I love, love, love my mother-in-law, Jolene Shapiro, and this recipe comes from her kitchen. Once you’ve become familiar with the process of making this cake, she encourages you to play with the recipe by switching up the ice cream flavors, using crumbled cookies or brownies instead of chopped nuts, and trying peanut butter sandwich cookies like Nutter Butters or another variety instead of chocolate cookies. You can decorate this cake with piped Chocolate Frosting (page 169) or Buttercream Frosting (page 175), rainbow sprinkles, candy, fruit, cookies, a chocolate drizzle, and beyond.
Yield: 8 servings
Prep time: 30 minutes | Total time: 12 hours and 30 minutes
You’ll need: a food processor and a springform pan (8 inches wide × 3½ inches deep)
2 (1-pint) containers vegan vanilla ice cream
2 (1-pint) containers vegan ice cream in a flavor other than vanilla (they should be the same flavor)
1 (14.3-ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos)
½ cup vegan butter, at room temperature
2 cups chopped peanuts (or another package of cookies that you can lay flat for the middle layer), divided
Optional Decorations:
Melted chocolate, Chocolate Shell (page 195), or Classic Chocolate Glaze (page 189), cooled
Vegan rainbow sprinkles
Chocolate Frosting (page 169)
Buttercream Frosting (page 175)
Chopped peanuts
Fruit
1. Take the ice cream out of the refrigerator and allow it to thaw on the counter while you prepare the crust.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the whole package of cookies and the vegan butter. Process until thoroughly combined.
3. Line a springform pan (8 inches wide × 3½ inches deep) with parchment paper. To do so, cut one piece of parchment to the size of the bottom of the pan, and cut another strip to wrap around the sides.
4. Using your hands, evenly press the cookie mixture into a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. (This will leave the sides of the cake exposed so you can see the layers, but if you’re worried about the ice cream melting, you can press the cookie mixture up the sides of the pan, too, for a crust that will keep the ice cream well contained while serving.)
5. Scoop the vanilla ice cream out of the cartons and spread it into an even layer over the cookie mixture.
6. Evenly spread 2 cups of the chopped peanuts (or sandwich cookies laid flat) over the vanilla ice cream.
7. Scoop the other-flavored ice cream over the peanuts and spread it into an even layer. (If you added cookie mixture to the sides of your pan and there is any excess reaching above the sides of the ice cream, cut the excess away so the cookie mixture is level with the ice cream cake.) Lay a piece of parchment paper over the open top of the springform pan, and press the parchment against the ice cream until it’s tightly packed.
8. Place the ice cream cake in the freezer and allow it to harden overnight or for at least 12 hours.
9. Remove the ice cream cake from the freezer, invert it onto a plate, and undo the springform pan. Flip the cake onto a serving plate or cake stand.
10. Top the cake with any of the optional decorations. Serve the cake immediately or return it to the freezer until you are ready to serve.
Tester Tip: “If presentation is important and you want clean lines, then pop the bottom layer of vanilla ice cream back into the freezer to firm up before adding the next layer of ice cream on top.” —Emily R.
My Tips