Ice Cream Birthday Cake

My husband is turning 40!  As a tradition the birthday boy got to request a cake.  He asked for an ice cream cake with vanilla ice cream and white cake..oh and sprinkles which I later found out was a joke.  This is what I created and OMG it was delicious!  The almond extract in the white cake gave it a little something extra, the chocolate cookies broke up all of the vanilla and the whipped cream frosting was not too sweet.

You can do this cake with any ice cream, cake or cookie flavors you would like .  And if you would like to make it even grander you can add another layer of cake and ice cream!

Notes:  This white cake is very dry and flaky if you don't let it sit outside the freezer for a half hour.  The frosting could have been thicker.  Maybe even doing layers of it in shifts: layer on, let freeze, add another layer or keep the frosting in the fridge until it hardens a bit then put it on the cake.

First up the cake.  This makes three layers, but I only used two in the ice cream cake.

Ingredients

• 1 cup salted butter softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 3 1/2 cups cake flower
• 4 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 large egg whites room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups milk room temperature

Instructions

• Grease three 9-inch pans. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in almond extract.
• Use a fork to combine the eggs and milk together in a bowl or 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
• In another mixing bowl stir together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix in until just combined. Add in half of the milk mixture and combine. Add in another 1/3 of the dry ingredients until combined followed by the remainder of the milk mixture. Add in the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix with the hand mixer until just combined, using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom to make sure everything is mixed in.
• Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit in pans for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Wrap in plastic and freeze . 

Next up is the vanilla ice cream.  I made the custard one day and froze it the next . 

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks
• ¾ C. sugar
• 2 C. heavy cream
• 1 C. whole milk
• 1 Tbls. good vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Briefly whisk egg yolks in small bowl, set aside.

1. In small saucepan, heat cream, milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved and little bubbles are starting to form around edge of saucepan.
2. While whisking, slowly add about a quarter cup of the milk/cream/sugar mixture to bowl with the egg yolks. This is to temper the eggs and raise the temperature of the egg yolks without scrambling them. Add a bit more cream mixture and whisk again. Repeat.
3. While continuing to whisk, slowly add the egg mixture to the sauce pan with remaining milk/cream/sugar mixture and continue to stir while heating until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Swipe your finger across the mixture on the back of the spoon and if the edges stay put, it's ready. Takes about 5 minutes, more if your temperature is lower. If you have a candy thermometer cook until 170º
4. Strain mixture into bowl and set in ice bath for about 30 minutes to cool down (stir occasionally). Store custard base in refrigerator for a few hours or overnight to 
5. thoroughly chill.
6. Stir vanilla extract into ice cream custard base.
7. Pour custard base in ice cream maker and process according to your ice cream maker's instructions. For me, it's 20 minutes.
8. Store ice cream in container and let freeze several hours or overnight to firm up.

Cake Assembly

1. A day before serving, assemble the cake. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line with parchment. Spray parchment. Line the inside of the pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang on all sides. Smooth out the plastic very carefully. Place the prepared pan in the freezer for at least an hour.
2. Allow ice cream to soften a bit. Use a spoon and mix the ice cream until spreadable. Place one cake at the bottom of the springform pan. Top with half the ice cream and spread evenly. Layer with crushed up Oreos (I used about a whole row) . Cover with plastic and freeze for at least an hour . 
3. Repeat with the other half of the ice cream. Top with another cake layer before freezing. Press firmly into the ice cream and make sure it sticks. Wrap cake top with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, at least 3-4 hours but preferably overnight.
4. On the day of serving.  Using an electric mixer, in a medium bowl whip the heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat until grainy.
5. Remove cake from freezer, unmold and place on serving plate . Frost as you would normally with whipped cream. Decorate with sprinkles if desired. Freeze cake for another hour.
6. To serve, remove from freezer about 30 mins before serving. Cut with a sharp knife.