Lemon & Almond Crunch Ice Cream Cake

What kind of cake do you think of when preparing one for a man in his thirties? Chocolate? Carrot? Well if you're my husband then you dream of a land where sprinkles fall from the sky and ice cream is considered a meal. It only seemed fitting that I bring those two together into a cake for his birthday this year.

Vanilla bean spiked cake layered between lemon ice cream,crunchy almond praline and lemon buttercream. (Coated in more sprinkles then you could even imagine, or want for that matter!)

Vanilla Cake
makes 1-6" layer
1 cup original almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
2 vanilla beans, scraped
1 1/4 cup ap flour
2 tbl cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 quart vegan vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
2 tbl lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350. Grease one 6" cake pan.
Combine the milk and vinegar in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the oil, sugar and scraped vanilla bean.
In another bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, soda and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet in 3 stages.
Fill the cake pan 3/4ths of the way up and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Once the cake has cooled, invert from the pan and cut into 3 thin slices.
Combine the ice cream with lemon zest.

Almond Crunch
2 cups slivered almonds
1 tbl agave
3 tbl organic cane sugar
pinch of sea salt

In a small saute pan, combine all of the ingredients and stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the almonds have toasted. Spread on a paper towel in a single layer until cooled.

Lemon Buttercream
1/2 cup earth balance vegan butter, softened
2 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar
juice from one lemon
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 tbl coconut milk
1 cup vegan sprinkles or toasted almond slivers, for coating

Whip the butter, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla together. Add the coconut milk to thin to desired consistency. Whip for five minutes until light, fluffy and shiny.

Assembly
Layer the ice cream cake with layers of ice cream and almond crunch in between each layer. Freeze until solid. Frost the top with buttercream and lightly frost the sides. Coat the sides with sprinkles or toasted almonds. Freeze to store. When ready to serve, let sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cut each slice with a knife that has been run under hot water.