Sweet and Saucy

Dr. O and I had a belated birthday celebration for a friend at our house last night. When we were planning the menu last week, we asked the guest of honor what he would enjoy for dessert. His answer? “Something with Oreos.”

I love Oreos - LOVE them! - but I literally can’t remember the last time I bought a pack. Unfortunately, this meant I didn’t have a treasure trove of Oreo recipes to reference. I was telling my mom about the situation when she suggested I make a dish she used to make when I was a child - Oreo Ice Cream Cake.

Here’s what you need:

1 regular package of Oreos (18 oz.)
1 half-gallon ice cream (I used Blue Bell Natural Vanilla Bean), softened
1 cup hot fudge (I used Mrs. Richardson’s)
Caramel sauce for garnish (I used Mrs. Richardson’s here as well)

I think my mom used to make this in a 9 x 13-inch pan, but I used a springform pan so I could make it more cake-like. First, I used my food processor to finely grind 16 oreos (filling included). I pressed that into the bottom of the springform pan.

Next, I spread half of the ice cream over the crumb base. I think the best way to do this is to dollop the ice cream over as much of the surface as possible, and then gently smooth it. That way, you’ll avoid spreading the crumb base all over as well.

I coarsely crushed 12 Oreos in a large plastic bag and then sprinkled that over the first layer of ice cream. I drizzled the cup of hot fudge over the top of the Oreos and gently spread it with a spatula to form an Oreo-fudge center. Then, I topped everything with the rest of the ice cream, again dolloping and spreading gently.

I put the springform pan on a baking sheet, covered it with foil, and let the cake set in the freezer until firm, about 2 hours. Then, I ran a hot knife around the outside of the cake and released the side of the pan. (I just left the base underneath - I wasn’t going to attempt a platter transfer with a loose crumb crust.) I coarsely crushed 10 more Oreos and then pressed the pieces into the outside of the cake. (Dr. O called it an Oreo mosaic!)

I put the cake in my cake carrier and tucked that into the freezer.

When it was time to serve the cake, I cut it into wedges and drizzled it with the caramel sauce. I had a guest photographer on this one - thanks, Kari! She took care of business while I cut the other pieces.

For something so simple, this was amazingly good. I didn’t think it was going to taste bad - how could it, with only tasty ingredients? - but I was pleasantly surprised by the texture of the Oreo-fudge center and how well the cake layers turned out. Jason, thanks for the request! Mom, thanks for the idea!

TIPS: I gotta say, this was a bit messy to create and serve. If you use a springform pan, you’ll have a little bit of leakage as the first layer of ice cream begins to melt when you’re putting the cake together. In retrospect, I think I should have set my pan inside a plastic bag or on a layer of paper towels or something. Next time!