Striped Ice Cream Cake

You know it's hot when... you are washing the dishes and the water coming out of the faucet starts looking really really inviting. I kept leaning my head in toward the cold stream until finally I had completely dunked my head in the icy bliss. It was everything I thought it would be. And I'm planning on doing it again when I tackle the next round of dishes.

Just when I think I've shaken Martha Stewart, in she comes again with another beautiful, layered dessert begging for someone to recreate. This time it was her striped ice cream cake. It seemed doable. It seemed to be Martha Stewart in appearance alone, or like Martha Stewart meets Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade—once I read through the recipe, I realized that it called for already-made, store-bought sorbet and vanilla ice cream. The only thing homemade was the angel food cake layer. I thought: This is Martha's way of reaching out to the masses, to people like me. This is something I can do, I thought. I was wrong—sort of.

Martha Stewart Living's version:

our version:

Yet again, I am reminded: there is simply no room for error when it comes to execution in Martha's recipes/crafts/lifestyle. My jam layer should've been thicker. Instead of peach sorbet, I thought lemon would be nice, but the lemon sorbet was white, not yellow and so looked too much like the vanilla ice cream. Also, my layers aren't even close to even.

What I did have going for me? Little plastic animal figurines. Is this normal baking/cooking behavior to want to stage animal figurines on different food surfaces?

Back to food:

True, as far as Martha-Stewart desserts go, this one was relatively simple. However, it requires a night of staying on task. At the time that this raspberry layer was slathered on, it was well into hour 5 and around 8pm at night. The last layer of sorbet couldn't go on for another 2 hours and then the whole thing needed to freeze overnight. Just something to keep in mind if you want to try it out yourself.

All the time it took behind us, the cake is a perfect dessert for these hot summer nights we've been having here in Los Angeles. I personally love the combo of sorbet and vanilla ice cream—very creamsicle like and very refreshing.

In closing: doesn't this end piece look like half of a sandwich? Or, if you're an east-coaster like me, a hoagie?

striped ice cream cake via Martha Stewart Living:

Before layering the ice cream and sorbets, beat them (separately) with a mixer until softened. They'll be easier to spread. 

angel food sheet cake (recipe follows)

1 cup blueberry jam

2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened

2 pints raspberry sorbet, softened

1 pint peach sorbet, softened

1. Line a 9-by-13 inch baking dish with plastic wrap. Place half the baked angel food cake in bottom of dish. Spread jam over top. Spread ice cream over top of jam. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

2. Spread raspberry sorbet over ice cream layer. Freeze until firm, about 2 hours. Spread peach sorbet over raspberry layer; top with remaining angel food cake. Wrap in plastic wrap; freeze overnight.

3. Remove plastic from top of cake, and turn out cake onto a cutting board; unwrap and trim edges. Slice cake, and serve immediately.

angel food sheet cake

vegetable oil cooking spray

12 large egg whites, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/4 cups superfine sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 13-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray, and line with parchment. Coat parchment with spray.

2. Whisk whites and cream of tartar with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add 3/4 cup sugar, and whisk until thick and glossy, about 3 minutes.

3. Sift remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the flour, and a pinch of salt over egg-white mixture, and fold gently until just combined, being careful not to deflate whites. Spread batter evenly onto prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden and set, about 20 minutes. 

4. Let cool completely in sheet on a wire rack. (Cake should pull away from sides  easily.) Slide cake out from sheet, right side up; cut in half cross-wise to form two 8 1/2-by-13-inch pieces. Carefully remove parchment from cake.