My Birthday Cake

One of the presents I got this year was a set of 4 tier cake pans. I really want to try to make cakes with fondant like the pros do and getting the cake pans is one of the first steps. I really love ice cream cake and I wanted to challenge myself with this cake so I made a chocolate chip ice cream yellow cake. I made a simple vanilla butter cream for the frosting. For this cake I used box cake but made the icing and ice cream from scratch. If you want to make this simpler for yourself go ahead and buy some ice cream and icing at the store. You can get really creative with decorating. I used chocolate but you could make different colored icings or use candy to make the cake look pretty. I like that I can mix and match a lot of flavors in this cake. By flavoring the icing, cake, and ice cream the possibilities are endless. When decorating try to use things and flavors that are in the cake so that everything taste cohesive.

Ingredients:
1 box of cake mix and egg,oil and water according to package directions
1 gallon store bought or home made ice cream of your choice
1-2 cans of store brought frosting

Home Made Frosting:
1 stick of butter, melted
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 to 8 tbsp milk

Directions:
1. Make ice cream according to January's recipe post of chocolate chip ice cream.

2. Back Cake according to package directions. You can use tier pans like I did or 2 8 inch or 9 inch pans. Make sure to spray pam or butter and flour your cake pans for easy removal later. For filling the tiers: Fill the biggest pan first. Fill each pan with a thin layer then add to the layers if you have extra batter. Try to make them as even in height as possible. The baking time will be weird for the tiers so you'll have to check often after 15 minutes. Each layer is done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

3. To make frosting: Combine melted butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until it looks like chalky beads. Add vanilla and milk one tablespoon at a time until mixture is a spreadable, creamy consistency. If it gets too runny add more sugar- if it gets too stiff add more milk.

4. To Assemble the cake: Have ice cream at room temp or a spreadable consistency. Make room in your fridge for a sheet pan because you'll be freezing the layers. Level off the tops of the cakes with a long knife. Then your going to cut the cake layers in half. If it's not perfect it's ok. Take your time and carefully cut the cake. If you don't want to risk this you can put the ice cream layer right on top of the cake layer but you'll end up with thick layers in the end.

5. Spread ice cream in a thick layer on one half of the cake. Try to make it about 1 inch thick. Work quickly so ice cream doesn't melt. Once finished put other half of cake on top of ice cream. It'll look like a giant ice cream sandwich. Once finished with a layer place in the freezer and allow to set for 30 minutes. Repeat this step for each layer of the cake.

6. Now it's time to put the frosting on the layers. The best strategy is to put a lot on top and work it so it spills over the sides and runs down. It's a lot easier to remove extra frosting than keep adding it. At the same time make sure you have enough frosting for each layer. Start with the largest tier and work your way smaller. Once you've frosted a layer replace it in the freezer and take out the next. You don't want the ice cream to melt during this step. Once you have a frozen basic layer of frosting all over the cake feel free to decorate with other frosting colors or candy.

7. Time to put this whole thing together! Do this step right before serving unless you have lots of room in your freezer to hold it. Stack up the layers using a large spatula. Do this carefully so you don't ruin all your hard work. If your going to transfer this cake anywhere you'll need to add inner support. You can do this with toothpicks or longer wooden skewers if your tiers are thick. Simply Stick the toothpick or skewer through two layers of cake and cut them so they are even with the tier. Add the third tier and more support.

8. Once the cake is all stacked up feel free to garnish with more decorations. Keep it in the freezer until it's time to serve. Then just add some candles, make a wish, and serve it up!!