4th of July Fireworks Cake

I love making special, yummy desserts to take to our weekly church lunches. I found a really cute idea for fireworks cupcakes in the latest Taste of Home magazine, and rather than having to make a bunch of cupcakes, I thought I'd adapt the idea and do a cake instead. I very rarely make just a normal cake. Usually if I make cakes it's a carrot cake, or some other special cake - not just a normal layer cake.

I had been wanting to make Ice Cream Cake sometime this summer to take to church, and decided that this week would be a good time to do that! Ice Cream Cakes are so fun! You can do them in so many different variations, and they are so much more fun than just a normal cake (in my opinion of course :)).

I've made Ice Cream Cakes many times, but I hadn't made one in over a year, so I was really looking forward to making this one. I love making food that I know people are going to really enjoy! That's what makes cooking so fun - seeing others enjoy the results. :)

I found I had a little extra challenge in making this cake though. We don't have air conditioning in our kitchen or the newly built room over the kitchen (we DO have it everywhere else though!), so the temperature in the kitchen was around 80 or so. Not too bad, but if you're working with ice cream, it can can be a challenge. :) I had to work quickly and ended up having to reshape and ice the cake (it wasn't decorated yet). I pulled it out of the freezer to check on it and possible decorate it, only to discover that the ice cream had been so soft when I layered and iced it the first time that it had slid down the side of the cake like an avalanche. :) The second time worked much better, and by morning, the cake was frozen and ready for decorating. :)

 

4th of July Fireworks Cake

1 chocolate cake mix

1 carton chocolate chip ice cream, softened

1 can vanilla frosting

Patriotic Sprinkles

4 Twizzlers

Mix cake mix according to directions on the box. Pour into two 9" round cake pans. Bake according to package directions. Cool. (You will only be using one layer, so you can do whatever you want with the second layer. :))

Place one layer of cake on plate or serving platter. Place in freezer until frozen. Meanwhile line the bottom of a clean 9" round cake pan with wax paper.  Place most of the softened ice cream in prepared pan, reserving approximately 1/2 -1 cup of ice cream for frosting. Place ice cream layer in the freezer until it has hardened back up.

To layer, remove cake from the freezer. Ice the top of the cake with frosting. (You won't need the whole can.) Run a knife around the edges of your ice cream layer to loosen it from the pan. Carefully flip the ice cream on top of your iced cake layer. Peel off the wax paper. Use remaining ice cream to frost the cake layer and touch up any messed up places on your ice cream layer. Return cake to freezer to set before decorating.

While cake is freezing, prepare your fireworks. Cut each of the Twizzlers in half then carefully cut in between the ridges down to about 1/4" from the bottom. This will make cute little twisted "flares" for your fireworks. :)

Once your cake is completely frozen again, remove from freezer and decorate. Keep cake in freezer until ready to serve. Enjoy!