By Yossy Arefi
- Total Time
- 40 minutes, plus cooling and freezing
- Rating
- 4(940)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Grab a couple quarts of your favorite vanilla ice cream, crush up some peanuts and pretzels, and invite the neighborhood over for this sweet, salty, satisfying summer treat. For the most robust peanut flavor, use well-stirred natural, unsweetened peanut butter. You can also use a sweetened variety, if that’s what you have on hand, but bear in mind that the ice cream and honey lend this cake enough sweetness. The savory dry-roasted peanuts add a wonderful depth of flavor, but make sure to look for a brand without onion or garlic powder listed among the ingredients.
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Ingredients
Yield:One 9-inch cake
- 2cups/88 grams mini pretzels
- ¼cup plus 2 tablespoons/42 grams salted peanuts (preferably dry roasted)
- 2tablespoons/25 grams light brown sugar
- 4tablespoons/57 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2quarts/1.9 liters high-quality vanilla ice cream
- ¾cup/205 grams natural, unsweetened peanut butter, well stirred
- 2tablespoons honey
- 1cup/240 milliliters heavy cream
For the Crust and Crumbs
For the Ice Cream Layers
To Finish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Add pretzels, ¼ cup peanuts and brown sugar to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until the mixture resembles very coarse sand with a few larger pieces remaining. Pulse in the butter until well combined.
Step
2
Press about ¾ cup of the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Spread the remaining mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake crust and crumbs until light golden and fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. The crust may take a bit longer to brown (another 2 to 3 minutes). Set pans on a rack to cool completely.
Step
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When the crust and crumbs are cool, transfer 1 quart of the ice cream to a large bowl and use a wooden spoon to break it into a few pieces. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature until slightly softened, about 10 minutes. Drizzle half the peanut butter over the top and gently fold it into the ice cream, so some ribbons of peanut butter remain.
Step
4
Scoop the ice cream mixture onto the cooled crust and use an offset spatula to gently spread it to the edges of the pan, being careful not to pull the crust away from the bottom of the pan. Drizzle the top of the ice cream with 1 tablespoon of honey and use the tip of a knife or wooden skewer to swirl it as best you can into the surface of the ice cream. Sprinkle about ½ cup of the peanut-pretzel crumbs from the baking sheet over the top and gently press them into the ice cream. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place the cake in the freezer.
Step
5
After about an hour, soften the second quart of ice cream, and mix the remaining half of the peanut butter into it, and spread as before. Drizzle the remaining honey over the top and swirl it into the surface of the ice cream. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and return it to the freezer to chill the cake for at least 4 hours before serving, and up to overnight.
Step
6
Just before serving, whip the cream to soft peaks, and stir the remaining whole peanuts into the remaining peanut-pretzel crumbs.
Step
7
To unmold the cake, run a thin knife or offset spatula under hot water to warm it, and slide it around the edges of the cake. Remove the outer ring of the springform pan, dollop the top of the cake with whipped cream, lightly spread it to the edge, and sprinkle the remaining peanut-pretzel mixture around the top edge. Slice and serve.
Ratings
4
out of 5
940
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Cooking Notes
Lola O'Rourke
Am in the middle of making this now; was necessary to make the crumb/crust portion again, as did not make nearly enough. So, recommend doubling recipe at the outset.
Richard Scher
Very nice cake, time consuming but easy to make. someone suggested fudge sauce instead of peanut butter, i might try with tahini next time. but peanut butter devotees, such as myself and the 4 kids who came for dinner, just loved the cake as is. a real keeper, will definitely make again as long as i can start a day in advance.
Elaine Marie
I subbed out the honey for a simple salted caramel sauce, and added a teaspoon of salt to the pretzel-peanut mixture. Everyone loved this ice cream cake. It looks so impressive yet ridiculously easy to make!
SharonATX
We really liked this cake and even made two quarts of homemade vanilla ice cream for it (from Jeni's recipe). Unlike other commenters, we *don't* recommend doubling the crumbs because we did that and now have a ton leftover. (You don't want the crumb layers too thick because then slicing will be difficult.) The honey congealed on the surface of the ice cream and was difficult to mix in, so be forewarned. The flavors are great though--it was perfect for a Super Bowl party.
Emily
Rave reviews from our July 4th guests! Very forgiving & adaptable recipe, a good choice for even a vacation rental kitchen like we were working with (used a blender in lieu of a food processor to chop the pretzels/peanuts then used a bowl to mix them in to melted butter; used pie dish in lieu of a springform pan; used a coffee cup for cup measurements). Beyond that, the change we made was to garnish with peanuts chopped up with half a bar of Lindt dark chocolate.
Jen
Made this for a BBQ this weekend and it was a hit. I second the other commenters who recommend doubling the crust mix. Also take note that it needs about 5 hours of combined time in the freezer, so leave plenty of time. I sweetened the whipped cream with a bit of sugar as well. Delicious, easy recipe.
Lily Brooks
Made this with almonds and almond butter for a cousin who is allergic to peanuts - delightful!
Sally
This was AMAZING. I doubled the topping, and had some leftover, which is not a problem. Very, very easy and impressively delicious
Gigi
I would make this with fudge sauce in place of the peanut butter
Sally
Also - used Skippy PB and loved the flavor combination
Judith Pilla
I've made this to rave reviews much faster as a pie. 1) Make 2 x the crust; line a 9" greased pie plate using 2/3 of it. 2) Use standard 1.5 quart of i.cream. 3) Cut sides of i. cream box down the corners, entire height of box. 4) Dump whole 1.5 qt. hunk into shallow baking dish. 5) Cut hunk into 1" wide sections; tip sections over, then score them to mix in p. butter. 6) Mush whole mess into a thick 9" disk. 7) Lift disk with pancake spatula; place in pie pan. Finish; freeze 6 hrs/more. Easy!
Brenda in Montana
Just made this for the Super Bowl party we attended. DELICIOUS! I used Skippy PB (warmed in microwave), used salted caramel sauce instead of honey, and added chocolate nibs to the middle layer and topping. Doubled the crumbs, too, as my springform pan was larger than called for, so more area to cover. Definitely make a day ahead.
ANewMexican
Made this yesterday for a birthday. Per comments doubled the crunchies and the crust. Definitely a good choice. The crust does not need sugar. Next time, I wouldn’t add any. Also, i was pretty heavy handed on the peanut butter which was a big yes. I think it would be really good with a layer of sliced banana. Also, I would probably make my own I cream next time to control the sugar because I found it very sweet with store bought ice cream. Besides that, very popular!
Judy M
This may seem like a dumb question to many, but how the heck do you "drizzle" peanut butter unless you are using a peanut butter type ice cream topping or maybe heat it up some?
Kristin
It's so simple and so great. I made 2 versions based upon reviews- one as written and one with chocolate syrup instead of honey. Both were great! But the actual recipe with honey is so delicious because it allows all the other ingredients to shine. I had no problem making the amount of crumb mixture work- but if you want extra, just make a bit more.
Jessica
This recipe is excellent! Ice cream cake is one of those things that is pretty versatile- this is definitely a winning combo of ingredients! I used heaping servings of the crust ingredients and had more than enough. The honey is a unique and delicious addition! I had a piece of this drizzled with chocolate and it was to die for!! Out of laziness, I did not put the whipped cream on top, but I think it will make a wonderful addition. I will definitely make this again.
CS
chocolate sauce instead of honey
Yumiko Nakagawa
I halved this recipe and it was enough for 5 people. I lined a small casserole dish (8 x 5) with parchment, allow generous overhang for removing the delicious loaf of salty sweet!
David Parker
For those of us who live in the West and have access to Dot’s pretzels, trust me: Use them. Takes the cake to another level of amazing.
David Parker
If you want to take this recipe to another level of awesome use Dot’s Pretzels from North Dakota. You will not be disappointed.
Christy
This was super good! I subbed out dulce de leche for honey and thought it added a welcome hit of sweetness and gooey-ness. You definitely need to double the crumb mixture. You can get away with 1.5 quarts of ice cream too. I’m on day 3 of leftovers and it’s still delicious.
Lisa
Delicious! Even better with chocolate syrup. :)
Kim C
Definitely swap out the honey for chocolate sauce!
Karen
Read the notes for suggestions!
irene
Loved this! the crust is really good. I used vanilla ice cream with peanut butter swirls and Reese’s cups for the bottom layer (no honey) and dulce de leche with chopped up Skor (just a little bit) for the top layer. Skipped the whipped cream and topped with the crust crumbs as in the recipe. Super fun cake for a summer birthday.
Jan
Warm the honey slightly in the microwave before drizzling
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