Brownie Bottom Speckled Egg Easter Ice Cream Cake

Happy Monday friends! Today was the first day back to work after our March Break. Nine days off to sleep in, read great novels, recipe test and repeat! While we didn't take off to anywhere for the holidays it was certainly nice to catch up with friends and not have the morning rush out the door!

Speaking of being rushed, I'm always thinking of ways that I can satisfy my family's love of dessert while enjoying the holidays. Easter is fast approaching and with that comes some menu planning. My goal is to do as much work ahead as possible so I can enjoy my time with those around me. This Brownie Bottom Speckled Egg Easter Ice Cream Cake, or BBSEEICC for short, seems to be just the ticket.

If there's one thing this whole house can agree on it's ice cream. Remember this Salted Caramel Ice Cream Cake? I'm still dreaming about it. It was pure ice cream decadence with very little prep. This Speckled Easter Cake is too, the only difficult part is deciding what flavours to use. Honestly, I'm not EGGS- aggerating, the sky's the limit here with flavour possibilities!

I used just a simple brownie base with layers of chocolate, chocolate ganache and vanilla ice cream. I've come to love the simplicity of this lightly tinted whipped cream icing along with some gorgeous spring blue speckled eggs on top. It's a small 6″ cake, just enough for us for dinner without all of the crazy leftovers ~ not that anyone would be complaining. If you've been following me for a while you know that my favourite family cake size is a 6″ pan. It's the perfect size for this family of five along with the few extra friends that are often at the dinner table.

I know I've said this before but ice cream certainly doesn't only need to be a summer treat. It's a favourite in this house all year-long. So much so that I've been known to hide the containers at the very bottom of the deep freeze in the hopes that teenage hands won't find them and they'll stick around for a while. You've gotta do what you've gotta do.

Happy Easter everyone and have a blessed spring.

Renee

xo

Brownie Bottom Speckled Egg Easter Ice Cream Cake

Brownie Layer

*this makes 2 6″ layers - I used one and froze the other for later

*from Kraft Foods

• 4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

1. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl for 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition just until blended. Add the milk and the vanilla and mix well. Combine flour and salt. Add to chocolate mixture, mixing just until blended. Spread evenly into two greased and floured 6″ springform pans. Bake 20 minutes and set aside to cool.

Chocolate Ganache

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup heavy cream just to a boil over medium-high heat. Put 6 oz bittersweet chocolate in a heatproof medium bowl and pour the boiling cream over the chocolate. Let it sit until the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Stir the mixture with a spatula until the ganache is smooth. Allow to cool.

Whipped Cream Icing

* don't make this until you are ready to ice your cake

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• few drops of teal gel colour

1.. In a medium bowl whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add in sugar and mix well. Add in teal tint. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cake Assembly

*need two cups of premium vanilla and two cups of premium chocolate ice cream (or flavours of your choice), slightly softened.

1. Cover the cooled brownie layer with a layer (approx. 2 cups) of ice cream, using a piece of saran on top to evenly distribute the layer with your hands. Cover and freeze until ice cream is firm. Spread the ganache on top of the firm ice cream layer and return to the freezer until firm. Spread the remaining 2 cups of ice cream on top of the ganache and return the cake to the freezer for 6 hours or more to harden.

2. Remove the cake from the freezer and use the Whipped Cream Icing to ice the entire cake. Mix a 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract with a few drops of water. Use a small paintbrush to flick drops of the vanilla on to the cake and make a speckled look. Top with some chocolate speckled eggs. Return the whole cake to the freezer until needed. The cake should sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving (to soften the cake slightly but not long enough to melt the ice cream).