Strawberry Ice Cream Cake

1. Stage

The foundation of this dessert is a lovely cookie crust. To make the crust, crumble about 24 Golden Oreos. You can use a food processor to get fine crumbs or break out the rolling pin and zip-top bag. Editor's Tip: You can also use graham crackers, shortbread cookies or vanilla wafers here if you prefer. When you've got crumbs—somewhere between a powder and coarse crumbles—stir them together with the melted butter. Press into an 8x8-inch pan lined with parchment. Pop this into a 350ºF oven for about 20 minutes. Once baked, let it come to room temperature.

2. Stage

While you have the food processor (or rolling pin) out, make the crumble that coats the outside of the cake. Start by crumbling the Oreos. You can leave them fairly coarse for a nice crunchy outside. Remove them from the food processor and set them aside. Then process the freeze-dried strawberries. We recommend crumbling them up separately from the cookies because they will turn the whole batch dark pink. The taste will be the same, but by separating them at this stage you'll get a more impactful two-tone effect later. When you're ready to use the cookie-berry crunch, toss them together lightly.

3. Stage

To make the first layer of the strawberry ice cream cake, grab your favorite vanilla ice cream—this is our Test Kitchen's favorite brand. Allow it to sit out for a bit on the counter so it's easy to spread. When it's soft, but not runny, spread an even layer across the graham crackers. Be careful so you don't mess up your crust. Then pop it in the freezer to get it nice and firm, about an hour. Repeat with the strawberry ice cream. If you'd like, stir in a few extra freeze-dried berries (a handful will do). This will give you a bit more color and flavor. When you're satisfied with this layer, freeze it. An hour should do the trick.

4. Stage

With the ice cream layers nice and firm, you can remove the 8x8 pan from the freezer. Layer on some whipped topping. Use as much or as little as you like. Pop this in the freezer one more time. It's a lot of back and forth with the freezer, but this helps the layers really set up ensuring you get beautiful layers when it's time to slice. When it's all chilled, sprinkle on a healthy dose of the cookie-strawberry crumble.