Ice Cream Cake

Some men never grow up.  My husband is one of them.  Last week, I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday.  Without missing a beat, he said, "ice cream cake with chocolate candy on top."  At first I was a bit taken aback, but then I remembered all the pictures of Dayv at various birthdays, blowing out candles on ice cream cake.

On Sunday, I made his favorite childhood birthday cake come to life.  One of Dayv's requests was for it to be vanilla chocolate chip ice cream, but he didn't want it to be boring.  I decided to make a raw crust for the bottom of the cake and to also incorporate it into the decorations on top.  I also made chocolate candies based off my Valentine's Day chocolates.  Lastly, I added a little Ricemellow to the ice cream right after it had finished churning, since Dayv is such a big fan of marshmallows. 

Tonight I presented Dayv with his Happy Birthday Ice Cream Cake.  Sometimes, the best way to show you love someone is by making them an ornate vegan ice cream cake.  Sometimes, that's all you need to do.  Happy birthday, Best Friend <3  

Ice Cream Cake

for the raw crust:
2 cups raw cashews
1/4 cup medjool dates
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil

for the candy:
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil
marshmallows

for the ice cream:
2 can full fat coconut milk(chill one in the refrigerator)
1 cup vegan sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup mini chocolate chips
8 heaping 1/4 tsps of Ricemellow Creme

Make crust:

Prepare a 9" round cake pan by cutting out a round piece of parchment to fit the bottom of the pan.

Using a food processor, pulse cashews until they are crumbs.  Add in dates and pulse again until they are fully incorporated.  Pour maple syrup over the mixture and pulse again until a raw dough is formed.  It will be consistent in color and texture and hold together well.  Set 1/4 cup of the mixture aside for decoration(chill in refrigerator).  Take the remainder of the crust dough and press to the bottom of the parchment prepared cake pan, making it as even in thickness as possible.  Place in freezer.

Bring a small pot of water to boil.  Place a glass bowl overtop of the pot and add the chocolate chips.  Stir continually until the chocolate chips are completely melted.  Add in the coconut oil and continue to stir until chocolate is very smooth.  Take cake pan out of freezer and spoon/brush melted chocolate over the crust, covering the entire top.  Place pan back into freezer.

Roll out 1/4 cup of crust to your desired thickness.  Use your favorite cookie cutter(s) to make shapes to decorate the top of your cake.  Place in a sealed container in the refrigerator, separated by parchment paper, until ready to use. 

Make candy:

Bring a small pot of water to boil.  Place a glass bowl overtop of the pot and add the chocolate chips.  Stir continually until the chocolate chips are completely melted.  Add in the coconut oil and continue to stir until chocolate is very smooth.

Spoon just enough chocolate into the molds to cover the bottom.  Take each marshmallow and toss it in the chocolate until covered.  Place in the candy mold, and cover with additional chocolate until the entire mold is filled.  Refrigerate/place in freezer until candy has hardened.  Pop out of the molds and store in airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator. 

Make Ice Cream:

In a medium sized pot, combine 1 can of coconut milk and sugar.  Whisk continually until sugar has completely dissolved.  Pour into a bowl, cover, and place in refrigerator or freezer.  Once chilled, combine with chilled can of coconut milk and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.   Add to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions.  Once the ice cream has finished churning, stir in chocolate chips and Ricemellow.  Spoon ice cream into cake pan, cover, and place in freezer.

Just before the cake is going to be served, remove from freezer.  Run a knife in between the cake and thesides of the pan to separate.  Remove the springform pan and top the cake with your decorations.  Enjoy ;)