Red, White & Blueberry Ice Cream Cake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

For Red Velvet Cake

  • 10 tbsp butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 egg + 1 yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp red food coloring (2 standard bottles)
  • 1 oz semi-sweet chocolate, melted
  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour + 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp white vinegar

For Layers

  • 2 qts vanilla ice cream (or, any white ice cream of choice)
  • 2 pts blueberries, divided
  • 1 pt heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup powdered sugar

How-to

Make Red Velvet Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy
  3. Add eggs, beat on medium speed until incorporated, scraping down the bowl once
  4. Add vanilla and food coloring, mixing until combined (start on low speed and be careful not to splatter yourself with food coloring!)
  5. Mix in melted chocolate
  6. If using all-purpose flour, mix with cornstarch. Add half of your dry ingredients and mix until just combined
  7. Add buttermilk, mix until combined
  8. Add remaining dry ingredients. Mix until combined, scraping down the bowl once
  9. Combine the baking soda and vinegar (will foam up like an elementary school science project!), mix until just combined
  10. Coat a 9" spring form pan with butter, line with parchment paper, and coat again with butter
  11. Add cake batter, spread evenly in pan and bake 30-40 minutes until a cake tester is inserted and removed clean
  12. Allow cake to cool completely in pan, then release from springform, invert onto a plate and remove parchment. Wash and dry pan for next step

Layer & Freeze

  1. Remove ice cream from freezer and allow it to soften at room temperature
  2. Slice cooled cake in half to create two rounds. Place one round at the bottom of the cleaned spring form pan
  3. Spoon half of the ice cream atop the first layer and carefully spread to the cover the cake (if it is still too hard, wait for a minute for it to soften up, or the cake will start to tear and mix with the ice cream)
  4. Place second layer atop ice cream and repeat with the remaining ice cream
  5. Spread 1 pint of blueberries onto the top layer of ice cream, and press them down into the ice cream so that they are flesh to the top
  6. Line the bottom of the spring form pan with foil and place back in the freezer to freeze solid, 1-2 hours

Top & Decorate

  1. Remove the solid cake from the freezer, and allow it to sit about 2 minutes while you whip your cream
  2. Whip cream until at medium peaks
  3. Add vanilla and powdered sugar, whip to stiff peaksRun a knife along the sides of the spring form pan. Release. You can transfer the cake off of the bottom of the springform, or just leave it on to serve. Transfer or place on a surface to frost with the whipped cream and freeze
  4. Pile whipped cream atop and spread to edges. If it is not completely smooth, it will smooth out much easier when it is frozen. If you have leftover whipped cream, you can place in a piping bag if desired and decoratively pipe around the outside of the cake. Transfer cake to freezer for 15-30 minutes to freeze again (however, after whipped cream is completely firm, the cake can be wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and frozen for up to a week before serving)
  5. When ready to serve, place on cake plate and mound with the remaining pint of blueberries. Slice and enjoy!