мороженое

I have mentioned a few "life in Russia" moments, so it's only fair I throw in a little Russian from time to time.  The title of this post, is ice cream. Allow me to express my immense love of ice cream...it does not matter how full I am after a meal, how cold it is outside, or the fact (unfortunately) ice cream is not calorie free.  I love ice cream.  If I was forced to choose a food to consume in a eating contest, ice cream would be my choice, and I do not want to brag, but I would probably finish in the top three, if not first place prize.  Luckily for me, Ryan loves ice cream as much as I do.  Rarely, our freezer is without ice cream.  Funny, at this moment, I do not believe we have any ice cream, but it may be because we are in a slight detox.  We have feasted on ice cream cakes for the past couple weeks.

My first ice cream cake creation was for Ryan's birthday this year, and ever since then, I feel like Ryan's ice cream cake "themes" have been a frequent topic of discussion.  While I was in the States this summer, I made a red velvet themed ice cream cake.  Ryan was saddened that I was not able to share with him, nor bring a slice back to Russia.  No need to worry.

Carrot Cake Ice Cream Cake
I cannot leave this out, and I am certain you will believe when I say, there was a major celebration dance done by me, all through out the kitchen when I finished this cake. 

  I learned a few things from this ice cream cake.  A bowl turned upside down makes for a perfect cake stand, carrot cake freezes extremely solid, and cream cheese frosting does not freeze as solid as I would have thought.  So, if you have the desire to make this cake, be prepared to take the cake out of the freezer with plenty of time to thaw before cutting.  Our tastebuds were too impatient, and we had quite the workout slicing the cake the first time.

A layer of carrot cake, a layer of vanilla ice cream, another layer of carrot cake, and covered in cream cheese frosting.  Dried coconut and pineapple for decorations.  

The second ice cream cake was inspired by a purchase I made for Ryan while we were in Moscow a few weeks ago.  Ryan is a fan of Snickers and while at a bakery, I saw a Snickers cheesecake.  I bought him a slice, and he greatly enjoyed it.  I took that cheesecake and turned it into an ice cream cake.  

I learned a few things with this cake, patience is critical with ice cream cakes.  Not letting each layer set before adding the next causes layers to mix.  The look did not alter the taste, and I believe the bubbles of chocolate ice cream coming through the caramel only adds to the decor.  Oh, and caramel topping does not freeze very well, or it takes much longer than I allowed.  Either way, this was one ooey-gooey, oh so yummy ice cream treat.  

Bottom layer of peanut butter cookie, chocolate ice cream,
topped with caramel and slices of Snickers.