KICKED UP ICE CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350. Crumble 8 cookies into small, bite-size pieces. Finely grind remaining cookies in a blender. Add butter and process until moist crumbs form. Press mixture into bottom of a 9 1/2-inch spring form pan. Bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Spread all of softened chocolate ice cream over crust. Sprinkle with half of crumbled cookies and cover with 3/4 cup ganache (do not allow it to get too hot as it will melt the ice cream) and freeze until set. Spread all of softened ice cream over hardened ganache. Sprinkle with the remaining crumbled cookies. Freeze until very firm, at least 4 hours. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto a wire rack set over baking sheet. Pour the ganache over top and sides of cake. Let sit and pour remaining ganache over so cake is completely coated with chocolate. Freeze on wire rack until very firm, at least 4 hours. Serve cake straight from the freezer. Walnut Butter Cookies: Yield: 24 cookies Ice Creams: Yield: 1 quart each Chocolate Ganache: 3 cups heavy cream 2 tablespoons butter 2 pounds semisweet chocolate, chopped Scald the cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Add the hot cream and let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature before using. (The sauce can be kept refrigerated in an airtight container for several days, but it must be returned to room temperature before serving.)