Aug 16
2009

“Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.”
Don Kardong, 1976 U.S. Olympic Marathoner

About two weeks ago I was standing in my grandma’s kitchen while she got dessert ready for everyone. “This is a trick I learned from Tutu*,” she said as she pushed small scoops of vanilla ice cream onto cones dipped in brightly colored candy sprinkles. “You dip the cones in sprinkles, put the ice cream on, and then sprinkle the ice cream with more sprinkles. She used to call these ‘dulces’ [the Spanish word for ‘sweet’] and we loved them.”
Then she handed the cone off to one of my young cousins who happily carried it into the dining room to enjoy.
My grandma is a master when it comes to menu planning. On this particular afternoon she had dulces for the kids,
and a more sophisticated ice cream cake for the adults. I asked her about her recipe for the ice cream cake and she told me that it was one from my Aunt Mary (with a few minor changes). She then went on to describe how she had made it.
This past week my two sister-in-laws and my nephew have been staying with us. My nephew turned three the week before arriving, so we decided to throw a little belated birthday party for him. When I was trying to decide what to do for his birthday cake I kept thinking about that ice cream cake that my grandma made and decided to come up with my own version. It was delicious (though maybe not quite as good as my grandma’s), though I will definitely make a few adjustments the next time I make it. I think my nephew’s favorite part was blowing out the candle.
My version is really more of a non-recipe recipe. You’ll see after I explain the basic process, that you can add or take away any of the layers, or change the ingredients and come up with an entirely new cake, so it is easily customizable to your tastes.


Fuji Mama’s (+/-) 5-Layer Ice Cream Cake

Adapted from recipe as explained by Grandma C

(1) Cookie Crust
(2) Chocolate Layer
(3) Ice Cream Layer
(4) Caramel Layer
(5) Whipped Cream Layer

(1) Cookie Crust:
1 package regular Oreo cookies (about 45 cookies)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1. Twist the Oreos apart, scrape out the cream filling (place in separate bowl and save for layer 5). Place cookies into a large Ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin (or throw into a food processor and pulse) until the crumbs resemble coarse sand. Pour about 3/4 of the cookie crumbs into a 13×9-inch baking pan (reserve 1/4 of crumbs for layer 5).
2. Drizzle melted butter over crumbs, mix with a fork, and then use the fork to gently press the crumbs flat into the pan. Put in freezer to set. While in freezer, make layer 2.

(2) Chocolate Layer:
12 oz. (2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter

* Next time I make this I will probably half the amount of ingredients that I used. This chocolate layer is quite thick, which makes it difficult to cut through when the cake is finished. Although it is difficult to cut through, it was yummy, but it was more like a chocolate cookie on bottom, and less an integrated part of the cake.
1. In a heavy saucepan, heat chocolate chips and butter together until melted, stirring constantly until shiny and smooth.

2. Let cool slightly and then spread quickly over crust. You’ll want to work quickly otherwise it will start to pull up the crust. Put in freezer to set (sets quickly).

(3) Ice Cream Layer:
1.5 – 2 quarts of your favorite ice cream

1. While layer 2 is setting, set ice cream out to soften. Here is one area where I would make an adjustment to what I did. I used a very soft ice cream for this cake. In the future I will use an ice cream that freezes a bit firmer, as this particular ice cream melted too quickly. You want something that will soften at a slower rate, giving the rest of the cake time to soften with it when you pull it out to cut it.
2. Scoop out large spoonfuls of ice cream and place on top of chocolate layer. Press and spread ice cream down (I found a large metal spoon to be particularly effective) into even layer. Put in freezer to set. Let set completely (this may take several hours depending on the ice cream you are using).

(4) Caramel Layer:
homemade/store-bought caramel topping
Drizzle layer of caramel over ice cream and put back into freezer.

(5) Whipped Cream Layer:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
cookie cream filling (saved from Oreo cookies in layer 1)
crushed Oreo cookie crumbs (reserved from layer 1)
1. In a large bowl pour 1/2 cup of the heavy whipping cream over the reserved cookie cream filling and mix until you have a smooth paste. Slowly add the rest of the cream and then whip at medium speed until soft peaks form.
2. Spread whipped cream over top of caramel layer. Sprinkle reserved cookie crumbs over whipped cream. Put in freezer to set for at least 2 hours.

*Before you serve the cake, remove it from the freezer and allow it to sit at room temperature for several minutes so that it will be easier to cut.


* Tutu is the Hawaiian word for grandmother and is what we called my great-grandmother (my paternal grandmother’s mother).

{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }

RecipeGirl August 17, 2009 at 12:08 am

Good LORD, that is one delicious treat!

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Jas. August 17, 2009 at 12:41 am

mmmm…if I could eat oreo's I'd totally make this! Delicious!

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Fuji Mama August 17, 2009 at 12:58 am

Jas.– You can use any kind of crust you like for this. You could even use a ground walnut/pecan crust! Then, instead of using the oreo cream filling in the whipped cream layer, just use granulated sugar instead.

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Fuji Mama August 17, 2009 at 1:00 am

RecipeGirl– Yes, unfortunately for my hips, this is definitely true!

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Jas. August 17, 2009 at 2:59 am

FujiMama – oh don't worry I'll come up with a substitute! I was just lamenting the loss of oreos in my diet :)

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K and S August 17, 2009 at 4:32 am

I recognized the word (tutu) and wondered…was your great grandma's mom from hawaii?

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Tamakikat August 17, 2009 at 6:49 am

Thank god for Tutu and all Nanas.

TK

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Nicole-Lynn August 17, 2009 at 7:10 am

That cake looks dangerous! :) Sounds and looks so yummy!

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birchgirl August 17, 2009 at 9:14 am

I love the dulces! Was going to take my son for ice cream after his first day of kindergarten but am going to bring him home for dulces instead and start a new first-day-of-school tradition.

And your cake is … OMG! The layer of caramel is my kryptonite.

Great post. I so appreciate how much time/work it is to include all those photos and details.

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birchgirl August 17, 2009 at 9:17 am

Hilarious quote: without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos. Very true!

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Deeba @Passionate About Baking August 17, 2009 at 9:19 am

OMG how gorgeous is that! Yay for your lovely and gracious tutu, and yay for you…how beautifully you shared this treat! Fabulous!

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Bob August 17, 2009 at 9:45 am

Guh. Er, 'scuse me. My keyboard is suddenly damp…

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LollyChops August 17, 2009 at 10:41 am

WOW! That looks completely awesome! My favorite part is def the oreos. I loves me some oreos.

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Fuji Mama August 17, 2009 at 10:50 am

Thanks everyone! Does anyone live close enough to come and take a few pieces off of my hands? I currently hear it calling to me from the freezer and I don't know how much longer my will power can hold out before I….

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Darina August 17, 2009 at 11:13 am

This looks awesome! All of my favorite flavors. Ice cream cakes are the best. I may actually have to make this very soon.

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Andrea@WellnessNotes August 17, 2009 at 11:42 am

What a fun cake! I love the pic of your nephew! :)

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Jenn August 17, 2009 at 12:37 pm

That's so neat. Your grandma is co cool. A really clever idea. I love i ce cakes, so this will fit perfectly for me. If no one wants any, I'll take it all. LOL.

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Natalie August 17, 2009 at 8:00 pm

This is the best looking ice cream cake I have ever seen. Geez it looks good!!!

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Rane August 18, 2009 at 12:06 am

Evil… how could you show me this?? Now I just have to go and
make it!! Grrrr! hehehe!
Geeezzz peer presure!
haha!

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Nutmeg Nanny August 18, 2009 at 12:03 pm

Amazing! I need to make this right now:)

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veron August 18, 2009 at 7:45 pm

This looks fantastic. What a yummy looking ice cream cake!

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oneshotbeyond September 11, 2009 at 4:21 pm

looks so heavenly! I am amazed!!!

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Melanie October 1, 2009 at 1:08 pm

Oh my god! I made this cake for dessert on saturday and though everybody told me they wouldn't be able to eat their piece, nobody left as much as a crumb on their plates.

Thank you very much for this fantastic recipe!

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Fuji Mama October 1, 2009 at 2:24 pm

Melanie– I'm so glad that you liked it! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know–it always makes my day when a reader let's me know they've made one of my recipes (and even more so if they liked it)!

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Ice Cream Cake Shop November 10, 2009 at 3:10 am

Very nice ice cream cake recipe. We make ice cream cakes with our own natural brand of Lickme icecream.

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Jimmy and Amanda May 30, 2010 at 7:06 pm

Hey ! We are going to attempt this visually enticing treat for my (Jimmy) mom’s 54 th. Hope it tastes half as good as it looks!

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Allison June 21, 2010 at 10:08 pm

Just wanted to say that this cake is a TOTAL win.
A.) Super easy to make
B.) Eating it is just…man is this thing good
I made this for my dad for father’s day and everyone loved it! You were right about the chocolate layer, it was pretty tough trying to cut through it once frozen, but it all tasted awesome together. Thanks for the GREAT recipe! It’s hot down here, so I’m definitely going to be making this again this summer.

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acai berry energy November 1, 2010 at 10:58 pm

i was suppose to start dieting tomorrow, until i saw this recipe. i’ll just start after i made this recipe.

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Zenzi July 29, 2011 at 7:19 am

I have been informed that I owe my friend an ice-cream cake, and this looks like JUST what I need! Creative, well-explained, and tasty — I’m excited. Thank you!!!

About how much time do you ration out to make this recipe, besides the 2 hours at the end? Does each ice cream layer set pretty quickly in the fridge?

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Zenzi August 2, 2011 at 7:42 am

@Zenzi,

In case anyone’s interested, the ice cream layer takes only about 20 min to set in the fridge, and the chocolate layer about 3 minutes. Also, I stirred some kahlua and cream into the chocolate layer — and it was totally cuttable (more like a ganache than hard chocolate). I also hit the whipped cream w/ some kahlua, and instead of oreos i lazily used chocolate graham crackers. my friend LOVED this cake!!! thank you for this amazing recipe!!

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Mariana June 4, 2012 at 5:41 pm

I made this dessert for my boyfriend’s birthday (with choc chip cookie dough ice cream instead) and I am pretty sure he us more in love with me and so are his buddies. Thank you so so much. Ha!

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Gypsygirl August 28, 2012 at 1:37 pm

Loooooooks so good its going to be my birthday cake. Best recipe ever

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Gypsyboy August 29, 2012 at 1:33 am

Happy Birthday gypsygirl. I love you.

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Gypsygirl August 29, 2012 at 9:29 pm

Thanks Gypsyboy! All you commenters should go on chat roulette! see you’s there :D

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Hannah September 14, 2012 at 10:08 am

just made this – a little more time consuming than anticipated and was very impatient waiting for the ice cream to soften enough to spread but i look forward to eating it! Looks great!

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Minxy December 21, 2015 at 12:54 pm

Can I make this a day in advance? Wont the cream layer go funny if frozen for too long?

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