Chocolate Rocky Road Ice Cream Cake

Last Updated on July 4, 2015 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

Obviously, there’s an ice cream trend starting here, which I’m sure is not unrelated to my bearing a giant preggo belly during a heat wave.

Last week it was mint ice cream sandwiches, this week it’s an ice cream cake: a crushed chocolate wafer crust, a layer of gooey fudge sauce, salty peanuts, and chewy frozen marshmallows, topped with chocolate ice cream.. and then more fudge, peanuts and marshmallows.

I haven’t honestly been doing much actual cooking (as evidenced by the high influx of desserts lately). Well, that’s not true – I have been cooking, just not my own stuff. I’ve had a lot of work to do for clients (food photography, recipe development) which means I’ve had a lot of food in the fridge needing to be eaten up, and a lot of veggie bits and pieces left in my crisper drawer that I’ve just been tossing into 5-minute dinner salads, omelettes and quesadillas. Nothing really bloggable.

My friend Kristiana calls her clear-out-the-fridge salad “Garbage Salad” – I always think of that when I’m throwing something together from scraps. Garbage Omelette, anyone?

I love creamy, frozen desserts in the summer (ahem, Whipped Key Lime Pie). They’re great because they keep a long time, so you can always have something on hand for impromptu get-togethers, and/or you can just have a little sliver for yourself when you feel like it and not worry about the rest going bad.

Just remember to take the cake out of the freezer a few minutes before slicing it, as the texture of ice cream is always better if a bit softened. Run a sharp knife under hot water between slices.

I’m launching a website redesign next week, and I’m really excited about it! More details coming soon. Have a great weekend!

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Chocolate Rocky Road Ice Cream Cake

Prep Time 30 mins

Servings 8

Dessert

American

Ingredients

  

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For crust:

• 1 ¼ cups crushed chocolate wafers
• ¼ cup melted butter

For fudge sauce:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup corn syrup
• 6 oz chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 tbsp butter
• ⅛ tsp salt

To assemble:

• 2 pints chocolate ice cream
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• ⅓ cup salted peanuts

Instructions

 

• Combine crushed chocolate wafers and butter in a medium bowl, stirring until it has the consistency of coarse crumbs. Transfer to a fluted tart pan (or regular pie plate); press crumbs into the bottom and up the sides using your hands and/or a flat-bottomed measuring cup.
• Combine cream, sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and it comes to a bare simmer. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate; whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla and butter.
• Pour 1 cup of fudge sauce into bottom of crust and swirl the pan to coat evenly. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup mini marshmallows and 1/4 cup salted peanuts. Transfer crust to freezer until the the fudge sauce has firmed up, about 30 minutes.
• Soften ice cream a bit by removing from freezer for about 10 minutes; spread over fudge layer. Drizzle with more fudge sauce (you may need to microwave a bit to make it pourable, but not hot), then sprinkle with remaining peanuts and marshmallows. Freeze until firm. Reserve remaining fudge sauce for another use (hello, sundaes!).