I did a quick Google search for ice cream cakes and came across this post from The Kitchn for a 5 minute ice cream cake. It seemed too good to be true. I hit up the local Shoprite, purchase a box of 24 ice cream sandwiches for $2.25 and bought 2 1/2 gallons of Friendly's ice cream, on sale for $1.99 each. The grand total was $6.00 on supplies. We settled on Vienna Mocha Chip for one cake and sugar free Mint Chocolate Chip for the second. I honestly thought we had Oreo cookies in the house, so I skipped these at the store. Oops, we were all out. Our cakes were short a layer or two, but oh well, they were still delicious.
Each cake took 6 ice cream sandwiches and 1/4 gallon of ice cream, split into 4 alternating layers. I decided to forego the chocolate syrup and served it on the side, with whipped cream, as recommended originally. The large box of ice cream sandwiches and 2-1/2 gallons of ice cream was enough to make 4 loaf pan sized cakes. This breaks down to $1.50/cake, unbeatable by any retail alternative.
Each cake makes about 12 slices, which boils down to 150 calories per slice (with the low calorie ice cream and no additional toppings). You could cut this down more using a low calorie ice cream sandwich like Skinny Cow, granted these are round and a little harder to work with.
This cake is easily customized to your current tastes and cravings and whatever is on sale that week. Various toppings can be added between the layers, like nuts, chocolate chips, sprinkles or cookie crumbles. Sauces can be squeezed in to add variety of flavor. The possibilities are endless. Try birthday cake ice cream for a summer birthday bash. Replace the layers of ice cream sandwich with layers of your favorite cake or brownie to make it extra festive. I can't wait to try another flavor combination!
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| Step 1: Line loaf pan with aluminum foil |
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| Step 2: Cut ice cream sandwiches to fit in loaf pan |
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| Step 2 (cont): Arrange sandwiches in loaf pan |
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| Step 3: Spread softened ice cream over ice cream sandwiches |
Half-Homemade Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 6 Ice Cream Sandwiches
- 1 Pint Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt, softened
- Crushed cookies, cake bits, pretzels etc.
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, etc
Instructions
- Line a loaf pan with foil, overhanging the edges to allow you to easily remove the cake later.
- Place 3 ice cream sandwiches as the base layer, cut sandwiches if necessary.
- Smother 1/2 of the ice cream over sandwich layer.
- Sprinkle with cookies and pack into ice cream to avoid crumbling later.
- Repeat steps 2-4.
- Freeze several hours or overnight.
- To serve, pull foil and dislodge cake from pan, peel back foil from cake and slice with sharp serrated knife. Serve with whipped cream and syrup on the side.
