Fat Tuesday. No Bake Ice Cream Cake

Mmm Fat Tuesday, a day for forgetting about that new years resolution and cutting loose on that diet. In undergrad 'Fat Tuesday' was celebrated every Tuesday by eating 'real people food' ('real people food' mostly provided via casserole from my mom-thanks ma!) with my roommates then followed by dollar drafts at our local watering hole. 

So to celebrate I'm going to show you how to make an easy treat. We will be making a cake (not a 'king cake', maybe next year) but if baking is not your thing, not to worry, this is a quick and easy way to make a tasty treat with avoiding the oven entirely! 

What you need:

2 boxes of small ice cream sandwiches,  1 Jar of Hot Fudge Topping, 1 Jar of Carmel Pecan Topping, 1/2 pint of heavy cream, 3-5 table spoons of confectionery sugar, (Vanilla extract- optional) 5-6 cookies, electric hand mixer, 2 cookie sheets lined with wax paper, metal or glass mixing bowl, large dish for serving, spatula

• Start by clearing out some room in your freezer, you going to want to be able to fit two cookie sheets in it at the same time. Place your mixing bowl with electric mixer beaters in the freezer as well.

• When your ready begin start unwrapping the ice cream sandwiches from their paper wrappings. (Hint: Use scissors to speed up the process you don't want the ice cream to have enough time to melt) Place Ice cream sandwiches onto the cookie sheet and put them back into the freezer immediately. 

•  Warm up your Fudge & Carmel Toppings in the microwave (follow instructions on label) & with a spoon drizzle on top of ice cream, & return ice cream to freezer. 

• Pull out your mixing bowl & beaters from the freezer, they should be nice and cold. This will help keep your heavy cream at the right temperature & consistency for whipping. 

• Pour your container of heavy cream into the bowl & begin whipping at medium/high speed.
• Spoon in your desired amount of confectionery sugar. Taste in between spoonfuls until you've reached desired sweetness. 

• Add in small dash of vanilla extract for flavor. and continue whipping. you will begin to see some lines beginning to form, but keep whipping. 

• When your cream begins to look like thick fluffy clouds you are ready to stop. It should be thick enough to hold onto the beaters when you take it out.  Place in the refrigerator. 

• Using a food processor blend up some cookie crumbs( I used an oreo cookie but removed the cream filling)
• You can also use a large sandwich bag and a rolling pin to get the same results.

•  Pull one set of ice cream sandwiches from the freezer, & with your spatula line the bottom of your serving dish. (Hint: If your sandwiches are good and stuck, run the spatula under some hot water & quickly dry. This will help remove the sticky topping from the wax paper)

• With half of your whipped cream spread a layer on top of you sandwiches. 

• Sprinkle a layer of cookie crumbs on top of your whipped cream.

•  Add the next layer of ice cream sandwiches & repeat the last two steps. 

• Then you're done! Place into freezer until you're ready to serve! Happy Fat Tuesday!

Not celebrating with a large party? You can still make this desert for 1-2 people just use 4 ice cream sandwiches, replace that whipped cream for a tub of cool whip, & repeat the steps on a smaller plate! 

Have a sweet tooth but want to cut calories? Try these easy steps to have your cake and eat it too. 

replace your regular ice cream sandwiches with  Skinny Cow Ice cream sandwiches 

Instead of whipped cream go for Cool Whip Light or Sugar Free. 

Look for a sugar free fudge or cookie. 

You can even make your own mock ice cream sandwiches using Honey Maid Low Fat  Chocolate graham crackers, & Cool Whip Light.

On Pinterest? Repin here!