ICE CREAM CAKE

What a perfect birthday cake for a child! What am I saying? What a perfect cake. Period. It didn't last long at all when I shared it with the other volunteers downstairs at Hillcrest Thrift Shop. I needlessly was concerned about leaving the community room to start my shift at the register and leaving it out on the table. (Leftovers need to be stored in the freezer.) I mentioned it to John and Josh and they rushed right into the community room to get some. Jack who worked the first shift said he got a little piece, the last of it.

My husband didn't get to enjoy any of it, but he did Friday night when Friend Pat served it at bridge group. After eating it there, I went to the store Saturday to get the ice cream sandwiches and other ingredients to make it for Tuesday.

The really good thing about the cake is that you can make it as big or as small as you want to.  In fact, it is hard to tell you actually how many sandwiches you will need because it depends on the size of your pan. Be prepared and buy two boxes of ice cream sandwiches is my suggestion.

It is also a fun cake because you can make it look different by using different ice cream sandwiches.  Pat used chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches.  I used the Neapolitan ones.  The store also had cookies and cream sandwiches, but only had one box and Pat told me she used two boxes. I think they would have made a really delicious cake.

Judy at Hillcrest asked specifics about the recipe because she said the ice cream birthday cakes at the ice cream shop are so expensive and she felt "my" cake tasted just as good.

ICE CREAM CAKE

Ice cream sandwiches (be prepared and have 2 boxes)
An 8 - 12 - oz container of whipped topping (I used 1 - 1/2  8 - oz container)
caramel ice cream topping
chocolate ice cream topping (not hot fudge topping) or chocolate syrup

Line the bottom of the pan with ice cream sandwiches (touching).
Since the sandwiches are wrapped in paper, you can experiment how you want to place them with the paper on, and then remove the paper wrapping when you decide.

Cover with a layer of whipped topping (just enough to completely cover)

Drizzle with the caramel and chocolate topping. (I used the hot fudge topping and even though I heated it in the microwave as directed on the jar, it didn't work well. I admit I didn't heat it more than directed to see if it would get thinner.)

Place another layer of sandwiches on top. My dish got slightly bigger and so my sandwiches didn't fill the space completely.  I left the extra space around the edges. You want the "cake" to be solid so if you have a little more whipped topping around the edges, that is better.

Top with whipped topping, a little more generous this time so it will look nice.

Finally, drizzle one more time with the caramel and chocolate toppings. (I switched to chocolate syrup and that worked perfectly.)





Place in freezer for a couple of hours or overnight (that's what I did).

Remove about 20 to 30 minutes before ready to serve.

Here is a picture of the one I made after I served a few pieces. Fun thing was some wanted chocolate, some strawberry, some didn't care.

Here is what Pat's looked like with the chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches.