Ingredients (14)
For the pancake cake:
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk (or buttermilk)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)
- 2 boxes store-bought pancake mix (plus required ingredients)
- semisweet or milk chocolate chips
For the ice cream sandwiches:
- 1 recipe Pancake Cake
- store-bought super-premium ice cream in chocolate, vanilla, or flavor of your choice
- hot fudge, maple syrup, rainbow sprinkles, or whatever toppings you like
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You’ve had chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches before, so you have some idea of how delicious these will be. But Melissa Ben-Ishay’s inventive ice cream sandwiches use thick, soft rounds of chocolate chip pancake cake instead of cookies, which take these to another (ingenious) level. The fluffy, sweet cake tastes like a cross between a classic vanilla cake and beloved breakfast pancakes, with a touch of maple syrup mixed in to bridge the gap. Chocolate or vanilla ice cream tastes great, but try sandwiching other flavors too, and decorate with whatever you fancy. You could try making the pancake cake with blueberries or bananas instead of (or in addition to) chocolate chips as well.
As the author points out, these are great for a party—you could set up a buffet with different ice cream flavors and toppings and let everyone make their own. You could also make this cake in a waffle iron for actual waffles with ice cream. See a couple more deliciously whimsical desserts from Melissa: her Doughnut Cake with Matcha Glaze recipe and her Vanilla Cupcakes with Peanut Butter and Jelly recipe.
Can’t get enough ice cream sandwiches? Try our Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches recipe, and our Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Sandwiches recipe too.
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Tips for Eggs
It is wise to follow the “best by” date to determine overall freshness, but eggs can be tested by simply dropping them into a bowl of water. Older eggs will float while fresh eggs will sink. This is due to the size of their air cells, which gradually increase over time.
Cooked eggs have a refrigerator shelf life of no more than four days, while hard-boiled eggs, peeled or unpeeled, are safe to consume up to one week after they’re prepared.
Scrambled: Whip your eggs in a bowl. The consistency of your scrambled eggs is a personal preference, though it seems like the majority of breakfast connoisseurs enjoy a more runny and fluffy option. In this case, add about ¼ cup of milk for every four eggs. This will help to thin the mix. Feel free to also season with salt and pepper (or stir in cream cheese for added decadence). Grease a skillet with butter over medium heat and pour in the egg mixture. As the eggs begin to cook, begin to pull and fold the eggs with a spatula until it forms curds. Do not stir constantly. Once the egg is cooked to your liking, remove from heat and serve.
Hard-boiled: Fill a pot that covers your eggs by about two inches. Remove the eggs and bring the water to a boil. Once the water begins to boil, carefully drop in the eggs and leave them for 10-12 minutes. For easy peeling, give the eggs an immediate ice bath after the cooking time is completed. For soft-boiled eggs, follow the same process, but cut the cooking time in half.
Poached: Add a dash of vinegar to a pan filled with steadily simmering water. Crack eggs individually into a dish or small cup. With a spatula, create a gentle whirlpool in the pan. Slowly add the egg, whites first, into the water and allow to cook for three minutes. Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and immediately transfer to kitchen paper to drain the water.
Sunny Side Up/Over Easy/Medium/Hard: For each of these preparations, you are cracking an egg directly into a greased frying pan. For sunny side up, no flipping is involved. Simply allow the edges to fry until they’re golden brown. To achieve an over easy egg, flip a sunny side up egg and cook until a thin film appears over the yolk. The yolk should still be runny upon serving. An over medium egg is flipped, fried, and cooked longer until the yolk is still slightly runny. An over hard is cooked until the yolk is hard.
Uncooked whole eggs: The eggs must be removed from their shells, blended, and poured into containers that can seal tightly.
Uncooked egg whites: The same process as whole eggs, but you can freeze whites in ice cube trays before transferring them to an airtight container. This speeds up the thawing process and can help with measuring.
Uncooked yolks: Egg yolks alone can turn extremely gelatinous if frozen. For use in savory dishes, add ⅛ teaspoon of salt per four egg yolks. Substitute the salt for sugar for use in sweet dishes and/or desserts.
Cooked eggs: Scrambled eggs are fine to freeze, but it is advised to not freeze cooked egg whites. They become too watery and rubbery if not mixed with the yolk.
Hard-boiled eggs: As mentioned above, it is best to not freeze hard-boiled eggs because cooked whites become watery and rubbery when frozen.
Instructions
- 1Have all your ingredients at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a half sheet pan (18 × 13 inches) or line the pan with wax paper or parchment and butter the paper.
- 2With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 1 minute on high speed, then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- 3Add the sugar to the butter and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
- 4With the mixer on medium- low speed, add the vanilla; then add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl midway through.
- 5Combine the flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a separate bowl.
- 6With the mixer on low speed, add half the flour mixture. When it’s mostly incorporated, add half the milk. Add the remainder of the dry and wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Stop mixing as soon as you have a smooth batter.
- 7Mix the pancake batter according to the directions on the box. Add the pancake batter to the cake batter and mix on low speed until blended.
- 8Pour the combined batter into the prepared pan. If you are adding chocolate chips, bake the cake for 10 minutes, then pull it from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the middle of the cake feels springy when you gently press your finger against it. All ovens are different, so it’s important to do the fingerprint test to see if the cake is done. Let the cake cool completely before icing.
- 9Allow cake to cool completely before making ice cream sandwiches.
Assemble the ice cream sandwiches:
- 1Use 3 1/2-inch round cookie or biscuit cutters to cut out as many rounds of cake as the pan allows.
- 2Scoop out the ice cream, put the scoops on a sheet pan, and put it back in the freezer so it’s not melty when you assemble the sandwiches. The harder the ice cream, the better—you want it to keep its shape until it’s served.
- 3When ready to serve, sandwich a scoop of ice cream between two cake rounds, and garnish with toppings of your choice.
Recipe from CAKES BY MELISSA by Melissa Ben-Ishay. Copyright © 2017 by Baked by Melissa. Used with permission by William Morrow. Image courtesy of Ashley Sears. All rights reserved.
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