Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Tuesdays with Dorie: Mint Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream Torte and a Bonus

Come on inside for summer's last big chill. It's time for Tuesdays with Dorie and I've got an Arctic double whammy for you..... This week's assignment was an elegant triplebanded ice cream torte. The timing is perfect, since with a few little tweaks, this would make a stellar dessert for Labor Day. (Keep on coming back-I've got three great burgers for Labor's Day that I'll share this week.) Join along and squeeze in one last summery dessert before we all start paring Granny Smiths and humming the theme song from Johnny Appleseed. I made two separate ice cream tortes, because I wasn't thrilled with the presentation of torte number one, a chocolate mint oreo version. Oh, it was tasty but a little too, well, fussy for me. Maybe I'm just a simple country bumpkin busy mom, but I need a lot of reward for my efforts. All that freezing and waiting and freezing and waiting and blowdrying(really!) and refreezing and waiting. And maybe I made some mistakes. I should have crushed the mint oreos and thrown them in my mint ice cream instead of getting fancy shmancy with the layering, and I should have lined my pan with tin foil and removed the whole thing instead of blowdrying a glass loaf pan. I'm not sure if Paul Bunyan could slice through those frozen oreos. My dangerous slicing was more like a knife-smooshing, but none of our guests complained. (We had a group of kids over to play and when the grown ups came to pick them up I forced them all to come in for dessert. Generosity is my only defense against excessive sweets.) I wanted to try it again, but in a more accessible way.
I made an easier version for a Sunday evening family get-together, and this faster and homier technique would work well with any flavors. I mixed vanilla ice cream (homemade-but store-bought would work well) with peanut butter and chopped Reese's peanut butter cups, plunked into a pie dish, and stuck it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, I made a half batch of milk chocolate ganache and poured it over the top. When it was firm, I decorated the top with some aerosol whipping cream (lazy me) and more chopped peanut butter cups. That's it! Simple and beautiful and.....gone. Every last drop. Click here for the real recipe in its entirety. For a pie dish version, you'll only need about half of a ganache batch plus a little less than a half gallon of ice cream. Money Saving Tips:
Each attempt cost about $6.00, pretty reasonable for a great frozen dessert. Plain chocolate chips work well in this ganache. You can pep up a medium quality vanilla ice cream with any number of candies of flavorings, so be creative with what you've got on hand.
Wouldn't it be delicious with raspberry ice cream and white chocolate ganache, mocha ice cream with toasted walnuts and dark chocolate, pistachio ice cream with dark chocolate....the possibilities are endless.
Coming Tomorrow:
Labor Day Menu
Classic Cheeseburgers with Homemade Hamburger Buns

72 comments:

  1. Wow that looks good! The oreo one is so pretty but I would have to go with the peanut butter cup one!

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  2. i think the first one looks gorgeous! but i love the PB cup theme of the second! yum to both!

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  3. Wonderful Erin, but then again, I'd expect nothing less from you! Well done! I am loving both versions and am thinking myself, chocolate crackle candycane for Christmas!

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  4. Prudy I want both of them! I wouldn't mind the frozen oreos at all and you can never go wrong mixing vanilla ice cream with pb, really!

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  5. That looks so fancy! I love it.

    I can't wait for your hamburgers. I love hamburgers...

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  6. PEANUT BUTTER! Prudence Pennywise, you're the best!

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  7. (Gasp!!!) My heart skipped a beat when I saw your mint oreo one. I know that you said you were disappointed with the presentation, but it made me want to eat it NOW and it is 6:15 in the morning around here! You've given me lots of great ideas for next time -- thank you!!

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  8. I'd like both, could serve it for me please? This sounds so divine...

    Ulrike from Küchenlatein

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  9. That looks so delicious. I'm definitely making mine next time with the cookies... yum!

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  10. Yours looks great! Maybe we should have tried a different flavor!

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  11. The peanut butter one is making me drool. Sounds delicious. Shame I can't get Peanut Butter Cups in the UK (or not where I live anyway!)

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  12. I think both versions look great. I could go for a slice right now!

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  13. both of those are the epitome of decadence! i'll take a slab of both, but make the mint one a little bigger. :)

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  14. Wow - two different types, I'm impressed! Love both of them, but I'd have to pick PB over oreos any day :)

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  15. I would take either one over mine - they look so tasty! I love mint oreos, wish I'dve thought of that - yum, yum, yum!

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  16. Both of those look like my kind of dessert! I do like the "less fussy" one, as that's something I might be likely to do spur of the moment if I had people coming to visit later in the day.

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  17. I shouldn't have looked at this recipe. It's so decadent. I think both of your tortes are beautiful.

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  18. wow - great cakes! I would love them both. :) I bet these were a hit with the kids.

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  19. Both versions are so creative. I'm not sure I'd call either "simple" though! Yum, peanut butter for me...
    Nancy

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  20. Oh my word they look good! Well done! I so wish I could buy mint oreos in Scotland. We can only get the original ones here. I so want to try your versions of the ice cream torte!

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  21. Prudy, what in the world- I am dying here! Not just one, but two lovely ice cream desserts and the best combinations on earth, mint and oreo, pb and chocolate. I want some immediately! My weekend was great. Thanks for asking. My sis and her kids are here for another week, so it is really fun with all the cousins. Can't wait to see your Labor day meal!

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  22. I wanted peanut butter ice cream soooooo bad.

    Both of them looked wonderful

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  23. I love the two variations! Glad you played around with the recipe!!

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  24. Prudy I am dying about the blowdryer! That is so something that I would do! I can just see my husband walk into the kitchen and turn around and walk out!

    Great idea about the pie too! I'm one who would have downed the Oreo torte no matter what it looked like! Yum-e!

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  25. Oh my! Both versions look good. Grumpy would really like the reese one!

    BTW - My SIL lives in Rochester. My in-laws are in Watertown and I live near Potsdam. I went to a private school on the fingerlakes - Union Springs Academy (on Lake Cayuga). What area of the fingerlakes are you going to be at?

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  26. Those both look like they belong in display cases, yum! I looooove how good the peanut butter/chocolate one sounds, drool.

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  27. Prudy I think this is really delicious and look so beauty!! xGloria

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  28. They both look great Prudy! I love your combos and your money saving tips, as always. :)

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  29. LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THE OREO ONE!! Two cakes?! Peanut butter?! Amazing!

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  30. I like the peanut butter idea! Yum.

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  31. i think i like your non-fussy version. especially since it has chocolate and peanut butter. :-) i'm not sure i have the patience for all that freezing either.

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  32. I wish I would have made a mint torte... it looks so good!!! I might try to redo this recipe just like yours. Yum.

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  33. Ooh, I love chocolate mint so I'd definitely try that one. Perhaps with foil as I'm not bringing my hairdryer in the kitchen with me :)

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  34. Thanks for these recipe ideas! My husband LOVES mint chocolate chip anything...it's his favorite...we always have it in the freezer. Boy is he going to LOVE me when I make this dessert tonight! Thanks for always making me look so good...and like I know how to cook. =)

    Also, love the peanut butter one...and CAN'T WAIT for the hamburgers!

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  35. Both look beautiful and delicious!

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  36. Love the rectangle torte. so much more elegant with the layers showing. Love the presentation. Great Job!

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  37. Both cakes look delicious! You can never go wrong with oreos or peanut butter!!

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  38. I LOVE your flavor combos and how you put the Oreos and peanut butter cups in the layers. YUMMY!

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  39. Definitely peanut butter cup for me. It sounds divine.
    The only thing I like better than a friend with an ice cream cake is a friend with two ice cream cakes. Way to go!

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  40. Ice cream and oreos: what's not to love?

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  41. wow, prudy! they both look gorgeous! sounds like the peanut butter version was much easier... i will have to try that next time :)

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  42. Oh my...my mouth is watering with both of those ice cream treats!! I've been trying to eat "clean" the last couple of days and now I'm headed right to an ice cream/cookie/peanut butter cup binge!

    Great job!! I bet your kids friends just love you!!

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  43. I wish my kids were over there playing when you made this...wouldn't take much 'forcing' to get me to come in for dessert:)

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  44. Oh, glorious ice cream! I just can't get enough!

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  45. Wouldn't it just be delicious in my MOUTH??? Ha! I love PB cups... in any form in any recipe!

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  46. Oh prudy both of those look intensely yummy. I hear you about the slicing though. I've had a hard time with that too.
    But you did a really good job slicing. I want ice cream so badly now, thanks prudy!

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  47. Oh Prudy! The mint one looked so beautiful. I wish I was one of those darn lucky neighbors who got a piece of that fussy fabulous dessert!

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  48. Those are my favorite combinations. I bought a package of those mint oreos about a month ago and I'm looking for inspiration to do something with them. Perhaps they've met their end!
    Peanut butter and chocolate? Oh, goodness. It just doesn't get better than that.
    ~Cat

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  49. I feel so lucky that I was around to sample both the torte and the pie. They were both delicious. Thanks for sharing!

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  50. Beautiful tortes Prudy! I knew someone out there was thinking peanut butter cups like I was :) I think your oreo one is gorgeous, almost reminds me of a 'viennetta' (remember those?) which is what I almost thought about trying to recreate with this recipe, maybe next time!

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  51. Both of these look and sound so very very very good! WOW! ANNNND...they are gorgeous! Good job!

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  52. Both of these look and sound so very very very good! WOW! ANNNND...they are gorgeous! Good job!

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  53. Wow, Prudy! I think this is the most decadent one I have come across today! This looks wonderful and took lots of hard work. I hope you and your family enjoy your indulgence! I just joined TWD so I am looking forward to starting next week.

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  54. Wishing they would invent a process that you could send me a slice of each... boy they both look soooo gooood!!!

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  55. Holy smokes! Both are so wonderful I can't begin to comment! Ditto to all the wonderful comments before mine! Yum!

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  56. Wow. The peanut butter one sounds divine. How can you go wrong with Reese's peanut butter cups? =)

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  57. I'm no ice cream gal... but then again, this could change my mind! Looks great, and I'm with you, less work for a better payout is always a good thing!

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  58. Ooh! How yummy. I bet they were both delicious.

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  59. wow! I think i have put on a kilo just looking at your photos!!

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  60. These desserts both look divine! Although the weather is changing and I am ready for pies, apple crisps and cobblers, I could definitely make room for these. Your Reese's Pie looks great. We would eat ours right up too!

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  61. Ooooh, aren't you smart, simplifying it like that. Much easier and yes, fussy is the perfect word for the original version. (I was OK with it until the part where we had to stick it BACK in the freezer after unmolding).

    Nice job, I'm digging that peanut butter version.

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  62. Mint chocolate oreo? sigh...I'm in heaven.

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  63. That looks so decadent and good. Mint and chocolate is one of my favorites combos.

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  64. i like the peanut butter one! i reckon slicing thru those frozen oreos must have been tough work.. but great effort!

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  65. Chocolate and mint, what could be better?! I loved that you used whole cookies too even though it was more work.

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  66. Yum! I have no self control when it comes to oreos, peanut butter, and ice cream, so these both look SO tempting and beautiful too!

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  67. Mmmmmmmm.....mint. Mmmmm peanut butter. Can I have them both?

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  68. Mmmmmmmm.....mint. Mmmmm peanut butter. Can I have them both?

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  69. Ooh, the mint one is my favorite, hands down. And I like peanutbutter, too, but still. For something ice creamy? Mint all the way. Lovely job - both of 'em!

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  70. i love both of the versions you did!

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