Cookies n' Cream Ice Cream Cake

Hey Ice cream cake, who knew you were so easy to make? I sure didn’t - what a surprise!  I'll tell you what WASN'T a surprise - that this cake was good.  If you love brownies and ice cream and Oreos and fudge, this cake is a shoe-in.   And if you live in an actual urban environment, like myself, you will find that Dairy Queens are few and far between (and yet they appear so  frequently on road trips)…so knowing how to make one is really just a simple survival technique.

Anyway, HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY TO MY HUSBAND. And if he hadn’t eaten 36 oz of prime rib on his birthday night, he would have eaten a lot more of this. He loved it and still managed to enjoy a sizable piece, but at some point I couldn’t just stand by and watch while he ate himself into a small coma.

Onto the cake...I opted for a brownie bottom because we love brownie sundaes (always made from the box, please!), then layers of fudge, ice cream, oreos, more fudge, and more ice cream.

Recipe

·       1 box Duncan Hines fudgy brownies, plus associated ingredients

·       1 bottle/jar hot fudge

·       1 package of Oreos, crushed, or about 3 cups Oreo crumbs

·       ~1/2 quart Blue Bell Vanilla ice cream

·       ~1 1/2 quarts Blue Bell Cookies N’ Cream ice cream

·       ~1 cup cool whip (optional)

·       Redi Whip and Oreos for topping

No, I don’t work for Blue Bell (unless someone wants to hire me as an ice cream flavor developer?). But they’re the best, so I think you should use their ice cream in this recipe.

First, prepare the brownies for the ‘fudge-like’ instructions in a round spring form pan (you need a spring form pan).  Make sure the bottom is good and greased. I made my brownie a couple days in advanced, but if you don’t, make sure it is completely cooled before you move onto the ice cream layers.

Take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer about 20-30 minutes before to soften (leave the cookies n’ cream in a bit longer, as you’ll use it later), and place it in an individual mixing bowl.  Mix ½ cup cool whip into the ice cream (you can skip this step if you want).  Cover the brownie with a layer of hot fudge (warmed just enough to make it spreadable).  Stir the vanilla ice cream to soften it further and then spread it over the brownie; I used about ½ quart for this first layer.  Given the space constraints of a spring form pan, I wanted to use more of the Cookies n’ Cream ice cream (but add more vanilla if you desire!).  Spread another thin layer of fudge over the ice cream, then the Oreo crumbs, then more fudge.  Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes to set. Remove the cookies n’ cream from the freezer and soften; whip with cool whip if desired, then spread about 1.5 quarts over the Oreo layer.  Fill to the top of the spring form pan. Place in the freezer for one hour to set, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 4 more hours or overnight.

Remove the cake from the freezer, and remove the sides of the pan (if this is hard to do, let the cake sit for a minute or two). Garnish with plenty of whip cream and Oreos before serving.  Serve with candles!!

JUST KIDDING.

**Note: To make this even easier, you could skip the vanilla layer and add the Oreos to the brownie/fudge layer. Just make it a one layer cake with the cookies n’ cream!