We’re going back to the beginning with this cake. Ice Cream Cakes- that’s what started it all. Can I tell you a story?
I moved from Los Angeles, California to Burlington, Vermont when I was 18 and straight out of high school. I had it in my head that I didn’t want to go to college right away, and that I wanted to do some soul searching, as far away from my parents as I could get. I landed in Burlington with one suitcase and the phone number to one friend that I knew there. My friend Niki graciously let me stay in her apartment, and her Lisa friend gave me a job at the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream flagship store. Miracously I had it all worked out. I had a place to stay and a job. There was just one small hitch- I was TERRIFIED. I had never been so far away from home and out in the world on my own. I literally stayed in Niki’s apartment for a full week. I never even cracked the door open. I knew that I was in a strange place, surrounded by people I didn’t know and I, frankly, didn’t want anything to do with any of it. I stayed in that apartment listening to Niki’s entire music collection and taking lots of baths. That’s when I discovered I loved Billie Holiday and grapefruit bubble bath.
What finally drove me out of my cave? Food of course, I ran out of food and I’m no good with hunger pains.
Once I was out of the apartment and well fed, I realized that my new surroundings were actually pretty awesome. People acknowledged me as I walked down the street. I lived right around the corner from the most beautiful lake, a glass blowing studio, a picture perfect chapel and a culinary school that fed me samples of their student food every day. It was the most beautiful, friendly, warm and open place I’ve ever been.
My job scooping ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s quickly turned into the head cake decorator position. I could frost and decorate an ice cream cake like maniac. And because we’re talking about wild and wacky Ben and Jerry’s, the flavor combinations and signature tie dye frostings were completely over the top.
I loved my job. I loved Vermont. I met some characters that I won’t soon forget.
Once I stepped out of that apartment door, after a week of solitude and regret, I felt that I was blazing forward on the life I knew I wanted for myself. I also learned how to make a killer Ice Cream Cake along the way. That’s was almost ten years ago…. wow.
How I made a Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream Cake-
What You’ll need:
2 8-inch (3-inch deep) round baking pans- you’ll need a deep cake pan to build your cake.
Vanilla cake batter (recipe to follow)
Half Gallon Strawberry Ice Cream
Heavy cream to make whipped cream frosting (recipe to follow)
Vanilla Cake
adapted from the “Confetti Cakes” cookbook via ButterCakesbyEvan
2 cups cake flour (8 ounces)
1 3/4 cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour (8 ounces) (yes, two types of flour)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
3 cups granulated sugar (21 ounces)
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 cup egg whites (8 ounces; about 7 eggs)
1 1/2 cups milk, room temp (12 ounces)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter, flour, and line pans with parchment paper (optional) and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla to the eggs and then add the egg mixture, a little bit at a time, until fully incorporated. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Try to do this as quickly as possible so you don’t dry out the cake by over mixing. It is okay to add the milk immediately after adding the flour, and vice versa.
Divide the batter between your cake pans and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For cupcakes, bake 20-25 minutes.
Whipped Cream Frosting
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
In a large bowl of an electric mixer add whipping cream and vanilla extract. Using the whip attachment, begin to beat the mixture on medium speed. Gradually add the powdered sugar, increase the speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assembling the Cake
Step One: Grease the two 8-inch round cake pans. Make the vanilla cake batter and add about 2 -2 1/2 cups of batter into each cake pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove cakes from oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Once cooled, loosen the edges of the baked cake with a butter knife, flip the cake pans over onto a wire rack. Return 1 cake round to one of the 8-inch cakes pans and place the other cake round on a plate. Place both cake pan and plate in the freezer to begin to freeze the cake rounds.
Step Two: Freeze the cake rounds for 1 to 2 hours. You’ll need the cakes to be firm enough to spread fairly hard ice cream over them. Take the ice cream out of the freezer about 15 minutes before you’d like to use it, letting it rest on the counter.
Step Three: Remove the cake that’s in the cake pan from the freezer. Using the back of a stiff spatula, spoon the strawberry ice cream into the 8-inch cake round, on top of the first layer of vanilla cake. I used all but 1 cup of the half gallon of ice cream. Leave about 1-inch of space from the top of the 3-inch deep cake pan. At this point you’ve got a vanilla cake bottom layer topped with strawberry ice cream, leaving about 1 inch of empty space at the top of the pan.
Step Four: Remove the plated vanilla cake layer from the freezer. Place the second layer of vanilla cake inside the 8-inch round, on top of the strawberry ice cream. Return pan to the freezer to set for about an hour, depending on how soft your ice cream became while you were shaping the cake.
Step Five: Make Whipped Cream Frosting and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Step Six: After 1 to 2 hours in the freezer, remove the cake pan. Run a butter knife under hot water and run the knife along the cake, in between the cake pan and the ice cream cake to loosen the sides. Flip pan over onto a serving plate or cardboard cake round. Return cake to freezer if you find it too soft.
Step Seven: Quickly frost Ice Cream Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting. Return to the freezer to chill. Decorate the cake as you like. I used fondant to make a layered heart topper.
August 11th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
This looks fantastic! I love Burlington too!
August 11th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
That is so cool Joy! We lived in Vermont for over 10 years, just 20 miles south, half way between Burlington and Middlebury. We sailed off in our sailboat down Lake Champlain, the canal, Hudson River, around Manhattan, up Long Island Sound and ended up in RI. All that to say, I agree with you whole heartedly that Burlington is one one of the most amazing places on earth! The Lake is magical, the city vibrant, the night life is crazy and the food is to die for. The people are warm and friendly and there’s always a hello even from people you don’t know.
Ben & Jerry’s and Lake Champlain Chocolates are THE BEST foods in the world!
I miss Vermont so badly. Why did I move? Cause you can’t live on a sailboat in the winter in Vermont! Otherwise we would still be there!
Do you know Healthy Living Natural Food Store? The old Origanum? Shelburne Supermarket? If so, you’ve probably eaten my cookies from Honeymoon Kitchens!
Great lesson in Ice Cream Cakes BTW! That’s one thing I never mastered! Kudos to you! Fantastic Post!
August 11th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I love the first shot with the frosting and exposed ice cream. Mmmm.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:20 am
this is fabulous…..i dont have the courage to try to make one myself…but i love ice-cream cakes….lovely pics…
August 12th, 2008 at 2:58 am
It must have been pretty cool to work at Ben & Jerry’s! I love ice cream cakes because they combine 2 of my favourites. Yours look great, of course being yourself a pro!
August 12th, 2008 at 3:38 am
Wow! Our stories are so similar! I left home at 18 as well, without any intention of going to college. I moved to Gatlinburg in the Great Smokey Mountains where I had a friend that worked at the aquarium there. I got a job at the aquarium and at this amazing little brewery and had a blast for a year. I was also very home sick at first…and over worked. I had never worked so much in my life!
I fell in love with the critters at the aquarium and was so thirsty to learn as much as I could, so I chose Biology as a major and came to Mobile for college. Now I’m married and teaching biology, still in Mobile, AL.
Thanks for the great story! Love it!
Ev
August 12th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Wonderful story, Joy! You were so lucky to figure out what you wanted out of life at 18. The cake looks delicious and the photos are so beautiful!
August 12th, 2008 at 5:16 am
Mm wow this looks delicious, I’ve never actually had an ice cream cake before :O we dont really do them in england which is a shame cause I really want to try one. Also having a job in Ben n Jerrys must have been so cool, would love to try that out one time!
August 12th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Your cake looks gooooooood! You take such terrific photos. Do you have a post I missed with any helpful hints?
August 12th, 2008 at 7:42 am
this looks totally awesome. even if i don’t make the cake, i’m sooo using the frosting.
August 12th, 2008 at 7:46 am
As a girl who is struggling to figure out where she is going after college and trying to fight her way through the fear of failing, I absolutely loved your story. Thanks for reminding me that sometimes the scary things turn out to the best things ever. And great cake, by the way
August 12th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Great story — well told, too. Makes me sigh and wish I’d had the nerve to make a similar move early in my life. Clearly, that has made all the difference to you. The cake is fabulous. I’ve always wondered how to put one of these together without making a huge mess. Thanks!
August 12th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I love ice cream cakes! Thanks for sharing!
August 12th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Ah… my first job was at a Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop when I was just fifteen. While I was often on waffle cone duty cause I was the fastest wrist around I relished when I got to sit back and decorate our customer’s cakes. My favorite was helping a co-worker construct a six layer ice cream wedding cake. Oh… memories!
August 12th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Love your story! I’ve always thought Vermont sounded like a charming place. Just looking at your cakes brings a smile to my face!
August 12th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
a job at ben & jerry’s doesn’t sound bad! this looks really yummy!
August 12th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
That looks so good! When I was a kid and my mother asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday I would always ask for and ice cream cake like this. It has been too long since I last had an ice cream cake.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
gorgeous pictures and the cake looks delicious! ice cream cake is one of my favorites, and a must have for my birthday! i bet it’s super good with the whipped cream frosting!
August 13th, 2008 at 11:52 am
That frosting recipe sounds SO good. Joy, you are a goddess, as always.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I remember a quick trip to Vermont many years ago and stopping at a B&J’s and being amazed at all the different ice cream varieties! They just weren’t available where I shopped. This ice cream cake looks wonderful.
August 13th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
this looks delicious. You really had guts to go alone at 18 . i wouldn t have done it.
August 13th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Wow indeed. I like your style of writing; it’s as if I can actually hear you speaking, not an easy feat to accomplish.
August 13th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
What a cool story! It was like, your destiny.
August 14th, 2008 at 10:15 am
I HEART ice cream cakes!
August 15th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I too worked at the Ben & Jerry’s in Burlington, but it was around the corner in the 80s, when I went to UVM. I made ice cream cakes and gained about 20 pounds eating the free pints they sent me home with after my shift. It was the beginning of a long life in sugar. What a nice memory and a funny coincidence!
August 19th, 2008 at 3:36 am
[...] have to admit, this cake does look a little ambitious but worth the try. This is a perfect cake to do for a birthday [...]
August 20th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
What a neat story, how interesting that that’s how you got started. That cake looks delicious, by the way.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 am
[...] top with ice cream (Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia) and chocolate syrup and maybe even some homemade whipped cream [...]
September 3rd, 2008 at 12:59 pm
This looks delicious