Reese's Ice Cream Cake

When my sister Kristen told me she was going to have a get-together for her boyfriend Scott's birthday, my first question was "what can I bring?" She mentioned dessert, and that Scott's favorite was anything with peanut butter and chocolate. Right away, ice cream cake popped into my mind. I started researching different recipes for frozen peanut butter and chocolate treats. The result was a combination of several different ideas I found online and a few ideas of my own....and it was tasty!

Ingredients:
1 box plain brownie mix (plus necessary ingredients)
I container Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Minis
Reese's Pieces

To start, mix the brownie ingredients and bake according to the package instructions. I used a 9-inch spring form pan to make the circular cake. Once you remove it from the oven, let it cool completely, and then place in the freezer for at least two hours. You want the brownie to be nice and cold when you add the ice cream to keep it from melting too fast.

When the brownie is frozen, remove from freezer, and remove outer piece of spring form pan so you are left with just the brownie on the base. Cut a piece of wax paper long enough to go entirely around the cake.Wrap it tightly around the cake, and secure with a piece of tape.

Microwave the ice cream in 15-second time increments to soften it and make it easy to spread. Spread over brownie within your wax paper wall. Smooth out as best you can. I then cut the wax paper down to make it easier to fit in the freezer (next time I would do this before adding the ice cream to make it easier to spread). Place back in the freezer, again for at least two hours to ensure the ice cream is completely refrozen.

When you are ready to add the icing, mix the whipping cream, cocoa powder, and powdered sugar using an electric mixer until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Take the cake out of the freezer and remove the wax paper. Remove the cake from the spring form pan base, and place on a cutting board/plate that will fit in your freezer. Ice the cake completely, beginning with the edges. Try to do it as quickly as you can to minimize the melting of the ice cream. Once you've iced the cake, place it back in the freezer for at least (you guessed it) two more hours. I left it in overnight. (The best things are worth waiting for, right?)

Once the icing is frozen, remove the cake from the freezer. Begin to decorate by adding the mini peanut butter cups around the edge of the top of the cake.

Fill in the center with the Reese's Pieces. And you're done!

YUM!