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One day, about a year or two ago, a recipe for a Snickers Brownie Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake showed up on my news feed.  After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I made a mental note to try making it someday.  Then, I forgot about it until I happened to get my hands on a bunch of Halloween candy (you remember that, don’t you?) and was looking for things to make with it.  Snickers, brownie, and ice cream…what could possibly be wrong with that!?  After making this Snickers ice cream cake once, it quickly became one of my most requested desserts.  I’ve made it several times since then, and finally decided to share the recipe.

Now, we all know that I can never leave a recipe well enough alone.  It’s not that this Snickers ice cream cake recipe isn’t probably great on its own, but there’s always a way to tweak it to suit my style.  For one, while the layers look nice, I just don’t have the patience to go through all of that.  Since I only have one springform pan, that would make the process take longer.  Secondly, the “ice cream” used in the recipe isn’t true ice cream.  I decided that this recipe deserved some peanut butter ice cream made from scratch.

The first thing you should do is make the custard for the ice cream.  Heat the cream, milk, sugar, and peanut butter until the peanut butter is melted and the mixture starts to simmer.  Whisk some egg yolks, and then temper the egg yolks by gradually adding hot liquid to the egg yolks.  Once you’ve added about 1/3 of it into the yolks, pour the yolk mixture into the rest of the liquid in the pot and return to the heat.  Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.  Strain the mixture into a bowl, and then pour the strained mixture into a bowl with the rest of the cream.  Add vanilla extract, then cover and refrigerate.  It’s going to need time to chill, so make sure you give yourself enough time.  You can also let it refrigerate overnight.

To expedite the chilling time, I usually place the bowl of custard in an ice bath.  With this method, the custard is usually sufficiently chilled in about 2 hours.

A half batch of brownie batter makes the proper thickness of brownie for a 9″ round springform pan.  Let the brownie layer cool completely, then put it in the freezer until it’s ready to use.

Get your Snickers chopped and ready to go while you wait.  Try not to eat all of it before you can assemble your cake.

Pour the chilled peanut butter custard into an ice cream maker and churn.  Mine is usually done in 15-20 minutes.

When the ice cream is done, sprinkle some Snickers pieces over the brownie layer, then spread the ice cream over the it.  Sometimes, I also drizzle some caramel sauce over this layer.  Top with the remaining Snickers pieces, and gently press them down into the ice cream.  Freeze for about an hour, and then cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Depending on how well your freezer works, you might need to run a hot knife around the edge of the cake to get it out of the pan.

Drizzle each piece with caramel sauce sauce and hot fudge sauce, then let the compliments roll in.

You can also make the cake in a 13 x 9 pan using 3/4 batch of brownie batter.  The ice cream layer will be slightly thinner, but still adequate.

Honestly, can you really say no to this?

Since this is a frozen cake, it’s a great make-ahead dessert for a group.

Snickers Brownie Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

(Adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients

For the Ice Cream (adapted from recipe from Brown Eyed Baker)

• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups heavy cream, divided
• Pinch of salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Brownie (adapted from recipe from Allrecipes.com)

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, with about 1 tbsp of flour removed
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Additional ingredients

• 1 11.5 ounce package Snickers miniatures, unwrapped and chopped
• caramel sauce
• hot fudge sauce

Directions

Make the ice cream custard

Warm the milk, sugar, peanut butter, 1 cup of the heavy cream and the salt in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the peanut butter has melted. Continue cooking until the mixture comes to a slight simmer, bubbling around the edges of the pan.  Remove from heat.

Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks, 1/4 cup at a time, whisking constantly. Once you have incorporated about 1/3 of the milk mixture, pour it back into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture.

Place the saucepan back over medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, a few minutes.

Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl, and then stir it into the cream. Stir in the vanilla extract, cover, and transfer the custard to the refrigerator until completely chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight.

Make the brownie

Preheat oven to 350°.  Spray a 9″ springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the butter and sugar until combined.  Add the cocoa powder and mix well.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition.  Stir in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (do not overmix).  Stir in the vanilla.

Pour into prepared springform pan and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center only has a few fudgy crumbs.  Allow to cool completely on a wire rack, then freeze in the pan until ready to use.

Assembly

Freeze the chilled peanut butter custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Sprinkle about 1/3 of the Snickers pieces over the brownie.  You can also pour some caramel sauce over them, but this is optional.

When the ice cream is ready, spoon it over the brownie and Snickers, spreading it evenly.  Spinkle with the remaining Snickers pieces, gently pressing them down into the ice cream.  Refrigerate for about an hour, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

To serve, remove Snickers ice cream cake from the springform pan and cut into slices with a knife run through hot water.  Drizzle each slice with caramel and hot fudge sauce.