ambrosia: Banana Split Ice Cream Cake

It's time to celebrate! This is a big moment in Ambrosia history: this is my 100th post! Seriously! Can you believe it? I'm actually having trouble believing it myself...I can't believe that with this post, I'll have 100 recipes photographed, archived, and published on this little blog of mine. Sounds crazy, but it's true. This type of milestone deserves something special.

For starters, I'm sure you've noticed by now that the blog looks a bit different...ok, maybe a lot different. I wanted to spruce up the appearance of the blog a bit. Change is good, and I figured that finally implementing these changes should be saved for a special occasion. What better time than now, right? With my 100th post, I give you all an Ambrosia with a brand new look. This new look isn't totally finished yet. There's a couple of things here and there that still need to be worked on, but that's ok. I'm in no rush, because I want these changes to be done right, and that takes time (I have literally ZERO knowledge of web design or anything of that sort, so I have to work on the blog via the total help of Google). But for now, this is what I have come up with, and I like it! 100 published recipes = pretty new blog. Simple math, right?

A 100th post also deserves an extra special recipe, of course. At first I thought about making some kind of crazy layer cake that would be a mile high and full of delicious fillings and beautifully decorated. I didn't want to just make cookies, or brownies, or anything like that. It had to be something really special! I figured an awesome layer cake would do the trick, but then I got an even better idea...

Banana split ice cream cake! With these recent mini hot spells we've been having these past couple of weeks, a no-bake dessert seemed to be completely appropriate, although I think I'd still make this dessert in the middle of winter, because banana splits are always appropriate in my opinion. This banana split ice cream cake starts out with an Oreo cookie crust, and gets topped off with slices of fresh banana. Strawberry ice cream and strawberry sauce come next, followed by chocolate ice cream and hot fudge. Vanilla ice cream is the last layer, and the cake gets topped off with more strawberry sauce, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries. How amazing does that sound? Not only does it taste amazing, but it's actually very easy to make! The cake does take some planning, since each layer of the cake needs time to freeze and harden, but it takes maybe about 5 minutes to assemble each layer and then the cake can be returned to the freezer and left to chill all on its own. No biggie! What's even better is that the cake can be made as homemade as you want. You can make the cake completely from scratch and make all the ice cream and sauces on your own, use all store-bought ingredients, or use a combination of the two. I personally used store bought ice creams, but I made my own simple strawberry sauce, and used this recipe for the hot fudge sauce. You can switch around the order of the layers, use different sauces (the original recipe uses pineapple topping with the vanilla layer, but I swapped in more strawberry sauce because my sister doesn't like pineapple for some reason...) and ice creams to create your own unique flavor combinations. Seriously, this cake can't get any easier!

This banana split ice cream cake is delicious, over the top, and amazing. It's a recipe that comes with a giant wow-factor built right into it, and was definitely the best choice for Ambrosia's 100th post. Enjoy!

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake
recipe inspired by Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

For the Crust

20 Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 medium bananas, sliced 1/2-inch thick

For the Strawberry Layer

1 pint strawberry ice cream, softened
1 cup simple strawberry sauce

For the Chocolate Layer

1 pint chocolate ice cream, softened
1 cup hot fudge sauce

For the Vanilla Layer

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
1/2 cup simple strawberry sauce (or pineapple topping)

For the Garnish

whipped cream
maraschino cherries
chopped walnuts

Directions

Begin by preparing the crust. Spray an 8x3-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray, and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the Oreo crumbs and the melted butter, tossing everything together so that the crumbs are all evenly moistened. Press the cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of the springform pan into an even layer. Top with the banana slices, covering the entire bottom of the pan. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.

To assemble the strawberry layer, add the softened strawberry ice cream over the layer of sliced bananas. With an offset spatula, spread the ice cream to form a smooth and even layer. Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. Pour the strawberry sauce evenly strawberry ice cream, and spread so that all of the ice cream is covered with the sauce. Place back in the freezer for 1 hour, or until completely frozen.

To assemble the chocolate layer, top the strawberry sauce with the softened chocolate ice cream. Spread the ice cream into a smooth, even layer with an offset spatula, and return to the freezer for 30 minutes. Pour the hot fudge sauce over the chocolate ice cream, and gently spread so that it completely covers the chocolate ice cream beneath it. Place the pan back in the freezer for 1 hour.

To assemble the vanilla layer, top the hot fudge sauce with the softened vanilla ice cream. Spread the ice cream into a smooth, even layer with an offset spatula. Cover the cake with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer overnight.

About 1 hour before serving the cake, unmold the cake by releasing the sides of the spring form pan. Invert the cake onto a plate or board covered in plastic wrap, and remove the parchment paper. Top with a serving plate, and turn the cake right side up. Return to the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

Just before you're ready to serve the cake, pipe the whipped cream into mounds using a star tip around the outer edge of the cake. Top each mond with a maraschino cherry, and fill in the space in the middle with the remaining strawberry sauce or pineapple topping, and top with chopped walnuts if desired. To slice the cake easily, use a hot, dry knife to get clean slices.