A slice of goodness frozen in time…..or at least on my plate!
If there is one thing I’ve enjoyed since childhood, it’s creating in the kitchen. I have countless childhood memories of hoarding the sweet, sweet taste of cake batter from a beater. Then there was the stolen bite of two of chocolate chip or sugar cookie dough at Christmastime. In those golden days, things like salmonella weren’t such a huge deal and a batch wasn’t a batch until the kids cleaned the remains from the bottom of the bowl.
What I really liked about working in the kitchen is that I was never compelled to follow a recipe. To me, a recipe was a tourist’s map. It highlighted all the important stops, but the little steps in between were certainly open to interpretation. Need only one teaspoon of cinnamon? Go for two! No nutmeg in the recipe? Add it! Like many handmade creations, recipes are yours to embellish and alter as you see fit.
It’s no surprised that my husband asks me to make his favorite “Oreo Explosion” cake for his birthday every year. It caters to his sweet tooth, it’s a great summer treat, and his birthday the only time I make it each year. It’s delicious, not too nutritious, and bad for your waistline! The making of the annual Oreo Explosion is starting to become an event second only to his birthday itself.
Enough babbling. Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients:
• 1 package of Double Stuff Oreos
• 1/2 gallon of French Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1 tub of Cool Whip
• 1 stick of butter
• Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
Step 1: Melt the Butter on Low. Pretty self explanatory, I did it in a saucepan on the second lowest setting. While the butter is melting, it would be a good idea to get the ice cream out and let it soften just a bit.
Step 2: Crush all the Oreos in a bowl. Or if you don’t have a big bowl like I did, split them up and crush them in two separate bowls. I find it is a little less messy this way. I like my crust slightly chunky, so I didn’t crush them to a fine consistency, but feel free to crush as much as you want!
Step 3: Set aside some Oreos for the topping. I just used one scoop of that big spoon and, like the crust, I like it a little chunky. Tip: If you think you’d like extra crunchies on top, you might buy another package of Oreos.
Step 4: The crust. Now that the Oreos are all crushed up, they can be consolidated in one bowl. Add the butter gradually, stirring the crust mixture until everything is coated in butter. Using your big spoon, spread the mixture evenly on the bottom of your baking pan until you have a nice, solid layer of a crust.
Step 5: Ice cream layer. By now, your ice cream should be soft enough to spread on top of the Oreo crust layer. I used a big, metal ice cream spatula. Tip: I didn’t do it for this instance, but I’ll often add a drizzle of Hershey’s syrup between my ice cream and Cool whip layer.
Step 6: Cool Whip layer. Same as step 5! Spread the topping out evenly across the top of the ice cream layer.
Step 7: Drizzle the Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Use as much or as little as you like!
Step 8: Sprinkle the Oreo crunchy topping. Place the baking pan in freezer and allow the cake to freeze a minimum of 8 hours.
