Mmm you all clearly know I love peanut butter. And Oreos.

This was just bound to happen.

It’s kind of like my own little tribute to the parent trap (go to 3:40 ) Anyways, I know I said I made an ice cream pie for my birthday…but that was for a pre-birthday celebration. My sister was leaving for Spain the day before my actual birthday so we had to have two celebrations. Yeah, it’s rough celebrating your birthday twice

Anyways, for my REAL birthday we had to have another treat. What is a birthday without cake?!? So since I lovveee ice cream cakes, I went with a cookies and cream layer of ice cream smooshed between two layers of chocolate cake, frosted with peanut butter cookies and cream frosting. To finish it all off, I dumped some ganache on top. YUM!

Now, if you know me at all you may be asking “Casey, why the heck are you making such a tiny cake for your birthday?!”. Well here it is, see with the ice cream pie, we had 5 people in the house (my sister, my sister’s boyfriend, my dad, mom and me) but now my sister’s boyfriend is back at school and my sister is in Spain so now it is down to the 3 amigos (My parents will love and cherish this moment that I called them my “amigos” FYI) and even though I have no doubt that we could handle a real sized cake-especially since my dad ate about half the ice cream pie himself! haha!!…it is probably best that we stick with the little size and have 3 human portions.

This. Frosting. Rocks. I was a little nervous (I don’t know why…hello?! peanut butter and oreos, PERFECTION) but the frosting turned out absolutely fabulous. Everything I hoped and dreamed of and beyond. It would be perfect for just a basic yellow or chocolate cupcake. If you don’t make this cake, MAKE THE FROSTING. Okay, I hope you fully understand now how much this frosting could potentially change your life. Have a lovely day

Mini Peanut Butter Cookies n’ Cream Ice Cream Cake

1 Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake Mix (plus ingredients on box), Prepared

1  cup Cookies n’ Cream Ice Cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 jar peanut butter  (16.3 oz.) (Yes, 1 WHOLE jar)

2-3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

pinch of salt

10 Oreos, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare cake according to directions on box. Bake according to directions on box if you want a 8 or 9 inch cake! If you want to make a mini cake like I did, this is what I did… I used a 6 inch spring-form pan, I sprayed it with cooking spray and spread a tiny bit of flour around, and used all but about 1/2 cup of the prepared cake mix it would probably be fine if you just used it all or you can use the rest to make a cupcake or two-whatever your heart desires! Bake in the 6-inch springform in a 355 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes or until center springs back when touched and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
2. Meanwhile, set your ice cream out on the counter to soften.
3. Once cake is baked, remove from oven and let cool. I was impatient so I stuck mine in the fridge….then I put it in the freezer (I told you I’m impatient!) Once cake is cooled, level top of cake by cutting with a serrated knife or sliding a string across horizontally. Remove cake from cake pan and if making a mini cake, cut cake that was in springform pan into 2 equal layers. If using a 8 or 9 inch cakes, simply remove from cake pans, wrap in plastic wrap and pop in the fridge or freezer.
4. Using the same size cake pan you just used, lay a layer of plastic wrap in the bottom making sure the plastic wrap is long enough to go up the sides as well (this helps for easy removal). Spread softened ice cream in the cake pan. Be aware of how much ice cream you are putting in there, you want to make sure your ice cream layer is thick enough but you don’t want there to be a HUGE block of ice cream in your cake!
5. Meanwhile, make your frosting. Cream the butter with a mixer until creamy. Mix in vanilla extract and salt. Beat in peanut butter until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar. Mix in milk until it no longer looks liquidey, but looks smooth. Add more powdered sugar or milk as needed until you have your desired consistency. Stir in crushed Oreos. Set frosting aside, if you aren’t going to be using it for a while pop it in the refrigerator
6. To make the ganache: place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and set aside. Heat cream in a heavy saucepan until boiling, it will increase in volume-be sure to take it off the heat before it overflows! Pour hot cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed together and combined. Set aside to cool for a few minutes before pouring over frosted cake.
7. Once ice cream layer is firm, remove from cake pan and peel off plastic wrap. Take cake layers out and place one layer cut-side-up on the plate you will be using to serve. Place ice cream layer on top. Top with final cake layer, cut-side-down. Finally, frost cake and pour ganache over the top.

Random Fact of the Day: January is National Jump Out of Bed Month.

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