PrintIce cream cake - can you help me make it?
Two weeks from now, I'm making a chocolate-raspberry ice cream cake for a friend's birthday, and am now trying to hammer out the details. Specifically, I'm seeking advice on these components:
1. THE CAKE I want the base to be a white cake (just one not-too-thick layer), but am unsure as to which type would be best - angel food, sponge, old-fashioned sheet/layer cake made with butter? I'm not really sure how being in the freezer for a time would affect each type and which would hold up most well.
2. THE TOPPING What type of frosting/glaze should I use? I was initially thinking a bittersweet hot fudge-type of sauce that could be poured/spread on while fairly cool (so as not to melt the ice cream) but would firm up AND still be reasonably pliable once in the freezer. Anyone have a recipe that fits those criteria? To further complicate matters, yesterday I saw a lovely and delicious-looking ice cream cake recipe that used a topping of good old chocolate ganache. But would that be wrecked by going into the chill depths of the freezer??
So yeah, I'm obsessing over this cake - but happily, I swear. If anyone else has any opinions/ideas regarding the cake base or chocolate topping, they would be very welcome! (Apologies for the long-ish post.)
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13 Comments:
I have a recipe that make usually in the hot summer months. Super easy.
Angel food cake cut in 1/2
Soften strawberry ice cream and use as frosting the middle
Place sliced strawberries ontop and then the top layer
Frost entire cake with soft ice cream with more sliced berries
Freeze until ready to serve
YUM
Hunnyoil at 3:40PM on 04/08/08
Ganache was my first thought - it should hold up great in the freezer. Personally, I hate angel food cake and wouldn't eat it, no matter what else I loved was piled on top. I would think most cakes should work. I've frozen many over the years and never had a problem. Are you looking for a white cake because that is her preference? A chocolate brownie base would work and be delicious and sturdy. Just a thought.
PerkyMac at 3:50PM on 04/08/08
I had a white chocolate - raspberry ice cream cake a couple times. First had it at a lovely restaurant (L'Espalier in Boston, MA, back when M. Medeb was chef-owner), then later my husband duplicated it at home.
It had two layers -- one white chocolate ice cream and the other raspberry sorbet -- separated by hazelnut meringue layers. Rather than topped with ganache, it was served with a bittersweet chocolate sauce decorated with creme anglaise.
The meringue was chewy & crisp even after freezing and complemented the ice cream and sorbet well.
Not too hard to make if you do it in stages. The ice cream and sorbet can be made several days in advance. You could use store bought, if they are really good quality. The meringues can be done ahead too and then the cake assembled the day before.
kjgibson at 4:04PM on 04/08/08
Two Words...Fudgie the Whale.
nelson5757 at 5:05PM on 04/08/08
@ nelson5757 - Haha, I requested a Fudgie the Whale every birthday for the better part of half my life! (I'm 22 now and haven't even had a birthday cake for the past few years, but I may need to revisit Fudgie this summer.)
@kjgibson - That sounds utterly delicious, and beautifully sophisticated to boot.
@ PerkyMac - She did specifically ask for white cake, but if it turns out well, maybe next time I can use the brownie idea, which does sound yummy!
@ Hunnyoil - Thanks for the suggestion! Ah, I can't wait for fresh strawberries again...
ienefra at 5:36PM on 04/08/08
I find a sponge cake or chiffon layer works better than butter cake which to me gets too firm in the freezer. Ganache works great. Make sure the ice cream is really frozen if you are using ganache so it doesn't melt through. Another option is cocoa whipped cream - this is easier to spread without ice cream melting through. Warning: ice cream cakes are always messy when you cut into them.
karen r at 5:36PM on 04/08/08
sponge or genoise not too sweet but richer not so fluffy about 1/2 inch layer. spread the cake with either a jam or melted chocolate (tiny rice crispies/nuts/crumbled cookies/grated chocolate ala fudgie the whale) then put in the springform, cover with your softened ice cream, I like to make my own and stop the ice cream maker when its soft stage. Then add to the springform pat down and cover with plastic wrap go back to the fridge for 3 or 4 hours.
You can also make a regular layer cake or cake roll and freeze that the same. Just use the ice cream instead of the icing in the middle and use the spring form pan to form and freeze. With cakeroll use plastic wrap and roll it up then cover with heavy duty foil to form and freeze.
If you want to frost this use a sweetened whipped cream.
1/2 pint heavy cream, chilled
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
unwrap and ice the cake and put it back in the freezer for another hour.
Take out of freezer 30 mins before serving.
JerzeeTomato at 6:12PM on 04/08/08
This Baklava Ice Cream Cake is the best ice cream cake I've ever had. Give that link a click, even just to look at the recipe - it's definitely a project. The author of the recipe is a very good, long-time friend of mine and I was lucky enough to attend the party where the cake was served. It's amazing.
chiff0nade at 6:24PM on 04/08/08
i always remember a cake i had when i was a kid. i don't know if it is as good as i remember, but someone had sliced the top off of an angel food cake (probably storebought), hollowed out a space, and filled it with peppermint ice cream, then put the top back on. i can't remember if it was iced with something, but probably not, because it was served with hot fudge on top.
carriebwc at 9:50AM on 04/09/08
I would adapt this recipe:
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=48a1148337fd3110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=type_1&autonomy_kw=zuccotto
Just fill i with ice cream instead! This ganache recipe is good as well, makes a nice shiny and firm coating.
peachfish at 1:49PM on 04/09/08
I see you want to have a cake-cake layer... but I would go with an ice cream bombe - where you can create layers of different ice creams and sherbets and freeze them as you layer each one... Ina Garten has a version in the Food Network site
And if all esle fails... CARVEL baby... they make the most awesome ice creams cakes with the little crunchy thingy in the middle of the chocolate and vanilla flavors. MMMMM!!!
MadelynRodriguez at 2:05PM on 04/09/08
You can also buy those ice cream bombe molds. Easy.....
Hunnyoil at 2:40PM on 04/09/08
I have done it before with a regular white cake- I have a tall sided pan, line with foil, spray with cooking spray, make ganache, pour it in the pan, put cake, ice cream, cake, ice cream, pour ganache over and let pour down sides. Freeze. To unmold carefully run hot water over the outside and flip onto a plate. Peel off the foil. It will be pretty and already iced with the ganache from top and bottom!
Another idea: I usually do it with a brownie, but what about a blondie?
karenita at 10:07PM on 04/09/08