Strawberry Crunch Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 3 cups sifted Swans Down® Cake Flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 ounces milk
• 1 (1.5-quart) rectangular container vanilla ice cream
• 1 (1.5-quart) rectangular container strawberry ice cream
• 1 quart heavy cream, divided
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided

Crunchy Topping

• 1 1/4 cups sifted Swans Down® Cake Flour, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1 ounce freeze-dried strawberries, unsweetened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 drops red food coloring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease 1 (18×13-inch) rectangular cake pan and line with parchment. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until combined. Add flour mixture alternately with milk until well blended. (Do not over mix.)
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan.
5. Make Crunchy Topping: Place freeze-dried strawberries in a blender and blend into a powder; set aside. Divide flour into 2 bowls, with 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 teaspoons in each. To 1 bowl add 4 tablespoons of the butter, the powdered strawberries and 1/4 cup of the sugar. To the other bowl add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, 1/4 cup sugar and the vanilla. Hand-mix the contents of each bowl until large crumbles form. Spread out onto the prepared sheet pans and bake for 8 minutes. Cool completely; mix the two flavors together in a medium bowl and crumble into pea-sized pieces.
6. Assemble Cake: Remove cake from pan and cut into thirds to create 3 (6×13-inch) rectangular pieces. Place 1 piece of the cake top-side down on a rectangular cake board.
7. Cut the vanilla ice cream out of the container, place on a cutting board and quickly slice into 1/2-inch slices. Layer the slices evenly on top of the cake.
8. Top with another cake piece and repeat the process with the strawberry ice cream. Top with the third piece of cake, cover and place in the freezer for 1 hour.
9. Decorate Cake: Whip 3 cups of heavy cream and 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar together in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Remove cake from freezer and even out the sides using a serrated knife. Frost with the whipped cream, sprinkle the Crunchy Topping over the surface of the cake, cover and return to the freezer.
10. Whip the remaining 1 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar; add a couple drops of red food coloring and beat until stiff peaks form. Pipe a decorative border of the pink whipped cream around the cake, cover and return to the freezer for 1 hour or until ready to serve.