Whoppers Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Cake

 

Happy Birthday to Bonbons and Biscotti....

And what better why to celebrate a birthday than with CAKE!!! Not just any cake but ice cream cake- just in time for spring!! There is nothing better than sitting on the back porch in the sun eating ice cream cake- YUM!

OK, there is a reason that I chose this recipe; actually a few. First I love malted milk balls and we have already established my love for dessert, but the need to make this recipe is more about having something that I never got to have for my personal birthdays. Yes, as I mentioned in my previous post, I always had a great birthday with a awesome cake made by my Mom, Toni "the master baker." However,  every year when my little sister's birthday rolled around in sunny June she had a cook out and a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake!  I wanted an ice cream cake sooooo bad but as in most small towns in rural Pennsylvania, the Dairy Queen was only open in the summer months. This made a lot of sense for my region. Really, who wants to sit outside on a picnic table and eat ice cream in 2 feet of snow? Since I was born on a blustery day in late January, an ice cream cake (or a cookout!!!) was never a possibility for me.  My birthdays were always rushed events that people came to, ate and left before the roads got to snowy to travel.  In their own way, my birthdays were festive and memorable but to this day... still no ice cream cake. Well, by making this cake I have solved that dilemma. Now I can have decadent chocolate cake on my birthday in January and mile high ice cream cake for my blog's birthday.  I am a happy girl!

I want to personally say thank you to all of you that followed my blog and watched me grow in this past year. As I have noted, I have had some hard days these past 2 years and every time I get a note of encouragement or hear that someone else has read my blog or tried one of my recipes, it warms my heart. I hope that I have inspired some of you as well. Remember Love Begins In The Kitchen... show someone that you love them.

XOXO

Rebecca



Whoppers Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Cake

This cake looks complicated but it is really quite simple and will feed a crowd. It does take some time to wait for the whole cake to refreeze but the actual work is minimal. Give it a try!. You will impress yourself!!

1-2/3 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers

1/4 cup sugar

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 (12 ounce) carton Whoppers or malted milk balls

2 quarts best quality vanilla ice cream, softened

1/2 cup malted milk powder

7 ounces milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy cream

 

For crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush graham crackers.  Add sugar and butter and mix until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 10" springform pan.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until firm and set. Place in fridge to cool completely.

 

Place malted milk balls into a ziplock bag. Seal the bag and crush the candies with a mallet or a rolling pin. Put to the side a 1/2 cup of crushed Whoppers to be used as part of the topping. In a large bowl, stir ice cream , malted milk powder and remaining crushed malted milk balls.

Spread the ice cream mixture evenly over the cooled crust, making the top smooth. Freeze for one hour.

For  the topping, place the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Pour over chocolate chips and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk chocolate until very smooth and pour over the partially frozen ice cream cake. Sprinkle with reserved crushed Whoppers. Freeze until firm, another 6 hours or overnight.

 

Remove cake from freezer and let sit for 5 minutes. Loosen pan sides and run a knife around the inside of pan. Remove cake pan, sides and bottom and place on a serving plate. Heat up a sharp knife under hot tap water and then cut cake into wedges. Enjoy!

 

Recipe adapted from Noble Pig