Hubby's Snickers Ice Cream Birthday Cake!

My husband turned 26 this year and since it is our second time celebrating his birthday as a married couple, I was determined to make it better than the way I celebrated last year (I made cupcakes with a disaster of a frosting). He has been on a Snickers Ice Cream kick, so I started looking up ice cream cakes to see if he would like anything along those lines (he also responded to the question: "What type of birthday cake do you want?" with "A small one." I thought the ice cream cake might make him more excited.) I found two ice cream cakes of interest in my Family America's Test Kitchen book and asked him which he would prefer. He chose this Snickers Ice Cream Cake.

From the beginning, this cake was not going to be easy. I decided that I would make my own caramel sauce thinking that it would be much better than anything I could buy in the grocery store only to find a huge problem. Either my thermometer is WAY off, or the cookbook gave me the wrong temperature. I was to bring the sugar syrup up to 350* only to have it burn before it reached 340*. The first time, I blamed it on me not paying enough attention because it shot up incredibly fast. The second time I took it off at 340* because it was burnt. The third time, I went to the store. Maybe someday I will try to make a caramel syrup again, but today is not that day.

 My hubby's favorite-chocolate ice cream.

I couldn't find the cookies desired for the recipe, so I used cookies that had the cream filling and just took out the cream filling. Note to self: make sure you pay attention and don't buy the mint kind again.

 Soften the ice cream in a bowl.

Mix in the peanut butter.

This is what it looks like mixed.

Take a loaf pan and add a layer of cookies.

Then a layer of the ice cream mixture.

Then a layer of caramel sauce.

Then repeat with a layer of cookies.

Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer.

It comes out of the freezer looking like this.

 It is very difficult to cut into the huge log of ice cream, but worth the effort.

Doesn't it look yummy?! You can see the layers better in this picture.

Snickers Ice Cream Cake:

2 pints chocolate ice cream

1 cup chunky peanut butter

32 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers

1 1/2 cups caramel or butterscotch sauce

1. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, letting the ends of the plastic wrap overhang the pan by 6 inches. Scoop the ice cream into a large bowl, then work to soften. Fold the peanut butter into the ice cream until uniformly mixed.

2. Working quickly, arrange 8 chocolate wafers to cover the bottom of the pan (some overlapping is fine). Spread one third of the ice cream mixture evenly over the wafers and smooth the top. Spread 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce over the ice cream. Repeat this layering process two more times. Finish by laying the 8 remaining wafers over the top and press them lightly. Wrap the pan tightly with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 6 hours. 

3. To serve, unwrap and gently tug at the overhanging plastic wrap to remove the loaf from the pan. (If necessary, dip the bottom of the pan into hot water.) Using the plastic wrap to handle the loaf, invert it onto a serving platter. Peel away and discard the plastic wrap. Allow the cake to sit at room temperature for a few minutes before slicing. 

Enjoy!