What’s better than birthday cake? This Buckeye Ice Cream Cake recipe (Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake) with a chocolate cookie crust, chocolate ice cream, crunchy peanut butter fudge, and peanut butter ice cream, all covered with homemade peanut butter whipped cream.

Happy birthday to me! Actually May 15 is my birthday but nothing wrong with celebrating it all week/all month/all year. It’s not a milestone birthday, so it’s simply another year with another cake.

Every year, I make my own birthday cake. If someone else makes (or buys) me a cake, then that means I ate two birthday cakes that year.

If I had to choose the ultimate birthday cake, it’s ice cream cake. One year at my previous job, my coworkers didn’t know what flavor to make me, so they bought me an ice cream cake. The GOOD kind from Dairy Queen. Not the tasteless kind from the grocery store freezer.

However, buying one of their cakes gets you only so far; you pick whichever flavors are available, which isn’t much. You certainly couldn’t buy anything epic like this Buckeye Ice Cream Cake recipe with its chocolate and peanut butter layers.

My buckeye layer cake was such a huge hit, I decided to keep with that theme and turn it into an ice cream cake.

A chocolate cookie crust filled with one layer of chocolate ice cream, one layer of peanut butter fudge and crunch (just like a Dairy Queen ice cream cake with peanut butter cups added), and one layer of peanut butter ice cream, all covered with homemade peanut butter whipped cream. Now that’s how you celebrate a birthday.

Ice cream – should you make it or buy it? I’ll let you decide as this cake can be made either way.

I have a recipe for homemade peanut butter cup ice cream where you throw everything in a blender then freeze.

Then I have my German chocolate cake ice cream I use for chocolate ice cream minus the frosting.

However, seeing that it’s my birthday, I decided to cut myself a break and buy both ice creams. Turns out finding peanut butter ice cream at the store can be a little tough. I kept finding chocolate peanut butter ice cream or (worse) vanilla ice cream with a peanut butter swirl. Nothing against vanilla ice cream but come on – I do not want a peanut butter swirl when I want peanut butter ice cream.

At this point I thought I had to give in and make my own when I finally found what I was looking for. If you do decide to make my homemade recipes, make sure you double both recipes because you’ll need at least 1 quart of ice cream.

The secret ingredient to making an ice cream cake is patience. You’ll spend more time waiting than assembling and eating.

Each layer gets 30 minutes of chill time before you move onto the next step. You want the ice cream to be soft enough to spread without melting everywhere, which is usually about 10 minutes sitting on the counter.

If you’re using homemade ice cream, you may need to wait a little longer.

How To Cut An Ice Cream Cake

Cutting an ice cream cake without it turning into a hot mess can be frustrating, but here’s a trick to make serving easier.

Thaw the cake prior to serving, either 30 minutes in the refrigerator or 15 minutes on the counter. Warm a long serrated knife in some hot water, dry off excess water, and cut a slice. Repeat between each cut.

Although this is nowhere near being a small batch recipe, luckily it freezes well. This means you don’t have to throw away stale cake you didn’t eat. That also means you have a dangerous temptation in your freezer right now.

The best way to store an ice cream cake is in an airtight container. If you don’t have one, put it back in the springform pan and cover well with plastic wrap.

Buckeye Ice Cream Cake (Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake)

Yield: 10-12 servings

Freeze Time: 2 1/2 hours

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Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 quarts chocolate ice cream
• 1/2 cup hot fudge sauce (homemade or store bought)
• 1 cup chopped chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1 cup chopped peanut butter cups
• 1 1/2 quarts peanut butter ice cream

Peanut Butter Whipped Cream

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups chopped peanut butter cups

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Pat into the bottom and roughly 2 inches up the side of a 8.5 inch or 9 inch springform pan. Freeze for 30 minutes.
2. Take the pan out of the freezer. Let the chocolate ice cream sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Scoop ice cream into the crust then spread evenly with an offset spatula. Freeze for 30 minutes.
3. If hot fudge sauce is solid, heat in the microwave for 5-10 seconds or until liquid. Mix sauce with the chopped cookies and peanut butter cups in a large bowl. Remove the pan from the freezer, evenly spread the hot fudge layer on top of the ice cream. Freeze for 30 minutes.
4. Take the pan out of the freezer. Let the peanut butter ice cream sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Scoop ice cream on top of the fudge layer then spread evenly with an offset spatula. Freeze for 30 minutes.
5. Make the peanut butter whipped cream: In a large mixing bowl (preferably a stand mixer with the whisk attachment), beat the cream on high speed until it thickens and soft peaks form (when you pull the beaters straight up, peaks will form but fall over). Add the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla then continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (peaks will form but not fall over).
6. Remove the pan from the freezer. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan then remove the side of the pan. Cover completely with the whipped cream then top with peanut butter cups. Freeze for 30 minutes. Cover the cake, either with a cake container or plastic wrap, then keep frozen until ready to serve.
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