Vanilla Ice Cream Cake (Graham Crackers)

You want your ice cream to be just soft enough to work with - too soft and the cake will be icy. Take each pint out to soften while the cake layers are freezing.

cooking spray
¼ cup light corn syrup
1¾ cups heavy cream, divided
½ stick unsalted butter
2/3 cup raw sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder + more for serving
kosher salt
3 pts vanilla ice cream
18 graham crackers
1 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar
unsweetened cocoa powder

Lightly coat an 8" square cake pan with cooking spray; line pan with plastic wrap, leaving a 6" overhang on two sides. Freeze pan at least 10 minutes.

In a medium pot, combine corn syrup, ¼ cup cream, butter, raw sugar, cocoa, and pinch of salt; bring to a boil, whisking, over medium-high. Remove from heat and let fudge sauce cool. Meanwhile, remove 1 pint ice cream from freezer and let soften, about 15 minutes.

Evenly press softened ice cream into pan. Top with a single layer of graham crackers, breaking to fit. Drizzle with ¼ cup fudge sauce and freeze 15 minutes. Repeat twice, omitting sauce on final layer. Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm, 8 hours (or up to 3 days). Cover and refrigerate remaining fudge sauce.

To serve, invert pan and run under tepid water to loosen cake. Invert onto a platter and remove plastic. Microwave fudge sauce in 30 second increments until pourable. Pour over cake and freeze to solidify, 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, whip 1½ cups cream and confectioners' sugar on high until stiff peaks form, 3-5 minutes. Dollop cake with whipped cream and dust with cocoa. Serve immediately.

Makes 12 servings.