This year, a perfect desert that will get your whole household grinning is a turkey ice-cream cake! And since it is stored in the freezer, and is basically just ice cream, you can take however long you want to gobble it up, especially if you are doing the holidays solo!
When I first saw a turkey made out of ice cream in the window of our Baskin Robbins I stopped my two boys, pointed (which I tell them never to do!) and cried, that turkey will be ours. It was like love at first sight, I love food that looks like other food, and caramel, and the idea of ending a turkey meal with…another turkey. I was on the case of figuring out how to make a knock off version and to figuring out the secrets this “bird” had up her wing.
It turns out the secret is really in her legs- if you can fill two ice cream cones with rice crispies, you can make this turkey!
I will be honest, I was so giddy about getting the shape right that I neglected to smooth down the surface of the turkey as well as I could have, or better yet, I should have pressed down the butter cream with a paper towel before the caramel step for a really smooth, shiny bird. Mostly I was in such disbelief at how easy this was that I wanted to rush it to get photos. When I do it again, because there will be a next time (it is too fun and makes everyone just crack up in a way I can’t resist) I will focus more on the smoothing. But gosh, if you want to grab some ice cream and just have a silly, fun thanksgiving project, this is for you!
turkey ice cream cake
Ingredients
- 2 48 oz cartons ice cream any flavor
- 2 sugar cones
- 1 tray rice crispie treats
- 2 c buttercream frosting or one container store bought
- 3 c caramel sauce or 2.5 jars store bought
- 1 rounded bowl
- 2 dowels
- plastic wrap
- loads freezer space
- piece of paper
Instructions
- completely line the inside of your round bowl with plastic wrap and fill with ice cream, set in freezer over night
- make two large scoops of ice cream and smush onto your sugar cones (these will be the turkey's legs)
- invert bowl onto a freezer safe plate
- shape the rice crispies into turkey leg lumps and press into ice cream cones.slide the dowels into the ice cream cake where you want your legs to attach, leaving about 1.5 inches exposed for your rice crispie to slide onto. then press your rice crispie cone onto the dowel, sculpt into leg shape (see photo).return to freezer for at least 2 hours
- pull out of freezer and smooth on buttercream, coating the whole cake and quickly smoothing with a paper towel (reserve some that you will tint brown to draw on turkey wings if desired)
- pop back in freezer over night
- pull it out of the freezer and slather it with caramel sauce (store bought works fine, you will need about 2.5 jars) place back in freezer for a few hours
- before serving, add your turkey leg frills and and frosting to bottom of cake, and pipe on turkey wings if desired. gobble gobble!