Best ever ice cream and cake recipe

Who doesn’t love chocolate?  Ok, so I happen to have 1 friend that really doesn’t like chocolate, she picks out the chips from chocolate chip cookies!!!  Can you imagine that?  Just for fun once a year I make her a batch of cookies that has no chocolate chips in it, what a waste of good oven time!  That being said, lets get on to the chocolate of your dreams.  This has all the makings of pure fantasy.

What you will need -
2 boxes of Chocolate cake mix, I like to use a good quality mix
2 boxes of instant pudding (4 serving size) - Chocolate works best but you can use vanilla in a pinch
2 Quarts of Ice cream - But of course chocolate!  (Or your favorite flavor, truly why use anything BUT chocolate)
2 tubs of frosting - Yes, Chocolate I like to use the dark chocolate for this

Utensils -
Electric mixer
2 Stainless steel bowls 1 large (10 inch in diameter) and 1 small (5-6 inch in diameter)
1 10 inch spring form pan 
1 lb bag of dried beans (or rocks for weight)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees -

Prepare pan and bowls with veg. spray and flouring the inside of large bowl, outside of small bowl and spring form pan.

Mix each cake separately, according to package directions, then add 1 box pudding mix to each cake mixing thoroughly.  Batter will be very thick.  Pour batter of 1 cake mix into large bowl, settle smaller bowl into center of mix, push down until batter reaches to 1 inch from top edge of small bowl, weigh down center of bowl with beans or rocks (you don’t want bowl popping up)

Pour batter into 10 inch spring form pan.  Put both into oven to bake.

Depending on your oven the spring form pan should take about 45 minutes.  Use toothpick to test doneness.  Remove cake from oven.  At this time remove bowl from oven, using good oven mitts, remove center bowl by twisting motion.  The center of the cake will not be done at this time, you will need to return to the oven for about 10 - 15 more minutes.

Remove outside edge of spring form pan - let cake cool then cut in half horizontally, freeze both halves.

Remove cake from bowl, being very careful not to break, set bowl side up, freeze this as well.

When all of the cake is cool or at the least semi frozen, it’s time to add the ice cream!  Soften the ice cream so it is spread able.  Fill up the bowl portion of the cake, smooth so it is level with cake.  Put most of the remaining ice cream on bottom half of the (spring form) cake, place top half of cake on that.  Using some of the chocolate frosting, frost the top of the spring form cake, turn bowl portion of cake upside down and place of top of this. 

Whew!!! Your cake will now be layered like a dome. Frost the entire cake with the remaining frosting. If you wish you may decorate it anyway you like. The first time I made this it was for my daughter’s 18th birthday.

Place this in your freezer until it is well frozen. While you are waiting, eat the remaining ice cream, this was a tough job, you deserve it!

To serve - Some will say take it out of the freezer and let it thaw a bit before cutting. I say get out a big knife, and cut, eat and enjoy! Well geez, who has time to wait for it to thaw!!!

Now comes the bribe!  Promise someone they will get the first piece if they will clean up the mess.  Well, it worked in my younger days!

This makes a very nice cake that will serve about 15 people, 20 if you cut it into thin slices. Unless your serving my husband, then you will need to make 2 cakes, 1 for him and 1 for your other guests! Yep, he says this is the BEST cake I have ever made!