Ice Cream Turtle Cake, And A Small Vanilla Cake

For Avery's birthday this year she wanted this mint ice cream turtle cake.  It was super easy, and if it had a real flaw, it was that it melted as fast as I was putting it together.  I guess we can't blame the cake for that as much as my 78 degree house.  You may want to keep your house a little colder while you are making it...  As you would expect, Martha Stewart's cake looked a little better than mine.  But, the child was happy, so I was happy!  There is a cake inside the ice cream, so make sure you prepare that in advance.

Ice Cream Turtle Cake

from: marthastewart.com

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream

candies for eyeballs

1 prepared vanilla cake (recipe follows)

Vanilla Cake

1 stick of butter, melted

1 1/4 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk

1/3 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

For the vanilla cake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour an oven proof, 7 inch diameter, glass bowl.  In a mixing bowl, stir all your dry ingredients together.  Add the egg and yolk, milk and vanilla and stir until it is almost combined, about 1 minute.  Mix in the melted butter.  On medium speed, mix it for 30 seconds.  Pour it into your prepared bowl and bake it for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine actually took close to an hour to bake).  Once it has cooled, gently run a knife around the edges and pop it out.  Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer until you are ready for it.

For the turtle shell, scoop about 30 scoops of mint ice cream onto a baking sheet, and then freeze it for about 45 minutes.   Line a 12 cup bowl with plastic wrap.  Fill the bowl with the scoops of ice cream, rounded side out.  Lay them all around the bowl.  

Now that your bowl is lined with ice cream scoops, take your frozen cake and place it in the bowl, with the rounded part down.  Take more of your mint ice cream, and spread it along the bottom of the cake, until it is all covered.  Cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it for at least 4 hours.  Flip it upside down onto a serving pan, so the flat side is down.  Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out a spot on the turtle for a head and feet.  Put a scoop of chocolate ice cream on for the head and legs, and then give it some eyes, using your candy.  Serve it immediately, preferably in a house lower than 78 degrees!