Quick and Easy Ice Cream Cake – what a delightful desert on a hot summer day. Make it up the day before and you are all set to impress one and all alike.
Crust
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
- 3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (or vanilla)
Flip the base of a 9 inch springform pan upside down. Line the base with foil and wrap side band with plastic wrap. Re-assemble pan.
Stir 1/3 cup cream with the condensed milk together in a bowl and stir in the crumbs until well combined but still crumbly. Press this mixture on the bottom of the prepared and midway up the sides.
Ice Cream
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp. instant espresso powder
Combine the ingredients and using an electric mixer, whip until soft peaks form. This should now be fluffy and very light. Scoop this into the pan and smooth the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight. Wait…not done yet.
Next morning make your topping.
Ganache
- 2/3 cup unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 pkg. Malteser candies
Over a pot of simmering water, place the chocolate and cream in a metal bowl and place over the pan. Just don’t let the water touch the bowl. With a spatula, stir constantly until the chocolate has melted and completely smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup condensed milk until there are no streaks.
Pour this over the frozen cake and smooth the top. Arrange the candies about a 1/4 inch apart around the outer edge of the cake. Freeze for about 15 minutes or until the ganache is firm.
Release the cake from the pan, transfer to a pretty platter and slice away.
This will and should feed 12 people. Okay, you want larger servings and licking the plate is not an option. It is a must. I am kidding of course.
Raspberry Glass Cheesecake
I love cheesecake and, if you serve smaller portions after dinner, everyone will absolutely love this one.
- 1 1/4 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- pinch of cinnamon (secret ingredient)
- 8 oz. dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 pkg. Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- eggs
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla
Assemble 9 inch springform pan with base lip-side down. Stir crumbs with the melted butter and cinnamon until moistened and with the back of a spoon, press the crumbs evenly in the bottom of the pan.
Cover the bottom and sides with tin foil. Press on to adhere and bake crumb base in the oven of 325 degrees for 5-6 minutes and set aside.
Filling
Set a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water and melt the chocolate until smooth and let stand to cool to room temperature.
In your mixing bowl, add the cream cheese with sugar and beat for 3 minutes until silky smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time and then add the vanilla. Stir one half of this into the melted chocolate and gently scrape onto the cookie base. Smooth the top and then gently pour the remaining filling on top of that.
Bake in a 325 oven for 60-65 minutes. Turn oven off and let sit in the oven to cool down for one hour. Be sure to put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven to allow for moisture and omit a cracking top. Do not open the oven door when cooling the cheesecake down or it will crack.
Chill in the refrigerator, uncovered until chilled. To keep longer, cover at this point and store no longer than 2 days.
Glaze
1 pkg. frozen raspberries (or blackberries)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. unflavoured gelatin
Press the berries through a sieve to make 3/4 cup juice. In a saucepan bring the juice and sugar to boil, stirring for 30 seconds until the sugar has completely dissolved.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the glaze and gelatin and let this sit for 1 minute. Stir in the remaining raspberry mixture and refrigerate, stirring often for at least 60 minutes until it becomes like liquid honey. Pour this over chilled cake gently spreading to cover the top evenly. Refrigerate for another 60 minutes for this to set.
Good Grief! Not only is this pretty to look at, but it tastes as good as it looks.
Yummy!