Oreo mint-chocolate-chip ice cream cake...and a birthday shout-out

My son is officially *9*!  I'm a bit shocked just thinking about it! 

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to my little guy!!

(I think he's now officially earned big guy status!)

I think a birthday is the ultimate reason for celebration and all the more so when it's a child's special day.  So it's time for another ice cream cake!  I've gotten into the habit of making some sort of ice cream cake for my son's birthday in the last few years.  They're easy to make (I keep it simple), delicious (because we're talking ice cream so you just can't go wrong), and perfect for summer - or near-summer - birthday boys and girls.

Oreo cookie crust, plenty of mint chocolate chip gelato and whipped cream frosting

I stick to basic flavors my son enjoys.  This year's ice cream cake is made with an Oreo cookie base, topped with homemade mint chocolate chip gelato, and iced with whipped cream.  It may be just a 6-inch cake but I packed a good quart of gelato/ice cream in there!  My boy likes ice cream and plenty of it!

Knowing that I'm not exactly deft at cake decorating, I was a little concerned about frosting the ice cream cake.  I used stabilized whipped cream, or whipped cream with some bloomed gelatin added, to make sure it would hold up and not separate.  I managed the stabilized whipped cream and I got through the frosting.  No one will say my homemade cakes don't look homemade!  The main thing is the birthday boy approved!  He took a look at my concoction after school and wanted to dig into it right away because "it looked so good" (yay!).  In fact, we actually did slice into this homemade birthday cake a bit early.  Since dad has to work late on the actual big day, we started the cake-eating early.

To be honest, it feels like we've been in birthday celebration mode for a while.  I think children's birthday celebrations always seem to stretch at least a week or more!  This year's celebration included an early birthday party two weekends ago with a group of buddies.  This year, my son opted for a noise-infused gathering: think bumper cars, arcade style games, capped off with pizza and ice cream cake.  Having a party outside of the house sure makes for easy clean-up!  The party venue doesn't allow you to bring any food except for a cake or cupcakes.  My son wanted the ice cream cake they serve there but I couldn't resist bringing a little something extra, even if it was totally unnecessary. I thought I'd bring mini cupcakes, and the birthday boy settled on yellow cupcakes with his favorite chocolate frosting.  I was surprised by his yellow cake selection but I suspect the cake was secondary to the frosting!  Here are some of those cupcakes...the one with the gold stars was special for the birthday boy:

Meanwhile, I think June rivals December for "busiest month of the year" status.  It's been a crazy month or so and I'm sure many of you can relate!  The school year wraps up very soon and I'm looking forward to a slower pace.  

My son and I decided many months ago that this year's birthday ice cream cake would involve an Oreo crust and mint chip ice cream.  He loves those two things and I wanted to try a whipped cream frosting to mimic all those ice cream cakes I enjoyed myself as a child.  

One day, not long ago, I saw a version of Oreo mint chip ice cream cake from Bakerella that reflected a lot of what I was thinking about for this year's birthday cake.  I filed that away and it served as a good drawing board for this though my version is a little different in that I used regular Oreos (instead of mint), homemade ice cream and stabilized whipped cream (instead of whip topping) to frost the entire cake.

The "naked" cake.  I used a 6-inch cheesecake pan, with a removable bottom, lining the pan with plastic wrap for easy removal

I used the mint chocolate chip gelato recipe from Ciao Bella that my son really enjoys.  In this case, I added 4 ounces of finely chopped dark chocolate and I tinted the ice cream with about 3 drops of green food coloring.

I'm not totally sure stabilized whipped cream was necessary for my ice cream cake but I figured it was better to be safe than sorry!  I think it depends on how quickly you plan to eat the cake and whether you'll be storing it for a few days or not.  I'd heard of adding a little bit of bloomed gelatin to whipped cream to stabilize it - in other words, to keep it from separating, and to avoid any "weeping" as my ice cream cake starts to melt.  

I started with a recipe that turned out to have odd proportions and instructions.  Luckily, I remembered that Kelly from Life Made Sweeter uses stabilized whipped cream in some of her cakes so I followed her directions.  It worked really well.  I gave the cake a quick crumb coat with the stabilized whipped cream, let it set about 5 minutes in the freezer, then gave it another good slick.

The large star tip and I are trying to be friends but we're still at the getting-to-know-each-other stage of our relationship.

To finish the decoration, I added some crushed Oreo cookies to reflect what's going on inside.  The green sprinkles are a little nod to the mint chocolate chip ice cream within and, more importantly, it's the birthday boy's favorite color. 

With the 9th birthday milestone, I can't help but think about the big 10 coming up next year.  Where on earth does the time go?


Recipe:

Oreo Mint-Chocolate-Chip Ice Cream Cake
Cake inspired by the birthday boy and Bakerella, stabilized whipped cream recipe adapted from Life Made Sweeter and David Lebovitz

- For one 6-inch round cake - 

For Oreo Crust:
12 Oreo cookies
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For Ice Cream Layer:
1 quart homemade mint chocolate chip gelato, or store-bought ice cream of your choice
(Using the recipe above, I stirred in 3 drops of green food coloring after straining the custard.  Near the end of churning, I added 4 ounces of finely chopped dark chocolate.  The consistency of the just-churned gelato is ideal for applying into the cake.)

For Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
4 teaspoons cold water
1 cup heavy cream, cold
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional toppings:
2 crushed Oreo cookies
Sprinkles

Line a 6-inch round cheesecake pan (one with a removable bottom) with a large piece of plastic wrap, leaving about a 2-inch overhang.  (Or use a 6-inch springform pan with removable sides and line the bottom of the pan only.)

Grind Oreo cookies in a food processor or small food chopper until fine.  Add melted butter to combine.  Turn crumbs into the prepared cake pan and press firmly and evenly across the bottom of the pan (I use the bottom of a glass).  Chill pan in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

Remove pan from the refrigerator and top with the gelato/ice cream.  Use an offset spatula to pack the ice cream down and smooth the top.  Cover the cake with a piece of plastic wrap and freeze for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

To make the stabilized whipped cream, place gelatin and water in a small bowl and allow a few minutes for it to bloom/thicken.  Place the bowl in the microwave and heat at 5 second intervals until gelatin is dissolved.  Set aside to cool to room temperature.  Do not allow it to set.  Whip cream on high-speed in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Add sugar and vanilla when cream begins to hold its shape.  Once it starts to thicken, slowly beat in the gelatin on low-speed.  Whip on high-speed until stiff.

Remove cake from the freezer.  Remove cake from the pan by pressing down to remove the bottom and using the plastic overhang to pull out (or remove the sides of the pan if using a springform pan).  Remove plastic wrap and set cake on a serving plate (it's a good idea to freeze the serving plate as well).  Spread a thin layer of the whipped cream around and on top of the cake using an offset spatula.  Place cake in the freezer for 5 minutes to set.  Then spread and smooth another final layer of whipped cream over the cake.  You can place some of the whipped cream into a piping bag to decorate as you like.  Top with some crushed Oreo cookies and sprinkles, if desired.  Place cake in the freezer for about 15 minutes to set before serving.  



Mini Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

In case any one is interested in the mini cupcakes, I'm linking the recipes below. The yellow buttermilk cupcakes are moist and fluffy, and they pair really well with the super moist, smooth chocolate frosting.

Recipes: 

Yellow cupcakes - In this case, I baked the batter in miniature muffin tins and got approximately 40 mini's.  Bake until mini's are puffed, set, and spring back to the touch, approximately 12-15 minutes.

Chocolate buttercream frosting - This is probably my son's favorite chocolate frosting, and it's from our favorite chocolate cake.  I made half the recipe but ran out of frosting with the last half-dozen cupcakes so I'd recommend making a bit more.  I improvised by using a little Nutella, whisked together with some confectioners' sugar.  That makes a tasty frosting but the firmness of the Nutella didn't match as well with this light and soft yellow cake.  The chocolate buttercream pairs really well with it, making for a soft, fluffy bite.