bailey’s chocolate ice cream cake

Ingredients
FOR THE ICE CREAM
1/2 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
1 tbsp vanilla
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream keep this cold
FOR THE BROWNIE LAYERS
14 tbsp butter
7 ounces good quality dark chocolate
1/3 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup + 4 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp vegetable oil and extra chocolate, melted, for topping the finished cake
Instructions
1. A note before beginning: You can make this recipe in 8x8 pans or 9x9 pans - but it's important to pick one size and stick with it so that all the layers are even.

2. Make the ice cream: Line an 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking dish with plastic wrap (use two pieces - one in each direction) and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the Bailey's, vanilla, and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk together. In a large mixing bowl, add the COLD heavy cream. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed constantly, until stiff peaks form. This takes 2-4 minutes. (To check the peaks - turn the mixer off, and lift it straight up out of the heavy cream. If peaks form and stand on their own, it's done! See photo.) Gently scoop 1 loosely measured cup of the whipped heavy cream out and add it to the bowl with the sweetened condensed milk mixture. Gently fold together. Then, add the contents of this bowl to the large bowl and gently fold together with the rest of the whipped heavy cream. (Here's a quick video on folding, if you're not familiar with it!)

Pour this mixture into the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 10 hours.


3. Make the brownies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 8x8 or 9x9 pans with nonstick spray and then line with parchment paper, leaving the edges hanging over a bit so you can lift the brownies out later.

Roughly chop the dark chocolate and cut the butter into large chunks. Add to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Stir in the Bailey's and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with an electric mixer until they're beaten (hah). Add the vanilla and sugar and mix. By now, the melted chocolate mixture shouldn't be hot to the touch - pour it into the bowl with the sugar/eggs and mix until just combined.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder and mix until combined, scraping sides of the bowl often. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans (a kitchen scale helps here but you can also eyeball it!) and bake for 15-20 minutes. I recommend placing the pans next to each other on one rack in the oven, rather than placing one on a rack above or below the other. This will help them to bake evenly. Insert a toothpick into the center of the brownies too check if done - the toothpick might have some moist crumbs on it but it shouldn't have wet batter on it.

Let the brownies cool in the pans at room temp until completely cooled (a few hours).

4. Assemble: Read through this once before beginning. Grab a roll of plastic wrap and get the two pans of brownies ready. Remove the pan with the ice cream layer from the freezer. Gently lift out the ice cream layer, keeping it in the bottom layer of plastic wrap. Set it on top of one of the brownie layers and gently peel away the plastic wrap from underneath, while lifting the ice cream layer out of the way. If the ice cream feels really sturdy, you can also lift the ice cream slab without the plastic wrap and just place it on top of one of the brownie layers. Next, gently lift the second brownie layer out of its pan, using the parchment paper, and set it on the counter. Be careful not to crack the brownies. Gently pick up the brownie layer with your hands and place on top of the ice cream layer, or place the brownies with the parchment paper on top of the ice cream and gently slide the parchment paper out from under the brownies.

If it does crack some - don't worry! It will harden back up in the freezer and no one will be able to tell (we'll be flipping the top layer upside down later so it wont' show). Cover the whole thing tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

5. Serving the cake: When ready to serve, get a large cookie sheet out. Melt the chocolate with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, if desired, for decorating. Just prep this now and set aside for later.

Remove the cake from the freezer and remove plastic wrap. Place the cooke sheet (baking side down) over the pan with the cake and quickly flip the whole thing so that the cake pan is upside down on top of the cookie sheet. Gently but firmly tap the bottom of the cake pan with the back end of a butter knife to help loosen the cake. We also tried running the corners of the the cake pan under hot water to loosen the cake and it worked well - just make sure to keep the cake wrapped up tightly in the plastic wrap and try to avoid getting any water directly on the cake. Don't flip the cake upside down while you're running it under the water - just tilt it up slightly so the water can hit the corners, rotating to hit each one. After doing this for a few minutes, follow the steps above to flip it out of the pan.

Once the cake is out of the pan, peel off the last of the plastic wrap and drizzle the melted chocolate over the cake. Cut and serve immediately - running a large knife under very hot water will help immensely! Store leftovers in the freezer, covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to a week.

FULL RECIPES

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