Peanut Butter Chocolate Bliss!

Ever since the Reese's commercial that said "Hey! You got peanut butter in my chocolate," I've been a huge fan of that flavor combination. Luckily, my oldest son loves the combo almost as much as I do, so when I showed him a picture of a peanut butter ice cream cake, he wanted nothing else but that for his birthday. 

The Today Show posted the recipe that Carson Daly's wife made for him for his birthday. Here's her version:



 


After reading the recipes, though, I tweaked it a little to get even more peanut flavor in there, and a little more texture by adding some chopped peanuts.  I also thought the ganache would be too hard once it was refrigerated again, and I want the gooey, almost ice cream sundae experience, so I switched the ganache for hot fudge sauce and added some of it in the middle of the cake as well. The following is my take on Siri Daly's original:

Ingredients:

• 1 package Oreos (I used peanut butter filled Oreos, because of course!)
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 pints chocolate peanut butter ice cream (I used Talenti brand - the only chocolate-peanut butter ice cream I could find at the store), softened
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened (you can let this soften in the fridge while the chocolate ice cream layer is in the freezer)
• 1 bag Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, chopped and divided (I probably used 2.5 cups total, chopped)
• 2 - 11 oz jars of hot fudge sauce
• 1.5 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter

To make the cake:

1. Butter a 10-inch springform pan (preferably one that is 3 inches deep), bottom and sides. 

2. In a food processor process Oreos until finely crushed.  With processor running, pour melted butter into the crumbs and process (you will need to stop and scrape the bowl at least once). Pulse a couple of times to get the crumb mixture to a wet sand consistency that stays together when you pinch it. Using a rubber spatula (or your hands, the bottom of a metal measuring cup works well, too), place mixture into prepared pan and evenly press over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Place in freezer for about 10 minutes.

3. Scoop out the chocolate peanut butter ice cream into the cake pan and evenly spread. Pour about one jar of fudge sauce (you might have to warm up a little to get it to a pourable consistency). Sprinkle about half of the chopped peanut butter cups and about peanuts on top (enough to get an even layer over the fudge sauce. Freeze for one hour.  

4. Scoop out the vanilla ice cream on top of the peanut butter cups and evenly spread. Freeze for one hour.

Here's a pic just before I spread the vanilla ice cream:

Note: Steps 1 through 4 can be made a day or two in advance

5. About 15 minutes before you want to serve the cake, pull cake out of the freezer and put in the refrigerator to soften slightly.  This is what it will look like when you take it out of the freezer. Kind of boring, yes, but this is when the magic starts!

6. Just before serving, take cake out, run a thin knife between the crust and the pan side to loosen it, then pull the side of the pan away from the bottom. put the cake on serving plate. Drizzle the second jar of fudge sauce on top of the cake, letting it pour down the sides. Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped peanut butter cups and peanuts. 

7. Microwave the peanut butter in a small bowl until it is pourable. Pour over the top of the cake.  Here's what the finished product looked like: 

8. Serve. If you're having a bit of an issue cutting through, run your knife under hot water dry it, then try again. We also served with whipped cream, so you could do that, too. It's gilding the lily a little bit, but oh so good!

It was a huge hit! And ice cream cakes are so easy (you just need some patience with the softening and freezing), that this is a perfect summer treat!