Until last year, I really didn’t like mint chocolate chip. I’m not a huge fan of pairing chocolate with things that are fruity/herby/floral. It’s just a no from me. But when someone in my office had a daughter selling girl scout cookies, I decided to get a box of thin mints so Will could give them a try in order to get the full American experience. I decided to try one just to see what I was missing, and man. I WAS MISSING A LOT. I could not get enough of this combo, and over a year later and I’m still thinking about it. I had considered trying to make my own thin mints, but when the weather in London turned hot, I thought I would try making my own ice cream cake version!
This ice cream cake uses fresh mint instead of extract and food dye, giving you a delightful Shrek green colour. The method comes from Stella Parks of Brave Tart. I then chopped up dark chocolate instead of using chips and finished it off with an Oreo cookie base.
You 100% could do this with store-bought ice cream and save you the stress of making your own, especially if you don’t own an ice cream maker. You could also try jazzing it up by adding a layer of plain chocolate ice cream too.
Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake
Equipment
- 8 inch cake pan
Ingredients
Mint Chip Ice Cream
- 424 grams double cream
- 509 grams whole milk
- 10 large egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups loosely packed mint leaves
- 200 grams dark chocolate, chopped
Oreo Cookie Base
- 2 sleeves oreos (including cream inside!)
- 70 grams melted unsalted butter
Instructions
Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake
- In a large saucepan, bring double cream and milk to a simmer over medium heat. When it begins to bubble, turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Steep for 30 minutes and then let it cool to room temperature.
- Add mint and sugar into a food processor and grind until it looks like pesto. Set aside.
- Whisk sugar + mint, egg yolks and salt in a medium bowl. Return milk and cream to a simmer. Using a ladle, transfer ½ cup of the hot dairy mixture into the yolks. Whisk to combine, then repeat with a second and third ladleful. Pour warm eggs into the pot and cook over medium/low heat, stirring with a heat proof spatula until it begins to steam. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. When you do this, it will remove the extra mint leaves that are leftover. Stir in vanilla extract. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for 4 hours.
- Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to your machine's directions, until fluffy and light. Add in the chopped chocolate. Freeze the ice cream so it gets a bit firmer, but you still want it to be soft in order to put it into the cake pan.
- In a food processor, grind the Oreos with the melted butter until you get a damp sand mixture.
- Line an 8 inch cake pan with clingfilm. Scoop the ice cream out into the cake pan. Once all the ice cream has been put in, pat it down with a glass or metal cup to make it smooth. Then add the oreo cookie base on top, smoothing it down. Put it back in the fridge for 12 hours.
- Take the pan out of the freezer and place it cookie side down on to a plate, and lift the pan. If your ice cream was super cold it might take a minute or two, but with the clingfilm it should come away easily!
Leave a Reply