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Cake & Cheesecake | August 24, 2012

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

I still remember the first time I ate an ice cream cake. I was 16 and it came from Baskin and Robbins in my (then) little hometown of Bremerton, WA. My friend Lance worked at B&R on Wheaton Way. I loved going in and chatting with him and eating a scoop of Fudge Brownie (dark chocolate with brownie chunks) on a sugar cone. One day, I had a slice of an ice cream cake.
Oh.
My.
Finding two of my favorite treats in one dessert- cake and ice cream, topped with frosting, this was love.
Several years later, when I had kids, I started making ice cream cakes for them. It was way less expensive than buying a birthday cake and always tasted better. Ice cream cake was (and continues to be) a big hit with kids and adults alike. It’s simple and one of those treats you’ll get requests for over and over again.
Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake is my new favorite cake recipe to use when making an ice cream cake. So simple to make, you only need one bowl. It’s adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe found here. I modified it to bake up at our mountain altitude, and added sour cream for an extra moist cake. Love the texture. It’s dense enough to support the ice cream and frosting, and still fairly light, like a cake should be. I used Tillamook’s “Udderly Chocolate” ice cream for the filling. YUM.

Are you still reading? Do you want to know who the winner is for our “blogiversary” giveaway? Me too. Okay, here goes.

Winner of 10 gift certificates for Tillamook yogurt; 3 gift certificates for Tillamook ice cream; the Tillamook Cheese Cookbook; and the Vintage Cakes Cookbook by Julie Richardson is…

Comment #9,Mandy B who said:
“My favorite cake is my mom’s birthday cake – white or yellow cake with her special birthday cake frosting!”

Thanks everyone for playing and for all of your kind comments about this blog and sharing your fave cakes. Now here’s the recipe. Give it a try, let me know what you think…
Step-by-step assembly for your viewing pleasure 🙂
Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake


After you have made and completely cooled the cake, place it on a plate, or a 10 inch cake pan lined with wax paper. Scoop the ice cream onto the cake. I use a large spoon, because I don’t want the ice cream to come out in large rounded scoops. Start covering the first layer with ice cream.

Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
FYI- this is Tillamook’s “Udderly Chocolate”a mixture of milk chocolate, white chocolate and chocolate flakes. Cover the entire top of the first layer with ice cream.
Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake
Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake


After you have covered the first layer with ice cream, top it with the second cake layer. Place another piece of parchment or wax paper on top of the cakes and press down to bring the sides of the cake together.

Finished product:
Wowie.
Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

4 from 2 votes
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Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

A Bountiful Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder plus more for pans
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Ice cream 1.75 quart container of chocolate (I used Tillamook)

Chocolate Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 3-4 tablespoons milk or cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • dash of salt

Instructions

  1. Place rack in center of oven and heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2-9 inch round cake pans, and line bottoms with parchment; butter parchment, and dust with cocoa.
  2. Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on medium speed, stir in eggs, buttermilk, warm water, sour cream, oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes.
  3. Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
  4. Let cakes cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely. I place the layers on a cooling rack in the fridge to cool them quickly.

For the frosting:

  1. Cream butter, powdered sugar and cocoa in a large bowl. Mix in milk and vanilla, add salt. Beat until smooth add a little more milk if needed.

Assembly, three basic steps:

  1. When cakes are cooled completely, place one of the cakes on a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper. I like to place the cake in a 10 inch Spring form pan or 10 inch cake pan, but a plate will work as well. Scoop the ice cream onto the cake. I use about 3/4 of the container. Try to make an even layer of the ice cream, then place the second layer of cake on top of the ice cream. Using another piece of parchment or wax paper, Press down on the top layer of cake. Don’t worry the cake will not be ruined, press down evenly, so the ice cream will be compacted and the layers meet up more closely on the sides. Don’t cry if part of the cake sticks to the paper, just scrape it off an eat it as an appetizer.
  2. * see additional note below about pressing down on cake.Place the cake in the freezer for at least two hours.
  3. When ice cream cake has been frozen for at least two hours, remove from freezer and place on serving plate. Frost top and sides of cake. Place back in freezer and let sit for at least another hour.
  4. If preparing ahead and cake is frozen for several hours, remove about 30 minutes before serving to allow for easier cutting.

Recipe Notes

-Don’t let the length of this recipe intimidate you. It’s basically cake, ice cream and frosting. Best to start this recipe the day before serving. You can make the cakes, and place in the freezer or fridge for easy handling. Make sure to freeze on a flat surface.
-I have used lots of different recipes over the years. Boxed, home made, they all work well with ice cream cakes. But home made is always best 🙂
-You may use any flavor of ice cream. I thought when I picked up this flavor it was plain chocolate. While I loved the flavor and taste of “Udderly Chocolate”, I prefer a solid color for the ice cream layer. I just like the way it looks as opposed to the mixed brown and white of this particular carton of ice cream.
-*Pressing down on the second layer of cake: This step is important if you want to be able to frost the sides of the cake and avoid huge gaps between the cakes. Press down evenly. It may be helpful to press down using a cookie sheet to get an even surface.
-This cake keeps well in the freezer for about 2 weeks if covered tightly with plastic wrap.

6 thoughts on “Triple Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

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Recipe Rating




    1. Lauren, So sorry I missed this question when you first posted! For the record, Ill leave you my tips (in case anyone reads this question in the future!). First, place a small smudge of frosting on the plate before placing the cake on plate. This will help the cake to stick and stay in place. Next, or actually first, if you freeze the cake it will be easier to frost. Frost the bottom layer first, then place the top layer on the bottom layer. Then I frost the sides of the cake, and finally the top. After I frost the top, I smooth out the sides and re distribute frosting if needed. If you like a very smooth finish, dip your knife into a glass full of water before smoothing. Hope this helps!

  1. 3 stars
    Cake and ice cream ratio was off. Too much cake. I think I will cut the recipe in half and bake only one cake and cut that cake in half and then I will get the ratio that I wanted. Plus, it was way too thick to cut especially being frozen. Needed more than 30 mins. to become soft enough to cut. Also, I cut the amount of sugar in the cake down to a cup. Didn’t make the buttercream. Recipe for cake is good.

  2. 5 stars
    My kids are officially hooked on this ice cream cake. Every one of them asked for it for their birthday last year. I like to make it into three cake layers and do two layers of ice cream. Sometimes I switch it up and do two flavors of ice cream, like chocolate on one layer and vanilla on the other. The frosting is perfect. The best part is that you can make the cake in advance since it’s frozen!