Brownie and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

I have excitedly taken on the role of the birthday cake baker for the celebrations of my best friend’s special days!  It provides me the opportunity to be creative and experiment!  Last week we celebrated Shae’s birthday, I was inspired by her favorite candy – dark chocolate peanut butter cups…the result was a decadent dessert - Brownie and Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake!

Brownie Recipe

From "Got Chocolate" Blog

Ingredients:

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares

1-cup butter

4 eggs

2 cups white sugar

1-tablespoon vanilla

½ cup flour

1-cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1.     Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2.     Prepare your baking dish – recipe requires two 8-inch circular pans OR 9-inch circular pans (I used 9” because that is what I had available) – for easy removal from baking dish use parchment paper with edges exceeding the rim of the dish.

3.     Melt unsweetened baking chocolate and butter over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until almost melted.  Remove from heat and sit until completely melted.  Set aside.

4.     In a large bowl, beat eggs until a light yellow color is achieved.  Add sugar and mix thoroughly.

5.     Add vanilla and melted chocolate to the egg and sugar mixture.  Mix until smooth, then add the flour and combine thoroughly.

6.     Pour batter into greased/parchment papered pans.  Distribute batter evenly across pans and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

7.     Baking time will vary slightly between dish size – Bake for 23-25 minutes, may require additional minutes – implement the toothpick rule – brownies are done when toothpick is clean upon removal. 

8.     Set aside to cool – I utilized the freezer to speed cooling time.

(These are the best brownies I have ever made – if you aren’t baking the cake, you can bake the brownies in a 9 x 13” dish for 45-55 minutes)

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe

From the blog "Life, Love & Sugar"

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter

8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar

¼ cup whole milk

12 ounces cool whipped topping (thawed)

1. Combine milk, cream cheese, sugar and peanut butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer. Mix until completely combined.

2. Fold in the cool whip.

Cake Toppings

10-ounce jar of Trader Joes Caramel Sauce

10-ounce jar of Trader Joes Chocolate Fudge Sauce

16-ounce container of Trader Joes Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups - chopped

Assembling it all:

1. Line the sides of an 9 OR 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper should stick up above the top edge of the pan, since the cake will probably be a little taller than your pan.

NOTE: You should be using the same 9 or 8-inch pan you used for the brownies.

2. Put the first brownie layer in the bottom of your pan.

3. Spread 1/2 cup caramel sauce and 1/2 cup chocolate sauce over the brownie. Top with first group of chopped peanut butter cups

4. Top with half of the peanut butter ice cream.

5. Add second brownie to the pan, on top of the ice cream.

6. Again cover with 1/2 cup caramel sauce and 1/2 cup chocolate sauce. Top with second group of chopped peanut butter cups.

7. Top with remaining peanut butter ice cream.

8. Allow ice cream cake to freeze completely.

9. When frozen, remove from springform pan and remove parchment paper from sides.

10. Top with additional caramel sauce and chocolate sauce, allowing it to drizzle down the sides.

11. Cover with remaining chopped peanut butter cups and a little more caramel and chocolate sauce.

INDULGE!!