Coffee-Praline Crunch Ice Cream Cake
Updated Aug. 13, 2021
- Total Time
- 25 minutes, plus at least 5 hours’ cooling and freezing
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- 1½cups/355 milliliters heavy cream
- ⅔cup/145 grams light or dark brown sugar
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½teaspoon salt
- ¾cup/70 grams Dutch-process or natural cocoa, sifted
- 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1½quarts/48 ounces coffee ice cream (about 3 pints)
- 10graham crackers (about 6 ounces/160 grams)
- 2cups/340 grams chopped store-bought or homemade praline, plus more for serving
- ¾cup/180 milliliters cold heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks just before serving
For the Fudge Sauce
For Assembly
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
535 calories; 36 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 37 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 285 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the fudge sauce: Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, combine the heavy cream, sugar, butter and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.
- Step 2
Whisk in the cocoa powder and cook for another minute or two, whisking occasionally, until the mixture is thick and glossy. Run the sauce through the sieve into the bowl, working out any lumps directly in the sieve. Stir in vanilla. Let cool completely, about 1 hour. (You should have about 2 cups.) About 30 minutes before you assemble the cake, remove the ice cream from the refrigerator to soften.
- Step 3
To assemble the cake, spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray. (This is just to help keep the plastic in place.) Press plastic wrap into the pan, making it as smooth as possible against the bottom and sides of the pan, leaving a 3-inch overhang on each of the two long sides.
- Step 4
Spread one third of the softened ice cream (about 2 cups) evenly over the bottom of the pan. (If your ice cream is still too firm to spread, cut it into slices, arrange them in a layer and smooth using an offset spatula.) Lay 3 crackers over the top, breaking them to fit as needed. Top with ⅓ of the fudge sauce (about ⅔ cup), using an offset spatula to spread evenly, and half of the praline, patting into an even layer. Top with another ⅓ of the ice cream, 3 more crackers, ⅓ more fudge sauce and the remaining praline. Finish with the remaining ⅓ of ice cream and 4 more crackers. Use the plastic overhang to wrap the cake up tightly and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and preferably overnight.
- Step 5
To serve, unwrap the plastic wrap, then quickly rub the outside of the pan with a warm, moistened kitchen towel to loosen. Flip out onto a serving plate and remove the plastic wrap. Top with whipped cream and more chopped praline. Cut slices with a knife dipped in hot water. (If too hard to slice, let sit for a few minutes to soften.) Serve with the remaining fudge sauce, warmed, if desired.
Private Notes
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Comments
I make a version of this from an old Bon Appetit recipe. I use 2 pints of Cherry Garcia, one pint of vanilla in the middle, and crushed amaretti cookies for the cookie portion, with a milk chocolate sauce. It's called Cherry-Almond Ice Cream Cake with Milk Chocolate Sauce and is available on Epicurious. I know this isn't a review for this recipe, but it's so good, I figured I'd pass on the tip. I will definitely try this one at some point.
Crunched Sees candy toffee.
Shhh! We do not need this kind of talk! ;) I would rather skip protein shake, salad and blah grilled salmon and eat this.
I made this for my daughter’s birthday four years ago and now she wants it every year! I made my own ice cream, the attached praline recipe and the fudge sauce as is the first year. Everyone loved it but I thought the sauce was too salty. The next year I subbed in ganache because who doesn’t love ganache. It was not as good, got too firm to cut well. Now I make the sauce recipe with half the salt and I love it too. It still tastes too salty if you eat it on its own but you need some salt to balance out the praline layer. Definitely a crowd pleaser!
Why graham crackers? Is there a possible sub?
Birthday honoree asked to make this with peanut butter and chocolate profile. I substituted graham crackers with peanut butter cookies, toffee covered peanuts for the praline, chocolate chip ice cream. Fantastic!