Happy Birthday to the Husband!

Yesterday was the husband’s birthday, and he asked for an ice cream cake this year. I went on the web and found this recipe at Epicurious; the original recipe used peppermint candies and extract to flavor the ice cream, but I opted for leaving the ice cream on its original vanilla flavor, as we definitely like it more around here.
One of the husband’s favorite ice creams is vanilla-Oreos, so when I spotted this recipe I knew right away it was going to be a success. And it sure was; we all liked it a lot here! Although, with lots of ice cream and chocolate, what is not to like?!
It is not a difficult cake to make, actually the crust and glaze is all there is to make. The rest is basically assembling and waiting for it to freeze as you go. Quite simple, but you need to make it in advance.
The cake provides a good contrast between the softness of the ice cream and the firmness of the crust, plus the shinny and gooeyness of the glaze. One word: Yummy!
Now, recipes apart, we are going to Brazil today, so it will probably be a few days before I post again, but do come back, because I will sure be posting while we are there!
See you all soon!
Ana

Ice Cream Cake
Crust
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
8 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 9-ounce packages chocolate wafer cookies (about 61 cookies)

Glaze
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped

Filling
7 cups vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

For crust:
Melt butter with chocolate in heavy small saucepan over low heat. Finely grind cookies in processor. Add warm chocolate mixture; blend just until crumbs are moistened. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture in small bowl. Press remaining crumb mixture onto sides, then bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Freeze.

For glaze:
Bring cream and corn syrup to boil in heavy large saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Let stand until cool but still pourable, about 1 hour.

Assembling:
Spoon half of ice cream into crust; spread evenly (place remaining ice cream mixture in bowl in freezer). Sprinkle reserved 1 cup cookie crumbs over ice cream in pan; press gently. Pour 1 cup chocolate glaze over ice cream in pan. Freeze 1 hour. Top with remaining ice cream; spread evenly. Freeze until firm, about 4 hours. Stir remaining glaze over low heat just until pourable but not warm (I nuked in the microwave for 20 seconds). Pour glaze over ice cream; spread evenly. Freeze overnight.
Run sharp knife between crust and pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Garnish as desired and serve.
(adapted from the following recipe from epicurious.com: Chocolate-perppermint Ice Cream Cake)