping and it turned out much better.  Mike said he liked the chocolate layer on top too...score 1 for me! :)

Ice-cream Dessert

Makes 1 9x13 pan

You will need:
1 package Oreo cookies, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 gallon Vanilla or Cookies and Cream ice-cream, slightly softened (I let mine sit on the counter while I crushed the Oreos)
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3 squares semi-sweet baker's chocolate, chopped

1.  In a medium bowl, combine crushed Oreos and butter until moist.

2.  Press crust mixture firmly into the bottom of a metal 9x13 pan.  (This is going in the freezer, so use a freezer-safe pan).

3.  Scoop ice-cream over the crust and use a spatula to smooth it out.

4.  Pour evaporated milk into a small microwave-safe bowl.  Microwave for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes, until the milk just starts to bubble.

5.  Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and pour the hot milk over it.  Stir gently until smooth.

6.  Pour ganache over the ice-cream.

7.  Cover dessert and place it in the freezer.  Freeze at least 2 hours before serving. 

Cotton Candy Ice-Cream

Pure sugar.  Fluffy sticky pure sugar.  Can it get much better?  How about cotton candy in this form:

Cotton candy ice-cream!  Oh yes, I did  just go there!  We had a carnival at SEM and Mike and I each got a bag of cotton candy.  I wanted a fun and creative way to use it (I did eat my fair share though!)  Then it hit me, cotton candy ice-cream!  It's good.  Really good.  But I'll warn you, it's super sweet! Mike and I both agreed that just a couple spoonfuls is enough, more than that and you'll end up with a stomach ache or a sugar high...probably both.  Don't say I didn't warn you :)

You will need:
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 bags cotton candy (about 4 ounces)
3 egg yolks

1. In a medium saucepan, warm milk, sugar, salt, 1/2 cup of cream and vanilla.

2. Stir in cotton candy, one chunk at a time until it completely dissolves.  My cotton candy dissolved the second it hit the milk.

3. Remove milk mixture from heat, cover, and let it steep for 30 minutes.

4. Re-warm the milk mixture.

5. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Add 1/8 cup of the warmed milk mixture to the eggs and whisk until combined.

6. Pour yolk mixture into milk mixture.

7. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens.

8. Stir remaining 1 cup of cream into custard to cool.

9. Chill thoroughly in fridge. (At least 3-5 hours, overnight is even better)

10. Churn ice-cream in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine took about 30 minutes.


11.  Store ice-cream in a freezer safe container.  I did find that this ice-cream is a lot softer than other ice-creams I've made, and it melts a lot faster! 

Red Velvet Ice-Cream

Red Velvet Ice-Cream

Red velvet cake.  Yum.  Ice-cream.  Yum.  Red velvet ice-cream.  Double yum!!!  No more explanation needed :)

You will need:
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 layer red velvet cake (or half of a double layer cake, or half of a 9x13 cake)

Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup heavy cream and milk. 

2.  Cut cake into smaller chunks and add to cream mixture.

3.  Heat cream and cake mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cake dissolves.

4.  Remove from heat and let the cream cool to room temperature.  Stir in remaining cream.

5.  Refrigerate at least 12 hours.

6.  Churn ice-cream in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine took about 30 minutes.

7.  In a small bowl mix together frosting ingredients.  Carefully stir into ice-cream.

8.  Place ice-cream in a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours before serving. 

Adapted from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

Brownie Ice Cream

Brownie Ice-Cream

Last time I made vanilla ice-cream, I served it with brownies. That got me thinking, why not add brownies into the ice-cream? I decided to give it a whirl and I was so pleased with how it turned out!

You will need:
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 large egg yolks
6 brownies (about 1/3 of a 9x13 pan) (You can add more or less, depending on your preference!)

1. In a medium saucepan, warm milk, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of cream.

2. Using a sharp knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add them to the hot milk mixture, along with the vanilla pod.

3. Remove milk mixture from heat, cover, and let it steep for 30 minutes.

4. Re-warm the vanilla milk mixture.

5. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Add 1/8 cup of the milk mixture to the eggs and whisk until combined.

6. Pour yolk mixture into milk mixture.

7. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens.

8. Remove vanilla pod (rinse and wipe clean, you can re-use it!).

9. Stir remaining 1 cup of cream into custard to cool.

10. Chill thoroughly in fridge. (At least 3-5 hours, overnight is even better)

11. Churn ice-cream in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine took about 30 minutes.

12. Cut brownies into small pieces, mine were less than 1/2 an inch.

13. After ice-cream has been churned, carefully stir in brownie pieces until well distributed.

14. Scoop ice-cream into freezer-safe container and freeze until ready to serve.

Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream

Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream (12/30/10)
Mike and I had some friends over for dessert one night and I wanted something different for dessert. I still had 2 vanilla beans left (time to buy more!) and I was wanting to use them! Mike loves ice-cream and I have an ice-cream maker but we haven't been impressed with the results from previous recipes. I'd never made a custard based ice-cream and I decided it was time to try it. We were all pleased with the results and we'll definitely be making this ice-cream again!

You will need:
3/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
4 large egg yolks

1. In a medium saucepan, warm milk, sugar, salt and 1/2 cup of cream.

2. Using a sharp knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean and add them to the hot milk mixture, along with the vanilla pod.

3. Remove milk mixture from heat, cover, and let it steep for 30 minutes.

4. Re-warm the vanilla milk mixture.

5. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks. Add 1/8 cup of the milk mixture to the eggs and whisk until combined.

6. Pour yolk mixture into milk mixture.

7. Stir constantly over medium heat until mixture thickens.

8. Remove vanilla pod (rinse and wipe clean, you can re-use it!).

9. Stir remaining 1 cup of cream into custard to cool.

10. Chill thoroughly in fridge. (At least 3-5 hours, overnight is even better)

11. Churn ice-cream in your ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Mine took about 30 minutes.

12. Scoop ice-cream into freezer-safe container and freeze until ready to serve.