Bangkok is a hard place to define. One minute you’re walking past elegant restaurants filled with people drinking mid-afternoon white wine and the next you’re passing rickety plastic tables topped with spicy grilled fish and deeply fragrant pork broth soup. It has nearly everything that most big modern cities in the world have, but with a heart that is uniquely Thailand.
This weekend was a holiday one here. Today is the birthday of the Queen of Thailand which means that both Frank’s and my offices are closed (!). For the long weekend, Frank and I soaked up both sides of this unpredictable city. We ate pad thai and drank prosecco. We spent Saturday morning at the market buying curry paste and spring rolls, and I spent my afternoon writing in a Starbucks that could have been in absolutely any city in the world.
I haven’t checked in to this space for nearly a week for a reason that is another result of living in this city. Our internet stopped working last Monday and refused to function for more than 5 minutes at a time for the rest of the week. Despite calls from Frank and unplugging the router at least 100 times as instructed, we spent the week offline. It wasn’t such a welcome state. We had MasterChef to watch and Parade posts to submit, and downloaded NPR podcasts are just about the only things that get me moving in the morning.
Finally on Friday, Frank asked a Thai friend to call and intervene with the internet company on our behalf.
The weekend in its entirety felt very much like what this life is – compromising opposites. Good and bad; highs and lows; global and local; Thai food and ice cream cake. It’s all gets thrown together in a jumble that is sometimes overwhelming and sometimes so very wonderful.
I couldn’t let the “summer” get away from me without an ice cream cake. Didn’t it seem like ice cream and ice cream-based desserts were even more popular this year than usual? The only way to get an ice cream cake in Bangkok is to make it or buy it at Swensen’s. Remember Swensen’s?
This is just about as straightforward as ice cream cakes get – with five ingredients and store-bought ice cream – but I wanted to share it because it made use of that cookie butter/speculoos spread that I love so much I carry it back every time I go home to the U.S. I can’t open the jar until I have a plan in mind or it disappears in a blur of spoon-jar-mouth motion. I loved it as a sweet layer in this cake.
In what’s left of the long weekend, I’m off to luxuriate in working internet and have another slice.
- 1 pint ice cream (vanilla or chocolate chip work great)
- 25 chocolate sandwich cookies (235g / 8oz)
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup whipping cream
- ¾ cup cookie butter/ Speculoos spread
- Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Remove the ice cream from the freezer and let soften on the counter at room temperature while preparing the rest of the cake.
- In a food processor, pulse the cookies and butter until it even crumbs form. Spread the cookie base into the prepared pan and gently press the crumbs into an even layer.
- Beat the whipping cream on high until soft peaks form. Add the cookie butter and beat on low just until evenly combined. Pour over the cookie base and spread into an even layer. Freeze for 15 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the freezer and spread the softened ice cream evenly over the surface. Freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
- Remove the cake from the freezer 10 minutes before serving to allow it to soften a bit at room temperature before cutting into slices.
Sounds like fabulous weekend Jess! I freak when we have internet outages at home! I’m completely reliant on it. TV watching, blogging, shopping, research, you name it. This ice cream cake looks sensational! I love cookie butter. I can eat them by the spoonful. I didn’t know there’s a Trader Joe’s in Bangkok. How convenient! :) Have a great week.
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker recently posted..Beef Stew with Caramelized Onions and Amber Lager
I have such a love-hate relationship with all the technology, Anne. I wish I wasn’t so dependent on it, but I really am! Guess I might as well embrace it now, huh!? ;)
I brought a jar of speculoos back from Holland in April, but was traveling with carry-on only so I had to give it to my friend to put in her checked back. It’s been safely at her apartment ever since, but one of these days I’ll get it in my hands and then I’m sure all hell will break loose. I love the idea of this ice cream cake – and yes, this summer has been all about ice cream. Yum! Nice work on this one, Jess. It looks awesome.
Katie (The Muffin Myth) recently posted..what’s good around the web!
It’s probably a good thing that this stuff isn’t readily available here, Katie – but I’m surprised that someone isn’t exporting it more widely – it would definitely be a hit here!
Oh my heavens. This ice cream cake has my name written all over it!! And how amazing is this – I have all of the ingredients on hand right now. :) I adore cookie butter!
sally @ sallys baking addiction recently posted..Skinny Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars.
PS: pinned this recipe! I gotta try it. :)
sally @ sallys baking addiction recently posted..Skinny Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars.
Funny coincidence… I was at the Green Grocer today and near the check out spotted ice-cream sandwiches. These aren’t any ice-cream sandwiches they’re handmade locally and oh so good. Seeing as we’re having dad to dinner tonight I splurged for dessert. Maybe I should have made your cake instead!
Oh yum – locally made ice cream sandwiches!? Amazing.
This ice cream cake is definitely happening in our house! I have an unopened jar of trader joe’s cookie butter sitting in my pantry right now just waiting to be used. Yikes on the internet! I freak out when ours goes out for a few hours! haha it’s amazing how dependent we have become on the internet these days….
Ashley recently posted..Peach and Raspberry Sangria
I’m so impressed with your self-control, Ashley – those jars of cookie butter don’t sit around unopened here for very long! We’re so dependent on internet…I have such mixed feelings about it…
Ohh my goodness this looks DELICIOUS. It’s funny–my friend and I were just going on about cookie butter last night when we were skyping and trying to find good recipes for it…this one, unfortunately, I probably can’t mail to her, but I definitely want to make it for myself! Is that bad? :)
Erika recently posted..Vegan Peach Pie
Pinterest is dangerous when it comes to recipes for cookie butter, Erika – I could go through this stuff at lightning speed – so many fun ideas!
oh done! This sounds amazing!
Sorry about your internet woes. We have been going through a major remodel at work and of course our network and internet is now toast. Major hassle. Love this recipe. Is this spread like biscoff? Great post.
Debra recently posted..Roasted Veggies (Part Quatre)
Oh it’s such a headache, Debra – hope it’s all up and running again soon. YES – same exact thing as biscoff…Trader Joe’s makes their own brand and there are others out there, but it’s all the same deliciousness. ;)
Jess recently posted..Chocolate and Speculoos Ice Cream Cake
Gorgeous. Amazing. Delicious. That just about sums up your entire site! This recipe sounds divine, Jess. I’m rounding up some end-of-summer desserts, and this is going to the top of the list! It’s a good thing there’s not a jar of TJ’s Cookie Butter in my house right now or I would scoop it dry (with my best spatula) and not feel a speck of remorse! :)
Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us all!
Ginny
Ginny you are so sweet – so glad to have you as a friend in the blog-world!
Oh wow! This looks amazing! Cookie butter is simply delicious. And this looks even more delicious! Mmmm, my mouth is watering. :)
Erin @ The Emerging Foodie recently posted..One-Ingredient Peach-Os