Peanut Buster Ice Cream Cake

This ice cream cake became legendary at my old work. And that's not an exaggeration. It was so funny, I made it a few times, and it's a simple recipe...but I guess the end result is hard to forget. This is not my recipe, but it's taken from an elementary school cookbook that all the moms put together. I think what makes this cake is the homemade fudge. It's layered on top of a light sprinkle of peanuts, then the creamy vanilla ice cream, and a yummy oreo crust. The beauty of this dessert is, you can customize it however it suits your taste buds...instead of peanuts, try toffee bits, or instead of vanilla ice cream, try chocolate chip or cookie dough.

But I will give you the good ol' fashioned recipe...you do with it what you please!


Peanut Buster Ice Cream Cake 
1 lb oreo cookies
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (I prefer the kind titled "homemade")
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk (one 13 or 14 oz. can)
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (semi-sweet is what you should use for this fudge)
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Crush up all the oreo cookies into fine crumbs by putting them through the food processor, or putting them all in a zip lock bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin. Dump cookie crumbs in a bowl, add the melted butter and mix together well.
2. In a 9x13" pan, press the oreo cookie mixture into the bottom of the pan creating the crust. Use the back of a spoon to press the crust down and smooth it out. Place in the freezer while you let the ice cream soften.
3. Allow the ice cream to soften a bit (sometimes, I scoop it all into a big bowl and mash it around until it is spreadable with a spatula, but I try to avoid letting it melt). Scoop the ice cream onto the cookie crust and with a spatula, gently spread it around to form a uniform layer of ice cream. 
4. Sprinkle peanuts on top of ice cream and place pan back in the freezer.
5. In a medium saucepan, combine powdered sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate chips, butter and vanilla. Bring to a boil, and boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly so the chocolate doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Once it's finished, the fudge should be dark and fairly thick as you take it off the heat. Pour the fudge into a bowl and allow to cool completely. (I usually allow to cool in the fridge for at least a few hours, but sometimes overnight).
6. When fudge is cooled, use a spatula to spread it over the ice cream cake. Depending on how long the fudge has been in the fridge, you might have to let it soften a bit before spreading over the cake (to do this, I usually just take the spatula and stir until it's softened). Place cake back in the freezer and serve when needed.