Melted Ice Cream Cake with Espresso Butter Cream

There are times when I have to restrain myself from baking more than once a day. A new cookbook, a new website, a new recipe from a friend, or a new issue of my favorite cooking magazine, there are always plenty of reasons to bring out my mixing bowl and measuring cups. I have to remind myself that I'm only one person, and how much cake can one person possibly eat? With my kids out of the house, I'm no longer baking trays and trays of cookies to feed entire soccer teams. Friends are usually more than willing to help out and enjoy being taste testers. What's left over normally ends up in my freezer, cut up into small portions and stored in  plastic containers. Just imagine my freezer, there isn't much room for anything else, except maybe a few sticks of butter for some more baking.

Everybody seemed to love the recipe for melted ice cream cupcakes, probably because they're so easy to make and require only a few ingredients. This variation makes a light and delicate layer cake. It is filled with luscious espresso flavored butter cream and dusted with cocoa powder. I added finely chopped dark chocolate to the batter, which reminds me of Italian Stracciatella ice cream. The chocolate pieces create a nice balance and add a little bite to the smooth and soft texture of the cake.

Ingredients for Cake

1 box of  white cake mix 

3 eggs, at room temperature 

2 cups melted premium French vanilla ice cream

1 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Espresso Butter Cream

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder, dissolved in 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

cocoa powder for dusting

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper with butter or cooking spray.
Combine cake mix, eggs, and melted ice cream in mixing bowl and beat with mixer for one minute on low speed. Scrape down the sides of your bowl and increase speed to medium and continue mixing for another 2 minutes. Add chopped chocolate and mix in by hand.
Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until golden and cake springs back when touched lightly. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack. Let cool completely and cut into three sections.
To make frosting beat butter with electric mixer for 5 minutes until light an fluffy. Add sugar, about 1/2 cup at a time and beat for 5 minutes after each addition. Mix in espresso and liqueur mixture.
When making this cake for adults only, I suggest brushing the cake layers with additional coffee liqueur. Divide butter cream into three portions. Using a spatula, spread frosting evenly on cake layers, ending with a final layer of filling on top. Keep the sides unfrosted and trim the edges with a sharp knife if they don't line up evenly. Dust the top layer with cocoa powder.