Oh boy. You need this Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake in your life. It kinda looks all complicated and such but it’s not too bad. It even uses a box brownie mix to make life easier. In fact, the most labor intensive part of the recipe is waiting for it to freeze! I love frozen treats, but the patience of waiting for them to harden in the freezer can be a killer. I always come to the same conclusion though- anything worthwhile in this life is usually worth waiting for.
The original recipe comes from Life, Love, and Sugar. She is always making the most beautiful and tasty looking cakes! I did decide to trade the Snickers and caramel for Reese’s and peanut butter. The original recipe using the Snickers looks totally drool-worthy, but I didn’t have enough Snickers for the cake. If any of you know me by now, you could maybe have guessed I always have a supply of Reese’s on hand. Thus, the Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake was born.
We had our first mildly hot days this past week. Most days were about 75-80 degrees. Sunday is supposed to be 90. Yikes! My Montana blood doesn’t like 90 degrees. It dreads 90 degrees. I feel hot just thinking about it. Montana sure gets cold in the winter, but it sure is perfect in the summer! Generally speaking, the part of the state I hail from doesn’t top 80-85.
If your neck of the woods is warming up as well, I highly recommend cooling off with this Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake! Try saying THAT five times fast.
While the name is definitely a mouthful, once you taste Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake, you will want to keep the mouthfuls coming 😉
- *1 box brownie mix, plus ingredients on box
- 1/4 cup milk
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, divided
- 8 oz Cool Whip
- 2 cups hot fudge sauce (I prefer homemade)
- 12 Reese's Peanut Butter cups, chopped (full-size or snack-size)
- 1. Make brownie batter according to the package directions. Grease two 8-inch pans. One of the pans should be a spring form pan, I used a cake pan for the other, but if you have two 8-inch spring form pans, that would be easiest. Keep in mind you will eventually build the cake in the spring form pan. Whichever pan has the brownie layer you intend to remove, may remove easier if it has a cake board and/or parchment paper. I used neither and just cut the brownie layer in fourths which worked just fine. Bake the brownie batter for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, at whatever temperature the box recommends. Cool completely.
- 2. For the ice cream mixture, mix milk, cream cheese, sugar, and 1 cup of peanut butter until completely combined. Fold in the Cool Whip, then 8 of the chopped Reese's.
- 3. Line the sides of the 8-inch spring form pan you used for one of the brownie layers with parchment paper. Make sure the paper reaches about 1-2 inches above the top of the pan. The cake will be a little higher than the pan.
- 4. In that same spring form pan, spread 3/4 cup hot fudge over the brownie. If needed for spread-ability, warm the fudge in the microwave until just liquid enough to spread, but not hot. Melt the remaining 1/2 cup of peanut butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds, this should melt the peanut butter without getting it hot. Drizzle 1/4 cup of the peanut butter over the fudge. Top with half of the peanut butter ice cream.
- 5. Next, remove the second brownie layer from the pan it was baked in. As stated above, I just cut it in fourths and removed each piece. Place the brownie on top of the ice cream, hot fudge, and peanut butter layer. Once the cake was assembled, it was not at all visible that I had cut the second brownie layer. Top this layer with 3/4 cup hot fudge, and remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter. Place second half of the peanut butter ice cream on top. Freeze cake completely. I froze it overnight. I would recommend freezing at least 6 hours.
- 6. Once frozen, run a knife around the sides of the cake and remove the ring from around the pan. Sprinkle with the remaining 4 Reese's. Drizzle the top with remaining hot fudge and more melted peanut butter for garnish. You may want to replace in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to harden the sauces on top. I like to slice my piece of cake and let it sit about fifteen minutes to soften. While not necessary, but super tasty, we also drizzled our pieces with a little homemade caramel sauce. Enjoy!
- *I recommend using a box brownie mix and not a homemade recipe. In my opinion, box brownie mixes are usually a bit more moist, even after days of sitting out than most homemade recipes. I think the texture of a box brownie mix works better for eating frozen as well. A homemade brownie might be more prone to drying out and harder to bite/chew since this cake is served frozen.