Ice cream cake

Two layers of ice cream on a biscuit base with a crunchy layer between them. Made a day ahead, and the only hard part is slicing it.

Cakes and slices · Hands-on: 40 min · Waiting: 6 h · Total time: 6 h 40 min · Servings: 12 · Difficulty: Moderate

Freezing in stages: base 30 minutes, first ice cream 2 hours, crunchy layer 20 minutes, second ice cream at least 3 hours (overnight is best).

An ice cream cake is the best reason to make ice cream at home in quantity: it is built from two flavours you already have, and it looks like an occasion.

It is built in layers, and each layer must set before the next one goes on — otherwise the flavours blend into one grey mass. Between the ice creams goes a crunchy layer (crushed biscuits with butter or chocolate), which does two jobs: it adds texture and acts as a partition the layers cannot bleed through.

There is only one rule for slicing: the cake has to soften first and the knife has to be hot. Straight from the freezer it breaks under the blade rather than cutting. Let it stand for 10 minutes, dip the knife in hot water and wipe it after every cut.

What you need

  • 250 g chocolate biscuits for the base
  • 110 g butter, melted
  • 700 g chocolate ice cream (bottom layer)
  • 700 g vanilla or caramel ice cream (top layer)
  • 100 g biscuits or wafers for the crunchy layer, roughly crushed
  • 60 g dark chocolate, melted
  • 200 ml whipped cream to finish
  • 2 tbsp chopped nuts or chocolate shavings

Method

  1. Line the base of a 22 cm springform tin with baking paper and the sides with a paper strip. Put the tin in the freezer.
  2. Crush the biscuits to coarse sand and mix with the melted butter. Tip into the cold tin and press down firmly with the base of a glass. Freeze for 30 minutes.
  3. Let the chocolate ice cream soften for 10 minutes, then spread it over the base in an even layer with a spatula. Smooth the top and freeze for 2 hours.
  4. Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted chocolate and spread them over the set ice cream in a thin layer. Freeze for 20 minutes.
  5. Soften the second ice cream and spread it on top the same way. Smooth the surface with a spatula dipped in hot water.
  6. Cover with film so it does not touch the surface and freeze for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
  7. Before serving, take the cake out, release the tin and let it stand for 10 minutes. Finish with whipped cream and the topping.
  8. Slice with a long knife dipped in hot water, wiping it dry after every cut.

Serving and storage

Well wrapped, it keeps for 2 weeks in the freezer. Longer than that and the surface dries out and picks up odours — wrap it tightly but keep the film off the decoration.

Tips

  • Airier ice cream suits a cake better than a very dense one — a softer layer slices more easily.
  • Two flavours that do not fight: chocolate and vanilla, coffee and caramel, strawberry and fior di latte.
  • The crunchy layer must be thin. A thick one shatters when sliced and the cake falls apart.
  • Add the whipped cream only before serving. In the freezer it hardens and loses volume.
  • If you scoop the ice cream in rather than spreading it, air pockets between the scoops show up as holes once frozen. Always spread each layer.

Which ice cream works

Shop-bought will do, but homemade makes it a different dessert. These recipes of ours fit:

Amount: 700 g per layer, 1.4 kg in total

More desserts

  • Baked Alaska

    Ice cream baked in the oven and still cold. The meringue is insulation — full of air, and air does not conduct heat.

  • Cookie ice cream sandwich

    Ice cream between two cookies, frozen firm. The trick is that the cookie has to stay soft — a hard one snaps when you bite and the ice cream shoots out.

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