Consider this topic: Outrageous foods.
The first that comes to mind is the turducken: a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey. Then there’s the cherpumple: a three-layer masterpiece made of a cherry pie topped with a pumpkin pie topped with an apple pie, all stacked and topped with luscious cream cheese frosting.
Anne BralyBut recently, I learned of another to add to the list: an ice cream sandwich cake. Apparently, I’m late to the table as I looked on the Internet and found hundreds of different ways to prepare this incredible, jaw-dropping confection. So what I did to make mine a little new and different was to find three recipes that I liked and combined elements from each.
Naturally, all call for ice cream sandwiches, but from there the limits are few. What I chose from one site was a pudding-flavored whipped topping. I had a box of dark chocolate pudding on hand, so that’s what I went with. From another site, I chose to spread the pudding between each stack of ice cream sandwiches, just as you would any layer cake.
And there was a third website that included adding sliced strawberries between the layers. I tried that, and it worked when I served the cake right away. But when I froze leftovers, the ice cream sandwiches softened well before the fruit defrosted, so the texture didn’t work. I recommend using fruit as a top garnish only if you plan to eat the entire cake right away.
The end result was quite a production and as pleasing to the eye as it was to the palate. Hard to believe it was as simple as it was, taking just 20 minutes to assemble.
So what did I name this outrageous dessert? In keeping with the turducken/cherpumple theme, this name came to mind: sandbarcake – an ice cream sandwich that wants to be a candy bar that wants to be a cake. But for short, I just call it delicious.
Sandbarcake
1 (16-ounce) container whipped topping
1/2-1 (3.56-ounce) box dark pudding mix
12 ice cream sandwiches
Chopped peanuts, optional
Chocolate syrup
Heath Bars, Snickers or Butterfinger candy bars, chopped
1 Hershey’s dark chocolate bar
Sliced strawberries, blueberries, kiwi slices (optional)
For frosting: Combine whipped topping and pudding mix. Set aside.
To assemble: Unwrap ice cream sandwiches and place 4 of them on a cake plate or platter, then place the another 4 on top, alternating their positions with each layer facing in opposite direction as the one before and frosting and sprinkling with chopped peanuts and drizzling a little chocolate sauce between each layer. Top with final four ice cream sandwiches. To complete, spread frosting on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle top of cake with chopped candy bars and press some into sides if desired. Garnish with fruit, if desired. Place cake in freezer for about 15 minutes to set. Remove from freezer and serve immediately drizzled with warm chocolate sauce. Freeze leftovers.
In keeping with the theme of over-the-top foods, here are a couple I’ve found in area restaurants that are amazing.
* Wendy’s Baconator Fries. French fries topped with cheddar cheese sauce, applewood smoked bacon and shredded cheddar cheese.
* Pizza Hut’s Hot Dog Bites pizza. A one-topping pizza with 28 hot dog bites baked into the crust, served with a side of mustard.
* Red Robin’s Royal Red Robin burger. It’s more than a cheeseburger. Try adding bacon and eggs and you’ve got a mouthful of explosive flavor and textures. It’s breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one bite.
* Aretha Frankenstein’s Elephants Gerald. You’ve never had a Belgian waffle until you’ve downed – if you can – this massively huge waffle topped with vanilla ice cream, pecans and syrup with a dusting of cinnamon.
Know of any others to add? Let me know, and I’ll add them to the list.
Coupons
Chicken Salad Chick, with two locations in Chattanooga at 1820 Gunbarrel Road and 629 Market St. has developed a coupon book to support the Chattanooga Food Bank. For a $5 donation, patrons will receive a coupon book worth $50 that can be used through the end of the year, though the books will only be sold through the end of the month. So get yours while you can; they’re available at both store locations. Last year, Chicken Salad Chick presented a check for $6,000 to the Food Bank with money raised from coupon book sales.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.