Strawberry Ice Cream Cake

This recipe was in a Food Network Magazine. There was a section of birthday cakes that all looked delicious! I love strawberries and chocolate cake, so I knew we had to try this one out. The chocolate cake recipe it uses would be fantastic for any chocolate cake, strawberry ice cream or not. I ate quite a bit of it plain and it was fantastic!

This was actually the second time I made this cake, the first was a disaster! I now know what NOT to do while making it... I'll let you in on that. First, don't let the ice cream get too soft before you put it in the middle, otherwise it will run out all over your freezer. Second, I thought it would be a great idea to put chopped up strawberries in the ice cream as well. Nope! They froze much more solid than the rest of the cake and I could not get a knife through at all. My suggestion would be to follow the directions on this one pretty closely!

Side note: The whipped cream at the end looks and tastes just like cool whip. If you would prefer, I'm sure you could use that instead.

Chocolate Cake
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
Filling and Topping
3 cups strawberry ice cream
2 & 1/2 cups raspberries and/or quartered strawberries
1/4 cup sugar, divided
3/4 cup cold heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Coat two 9" round cake pans with cooking spray.
• Whisk the cocoa powder and 1 & 1/2 cups boiling water in a medium bowl until smooth, set aside.
• Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
• Add eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat with mixer on medium until smooth.
• Add cocoa mixture in stead stream, mix on low, until just combined. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula.
• Divide batter between two pans and tap against counter to help settle.
• Bake for 30-40 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in middle comes out clean.
• Let cool on rack for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool on racks completely.
• Trim tops of cake with serrated knife to make level.
• Place one cake layer on a platter, scoop ice cream on top and spread to the edge. Top with second cake layer.
• Freeze until firm, about four hours.
• About 30 minutes before serving, remove cake from freezer and let sit at room temperature.
• Toss berries and 3 Tbsp sugar in a bowl, set aside.
• Beat the heavy cream, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp sugar with mixer on medium speed until peaks form.
• When you're ready to serve, spread the whipped cream on top of the cake, top with berries, and spoon berry juices over the top. Enjoy!