Black-Bottom Ice Cream Pie - Tutorial

I have never attempted to make an ice cream cake or pie before. When I saw a picture of this ice cream pie in a Taste of Home magazine, I knew I was going to go boldly where I haven't gone before. Yes, this isn't as lovely looking as the one I saw pictured in the magazine, with perfectly piped on whipped cream and a cherry to top it off, but it sure tasted good - and that is what matters. This is a definite "make again and again" recipe. The ginger crust is super yummy - and a neat change from the usual chocolate or graham wafer crust. Here is how I made it....

The ingredients:

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 24)

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup chocolate ice cream

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened

Sweetened whipped cream

1. Put cookies in a blender and blend until crushed. I used leftover gingerbread cookies. They didn't get eaten because I didn't put icing on them. They worked fabulous!

2. Combine the gingersnap crumbs, confectioners' sugar and butter.

3.  Press onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4. Soften the chocolate ice cream and stir it to get it nice and creamy. I eyeballed the the "cup" of ice cream - but I might have put a little bit more in than a cup. Spoon the ice cream into crust. Spread evenly. LICK THE SPOON! Freeze pie until firm, about 1 hour.

5. Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips with cream over low heat stirring constantly. When it is melted it will be a thick chocolate sauce. Remove from the heat; add vanilla. Cool. Spread half of the chocolate sauce over hardened chocolate ice cream. LICK SPOON!! Freeze pie until set, about 1 hour. 

6. Soften vanilla ice cream. I had no idea how much 1 quart was as I buy ice cream in 1 gallon buckets - so I spooned about 2 cups into a bowl, let soften for a while and mix until creamy. Spoon ice cream over hardened chocolate sauce; freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Spread remaining chocolate sauce evenly over pie. Don't forget to lick spoon, and of course, using clean ones with each step!! Freeze pie for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Remove from the freezer 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and a cherry if desired. 

Here is the recipe card...

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