Cake & Ice Cream

Once upon a time, I hated ice cream sandwiches. Even as a kid, I didn’t like those thin, soggy “cookies” filled with tasteless ice cream that are sold in grocery stores. Then I discovered the ice cream macaroons at Jeni’s Ice Creams. For the uninitiated, Jeni’s is a company that makes artisan ice creams right here in Columbus, Ohio. They use local, seasonal ingredients and make ice creams that are rich and flavorful, but not overly sweet. Jeni’s ice cream is excellent on its own, and is only enhanced when it’s made into sundaes, floats and other treats. That’s where ice cream sandwiches come in. Jeni’s takes their ice cream and sandwiches it between two handmade macaroons. The first one I ever tried was Double Chocolate Buttermint, which is exactly what it sounds like. Two fudge macaroons are filled with buttermint ice cream. The resulting treat made me realize that ice cream sandwiches, when made carefully and with quality ingredients, can actually be very good.

Of course, I still wasn’t about to go to the grocery store and buy those icky ice cream sandwiches that they sell. I just figured I’d content myself with the occasional Jeni’s sandwich & leave it at that. The idea of making them myself never even crossed my mind, until I came across an article devoted to ice cream treats in the June issue of Food Network Magazine. It has recipes for homemade versions of classic ice cream truck treats, such as Orange Cream Pops and ice cream sandwiches. I plan to make several of the treats featured in this article, starting with these Ice Cream Sandwich Cakes. Sure, they’re not Jeni’s macaroons. But their rich, fudgey cake puts those nasty grocery store cookies to shame.

Ice Cream Sandwich Cakes
Makes 18 sandwiches

Ingredients
4 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. coffee, brewed
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 pints mint chocolate chip ice cream

Directions
1. Line bottom of two 8″ square cake pans with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325°.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl.
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk about 1 minute to dissolve the powder.
4. Transfer cocoa mixture to a bowl and whisk in sugars until combined. Add coffee, buttermilk, egg and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly between both pans. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Allow cakes to partially cool in the pans, then invert onto a rack to cool completely. Transfer cakes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour.
7. Take ice cream out of freezer and allow to soften for 20 minutes. Clean and dry cake pans, then line each with plastic wrap, leaving a 4″ overhang on all sides.
8. Scoop all ice cream into one of the pans, packing it to make an even 1″ thick layer. Use a spatula to smooth the ice cream. Fold the plastic wrap over the ice cream to cover it, then freeze until solid, at least 1 hour.
9. Put 1 frozen cake in the remaining cake pan. Unwrap the ice cream and invert it on top of the cake. Remove plastic wrap and cover with remaining cake, pressing gently. Cover cake with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
10. To serve, unwrap the cake and cut it into 9 squares. Cut each square in half to make 2 rectangles. Enjoy!

That's a big ice cream sandwich!

Recipe Source: “What A Scream”, Food Network Magazine, June 2010.

Normally, I stick to ice cream flavors that involve chocolate, peanut butter or coconut. Saturday’s cold, rainy weather put me in the mood for something a little more seasonal. Enter Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns ice cream. Like all of their ice cream, Cinnamon Buns comes in a colorful container festooned with graphics of cows and clouds. The ice cream itself is caramel with swirls of streusel and cinnamon bun dough in it. It tastes like brown sugar and cinnamon with a creamy background. I had wondered if the caramel would be too much. Surprisingly, it works perfectly with the cinnamon and sugar streusel swirl. The dough reminds me of the chocolate chip cookie dough that they put in ice cream, which is what I had expected. My only real complaint with this ice cream is that it’s almost too sweet. This is probably a good thing since it means I can’t eat too much of it in one sitting. Overall, though, it’s very good and something I’ll buy again.