Carvel-ish Cake

Now my husband really, really, really loves Carvel cakes. We have been known to pick one up for many a random special occasion. Now that he is avoiding dairy products, I got a bit worried as his birthday approached. I tried to get a little creative and my final product is seen here:

There were some problems. I tried to spread the ice "cream" into a springform pan with the ridiculous idea that it would slip easily out of this pan and I could simpy flip it over revealing a perfectly circular cake from which would then just need a few decorative elements. Um...no dice. Ice cream stuck pitifully to the pan so I just added some chocolate suace to the top and crushed up some peanuts. Everyone was (relatively) happy.

Here is how you too can make a Carvel-ish cake/pie/whatever for your vegan loved one:

Tofutti Carvel-ish Cake

Ingredients

• 2 tubs vanilla Tofutti ice cream
• 2 tubs chocolate Tofutti ice cream
• 1-1 1/2 cup crushed vegan chocolate cookies (I use Mi-Del Chocolate Snaps)
• decorative elements-frosting, chocolate sauce, nuts, etc. (This is all you, I can only take you so far)

You will need a deep pie plate, round cake pan, square cake pan, or do what I did and use a springform although it is unnecessary. Let tofutti warm just a bit (it is typically pretty soft). Scoop chocolate onto the bottom of you pan spreading across as much as possible. Place wax paper over the top and press down to make it as flat as possible. Cover with crushed cookies. You may want to freeze slightly now before adding next layer. Repeat process with vanilla Tofutti. I topped it with "Chocolate Glaze" (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6489.0) which was challenging since it is a warm glaze and, therefore, melted some of my ice cream. Oh well, you live you learn, you stuff your face with the mistakes. I also added some crushed peanuts around the edges sort of like Fudgey the Whale. This cake needs to be frozen at least over night if you want it to slice well but if you cannot wait, grab a spoon and enjoy!