Flipping again through my favorite UK food magazines, I spied an advertisement which I cannot tell you what the product was, but what I can tell you is that it had a slice of marbled ice cream that appeared to have been prepared in a loaf pan. There was no accompanying recipe, no source of information, yet suddenly an idea was born. I pondered.
Now I’m certain that this is not a new fangled dessert, it’s too easy to be such, but it was the first time that it had occurred to me to put ice cream into a shape other than a) cone 2) dish or 3) Baked Alaska. How ‘cool’ is that?
Here’s the recipe and a photo log of what transpired over the course of about 24 hours.
ICE CREAM SUNDAE for TEN (AKA Banana Split for a Crowd)
Ingredients
3 (or more) flavors of ice cream
whipped cream
candied cherries
chocolate sauce
bananas
Assemble:
a loaf pan
ice cream scoop
angled metal spatula
NOTE: Begin this recipe at least one day before serving to insure a solid, well frozen dessert.
1. Remove ice cream from the refrigerator and allow it to soften.
In this preparation I used vanilla, chocolate and butter pecan flavors though any combination of your favorites makes a great ice cream treat.
2. Begin to scoop ice cream, one flavor at a time, into the loaf pan.
3. Scoop alternating flavors of ice cream, layering scoop upon scoop. Pack ice cream tightly into the loaf pan.
When the scoops are piling up begin to press down on the ice cream to help shape it to the pan and to reduce space between the scoops. A solid block of ice cream is the goal.
4. After all of the scoops of ice cream are packed tightly into the loaf pan, smooth the top of the pan with a warm metal spatula.
This creates an even bottom when inverted allowing the ice cream loaf to sit evenly on it’s serving plate.
5. Cover the ice cream and pan lightly with cling wrap and place the freezer for 15+ hours.
6. Remove loaf from the freezer and allow it to soften very slightly preparing the formed ice cream to slip from the pan easily.
7. Place serving dish on top of the frozen loaf – the dish is actually being placed on what will become the bottom or the dessert.
Invert.
Release the ice cream form from the pan. If the ice cream has begun to melt significantly, return the plated ice cream to the freezer for 30 minutes or until the form is solid again.
8. When loaf is solid, prepare to decorate.
9. Decorate with flowers of whipped cream (the canned cream works really well here), cherries and other toppings as desired.
10. Dessert may be returned to the freezer at this point for later presentation. Returning it to the freezer also freezes the cream which makes for an interesting effect.
If desired, slice 2 bananas and lay them on the long side of each loaf.
Add sprinkles or other decorations.
Likewise, the entire loaf can be decorated with cream right down to the serving dish. This is particularly helpful if the loaf does not sit flat on the serving dish and you want to cover up the gap between the bottom of the loaf and the plate it sits on.
When serving this loaf, cut 1 inch slices of ice cream with a long, warm knife.
Serve on plates that have been drizzled with chocolate or caramel sauce. Garnish with bananas.
~Enjoy!
