Mini Nutella Crunch Ice Cream Cakes

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I used to hate Sundays. They always signaled the end. The end of my free time, which always seemed too short. But on this first Sunday of the new year, I'm viewing Sundays as the start of something new. A new week of opportunities, more chances to work towards my goals and more moments to share with great people. This first Sunday in particular feels different than the last.

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Everything feels fresh, renewed, and positive. All things that give me a clearer headspace, a clean slate. And I love it.Despite it being the first Sunday in January, winter in Los Angeles has been mild at best. The East Coast is currently experiencing some crazy cold weather events, and while hot cocoa and soup are probably on the menu over on that edge of the country I've had my mind on ice cream. Particularly, ice cream cake. There has been little stopping me from whipping up an entire ice cream this weekend, but I compromised and decided to make mini ice cream cakes instead. Particularly, these mini Nutella Crunch Ice Cream Cakes, because they are just oh so divine.

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I like my ice cream cakes to have texture. I rarely gravitate towards ice cream cakes that are just hard packs of ice cream, but my favorites always have some type of crunch or cookie addition to give it some bite. This recipe has that in spades. It's vanilla ice cream with crunch Rice Krispies cereal coated in Nutella, which gives it big chocolatey crunches in every spoonful. Heaven.

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This could easily be one of my favorite desserts of all time. It's easy to make, romantic as hell, and decadent. It looks like something that took a lot of time to put together, but really this homemade ice cream cake is simple as could be. I had all of the ingredients needed for it already in my kitchen, so you bet I'll be whipping these up by the numbers more often in the future.

Mini Nutella Crunch Ice Cream Cakes Tips:

  • You have two choices when serving these mini ice cream cakes: either eat them out of the ramekin or invert onto a plate, as pictured. To invert onto a plate here's what you do: skip the chocolate crunchies topping when freezing. When you're almost ready to dig in, place the ramekins in the fridge for about 20 minutes before serving to loosen the ice cream a bit. Run a knife along the edge of the ramekin to release the ice cream from the edges, turn upside down over a plate and give the back of the ramekin a few pats (pretend you're trying to get ketchup out of a bottle). You may need to shake it a few times to get it out. Now top with extra Nutella krispies, and/or fudge to serve.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup Nutella

  • 2 cups Rice Krispies cereal

  • 1 pint vanilla ice cream

DIRECTIONS

Place two ramekins in the freezer to chill.

  1. In a large saucepan over low heat, combine the Nutella and Rice Krispies cereal. Mix well until the Rice Krispies are completely coated with the Nutella. Remove from heat.

  2. Line a sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper. Pour the Nutella-Rice Krispies mixture onto the lined sheet pan and spread evenly into a single layer. Place in the freezer to chill.

  3. While the coated cereal mixture is cooling, remove the ice cream from the freezer and place in the refrigerator to soften.

  4. After about 30-45 minutes (you want the Nutella coated cereal to be cooled and firm but not frozen at this point) break the coated cereal into bite sized pieces using your hands. Place back into the freezer, if necessary, until the ice cream is softened.

  5. Once your ice cream is softened (it should be just softened enough to stir in the coated cereal but not so melted that it is runny), remove the Nutella-cereal pieces, the large mixing bowl and the springform pan from the freezer.

  6. Reserve 2 cups of the Nutella-cereal mixture.

  7. Quickly combine the ice cream and remaining coated cereal in a mixing bowl, then pour the mixture evenly between the two ramekins. Tap them on the counter a few times to release any air pockets. Top the cake with the reserved Nutella-cereal mixture if serving from the ramekin, see note above if serving on a plate.

  8. Cover with plastic wrap and place the ramekins for at least 4-6 hours or overnight until completely frozen.

  9. Place the cakes in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving to soften a bit.

  10. Serve immediately.

Adapted From: A Family Feast

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