A couple of weeks ago our family celebrated the Isaacs' birthdays. For the double party I made two ice cream "cakes". There happened to be no cake involved at all.
The boys were really excited to try this new concoction made of cookies and ice cream. They both had a hard time sitting still so I could take their picture.
I made a peanut butter and chocolate cake (back) and the other one was modeled after Neapolitan ice cream (front), but this method can be used with any flavors of ice cream and cookies you like. This recipe was very basic and easy, but pretty time consuming. I started by making most of a package of cookies into fine crumbs(I used Oreo cookies for the Neapolitan cake and Nutter Butters for the peanut butter cake). Using a spring form pan, I spread two-thirds of a cup of the cookie crumbs on the bottom of the pan, then mix them with a few tablespoons of melted butter. Once the crumbs are moistened press that mixture into the bottom of of the pan to make the crust and bake until the crust is set and fragrant. Obviously, the crust and pan needs to be completely cooled before you start layering the ice cream.
For each layer of ice cream you'll need one pint of ice cream. To make the first layer, work one pint of ice cream with a spoon in a bowl to soften the ice cream. Once the ice cream is softened, spread the ice cream onto the crust. Make sure to level the ice cream out, an offset spatula works great. After the ice cream is leveled off, sprinkle about half of the remaining cookie crumbs over the ice cream. Gently press the crumbs into the ice cream to help them stick. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer. Each layer must be frozen before you add the next layer. I found it took about 30-45 minutes for the ice cream to get hard enough. Repeat this with the remaining two pints of ice cream, ending with ice cream, and make sure to let it freeze for at least two hours before you serve.
Decorate the sides with colored sprinkles, crushed cookies, nuts, really anything you want, pressing it into the sides after the sides of the spring form pan is removed. I topped my cakes with whipped cream and some left over cookie crumbs.
