Strawberry Chocolate Layered Ice Cream Cake

My darling baby Bondville turned 'big girl' 2 years old just after Christmas and we celebrated with this amazing strawberry chocolate layered ice cream cake. (Note to self: never again make an ice cream cake in the middle of summer in Queensland. It looked fantastic. It tasted fantastic, but the ice cream softened immediately, not helped by the warm chocolate poured on top. Oh, and the chocolate topping and bottom were too hard to cut through, and slipped all over the place when trying to cut slices. Yikes!).

So! If you'd like to try this pretty fabulous cake, I'd recommend cooler weather to start with. Otherwise it's pretty straightforward:
1. line a spring form (important!) cake tin with non-stick baking paper
2. melt chocolate for the base (either very carefully in the microwave, or in a bowl over simmering water, being careful that the water does not touch the bowl). I used Belgian Callebaut dark chocolate. Amazing!
3. pour the melted chocolate into the lined cake tin and freeze until set
4. soften 1 litre of ice cream and pour over chocolate base. Freeze until set. I used honey macadamia ice cream for the first layer.
5. soften another 1 litre of ice cream and pour over the ice cream base. Freeze until set. I used strawberry ice cream for the second layer.
6. melt chocolate for the top as per method above. Cool chocolate as much as possible while still maintaining runny consistency. Have candles and lighter ready as steps 7-9 will need to be quite quick to ensure your gorgeous cake doesn't melt too much.
7. Carefully release the springform tin, pull off the baking paper, and lift the cake off the base onto a board or stand.
8. Pour over the melted chocolate (don't worry if it drips down the sides) and place hulled strawberries on top.
9. Add candles, cut and serve before it melts!

It's a fabulous cake that requires no baking, but a careful hand with the topping. Enjoy!

PS - this cake would be amazing with the strawberry-themed printables party pack by the red thread.

Images: Steph Bond-Hutkin