Ice Cream Cake

Let me just say up front that there is nothing nutritionally redeeming about this cake. This is just pure dessert, plain and simple. Today is Mothers' Day (go phone your Mom right now if you forgot) and I know that there is nothing Vegan Mom likes more than a good dessert. And, it just so happened that the grocery store had reduced its price on dairy-free ice cream (which probably means they are discontinuing it). Who was I to deny this aligning of the stars? I knew I had to make an ice cream cake or face the wrath of the dessert gods.

INGREDIENTS
- 1 9 x 5 non stick metal loaf pan
- 1 946 ml So Good vanilla ice cream (or whatever brand suits your fancy)
- 1 chocolate Tofutti Cutie, diced
- 1 vanilla Tofutti Cutie, diced
- vegan caramel sauce
- 1 pint Tofutti Chocolate Cookie Crunch ice cream (or your preference)
- chocolate pudding filling (recipe follows)
- 5 tbsp margarine, melted
- 1 1/3 cups Oreo baking crumbs

METHOD
Make sure you have a good freezer so that this cake will harden. I suggest cranking the freezer up to max before starting.
1. Make sure vanilla ice cream is softened, but not melted. Press vanilla ice cream into the loaf pan (fingers work best, so make sure your hands are clean). Ice cream should be about 1/2 inch thick on bottom and sides of pan. Leave about a 3/4 inch space clear to the top of the pan. Stick pan in freezer to let ice cream firm up.
2. Remove pan from freezer. Place chopped cuties into the pan and fill spaces around the chopped bits with caramel sauce. Use a silicon spatula to smooth everything flat. Return to freezer to firm up.
3. Put chocolate ice cream on top of cutie-caramel layer, leaving a trench in the middle for the chocolate pudding filling. Fill trench with cooled pudding. By now, the chocolate pudding and ice cream should be flush with the vanilla ice cream. Return to freezer to let firm up.
4. Mix Oreo crumbs with melted margarine. Press firmly onto the ice cream, covering everything. Cover pan with foil and return to freezer for at least an hour.
5. When it is time to serve the cake, run a knife along the sides of the pan to detach the cookie layer from the pan (i.e. don't loosen the whole side). Place the pan in warm water for a few seconds. Put a cutting board on the top of the pan and flip pan upside down. Give a few good shakes to loosen cake (put back in water if it won't release). The cookie layer should now be on the bottom. Return to freezer to firm up. Slice and serve!

Chocolate Pudding Filling
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp soy milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

METHOD
1. Whisk cocoa powder and cornstarch powder together in a saucepan. Whisk in soy milk then cook over medium heat until bubbling and thick, stirring constantly with a spoon. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Place in fridge to cool down.

This would also make a good pudding to eat as actual pudding. Double the recipe and stir in a tbsp of margarine and tsp of vanilla in at the end.
UPDATE: Here is the cake after a night in the freezer. You can see each layer a bit better and everything has firmed up nicely. Probably not a bad idea to make this the day before you want to serve it.