Mud Pie

Coffee ice cream, a chocolate-cookie crust and chocolate-covered espresso beans add up to a terrific party dessert. Begin making the cake one day before serving. I got this idea from a special restaurant in Santa Barbara that my Mother in Law and I visit frequently, called “Endless Summer Bar Cafe.” They make a Kauai Mud Pie that is to die for! I found a recipe from 2000 in Bon Appétit called "Mocha Ice Cream Cake". It helped me create the PERFECT Mud Pie. I even had my Husband helping me out. :)

Ingredients

• 26 OREO Cookies (about 6 ounces), broken into pieces
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 2 quarts coffee ice cream, slightly softened (Breyer's is best) - Basically 1 1/2 cartons of ice cream
• 1/3 cup chocolate-covered coffee beans or espresso beans

• 2 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream or 1 Pint
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa powder (use less if you don't want it a dark chocolate mousse)
• 9-inch-diameter springform pan

• Optional: Whipped cream, Dark chocolate with sea salt shavings, Heath Toffee Nut crunch, caramel, hot fudge, and chopped up macadamia nuts. Candles for birthdays

Preparation

Blend cookies in processor until finely ground. Add melted butter; process until crumbs are moistened.

Lightly rub a little melted butter on bottom of pan.

Press crumb mixture onto bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.

Place ice cream in large bowl. Finely chop coffee beans in processor. Add to bowl with ice cream; stir until well blended. Transfer ice cream mixture to crust-lined pan. Smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight.

For the chocolate mousse topping, use a very large mixing bowl and combine whipping cream and vanilla. In a medium sized bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa over. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, start beating the whipping cream and vanilla slowly adding in the dry ingredients, until soft peaks form. This takes about 5 minutes to get it thickened. Spread mixture over top of cake. If you have extra, eat it on its own. You just want to fill the mousse to the top of the pan and smooth it out. 

Cover with plastic wrap. Freeze until cream is set, at least 1 hour. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; keep frozen.)

Optional: Add whipped cream on top of the top layer of cake when you remove from freezer. Drizzle caramel, hot fudge, and sprinkle toffee crunch like HEATH Bars, nuts, and chocolate shavings over whipped cream. GO BIG OR GO HOME!

Run knife between pan sides and cake to loosen.

Remove the springform pan outter ring.

Let cake stand at cool room temperature 5-10 minutes before serving so it's not frozen.

Note: You can also serve the chocolate mousse all by itself with whipped cream (last picture) and sprinkle with "Sugar, Chocolate & Coffee Bean Grinder" from Trader Joe's.