Mint Chip Ice Cream Cake

We've been having some pretty hot weather lately. One online weather report says 109 F for today and 111 F for tomorrow. So when we hosted a farewell dinner the other night I thought I'd go no-cook and chilly for dessert.

Much about cooking in a place like Tajikistan is about being prepared. Having the staples that you feel you need to recreate favorites is a priority for me. Especially with two little girls who I want to be exposed to as much Americana as all things Central Asian. Or Korean, or Indian or Chinese for that matter.

In this case, the peppermint extract and the chocolate chips were the two must-have imported items. I was inspired by mint cookies I'd made the day before from a Cooking Light recipe I had, which promised a good approximation of a Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie, but with less fat and calories. In fact, a jar of prune baby food I purchased locally substituted for the butter.

Cooking Light held to its promise.

I whizzed the majority of the batch in the food processor until medium/fine crumbles.

I then melted about 3/4 of a stick of butter and added that to the crumbles to make the crust. Yes, I understand that the butter completely negates the low fat cookie concept. I used a spring form pan hoping that the high cookie sides would stay intact once the rim was removed.

Then go to your local ice cream factory and buy two boxes of vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream that is strangely yellow. Let it sit on the counter top until it starts to get soft. Not melted, but a bit firmer than soft serve.

Toss the ice cream into the food processor and add a couple of drops of green food coloring and about 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract. Whiz until it looks like delicious mint soft serve.

Spoon the ice cream into a mixing bowl and add chopped chocolate chips. Mix well, but quickly!

Scoop the ice cream into your prepared chocolate shell.

Once spread evenly, cover the top with chocolate jimmies.

Cover the pan with saran wrap and put it back into the freezer. In this case, for a day.

Take the cake out about an hour before you want to serve it so you can slice through it without risking your fingers.

Have your official taste tester make sure it's good. She was a bit skeptical at first.....

But then she became a believer.

Partially from scratch Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake. It's good for you!