HappyTummy              

Though he may be turning the big 34, my HoneyB is still a child at heart. He loves watching WWF, always wishes he could order chicken nuggets and pizza from the kids’ menu, plays Starcraft and loooves himself some ice cream!

To celebrate B’s birthday, I wanted to surprise him with a really special cake. Lately, he’s been so into TCBY’s peanut butter frozen yogurt…so I thought, why not try a chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake?

For the cake, I used Ina Garten’s Double Chocolate Layer Cake, but instead of baking it in two 8-inch round pans as the recipe called for, I baked the entire thing in a 9-inch springform pan. Believe me when I say the cake alone was absolutely deeeelicious. There is something about the fresh brewed coffee that goes into it that makes the chocolate stand out that much more.

After the cake had cooled overnight, I split it in half and prepped it for the ice cream filling. Have you tried Edy’s Slow Churned line? All the flavors are so creamy…and the best news is, it has half the fat as regular ice cream. Mmmm. After letting a tub of the Peanut Butter Cup flavor soften a little, I used an offset spatula to spread it on the bottom half of the cake (which I put back into the springform pan). I had to work quickly before the ice cream completely melted. Then, I covered it up with the top half of the cake.

The cake was definitely time consuming. After sandwiching the ice cream in between the layers of cake, I had to refreeze the entire thing before icing it. When I pulled it from the freezer, the ice cream layer had hardened perfectly.

The icing was simple. I decided to frost it a la Aunt Sandy–with a big ‘ole tub of Cool Whip. Not the prettiest cake, but definitely tasty…and B was a happy camper. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HoneyB! I love you!

Recipe: Double Chocolate Layer Cake (Ina Garten)
Adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe, as featured in Food & Wine

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line them with parchment paper; butter the paper. Dust the pans with flour, tapping out any excess.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, mix the flour with the sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt at low speed. In a medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the oil, eggs and vanilla. Slowly beat the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients until just incorporated, then slowly beat in the hot coffee until fully incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert the cakes onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.