Many people have mixed emotions when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Some hate it; some love it, while I fall into the neutral zone. I don’t go overboard with it but I like to acknowledge it too. My preference is on the actual holiday to enjoy a favorite takeout meal and dine out on a different day. Right now it’s just me and Max but we still enjoy a good meal together! 😀
And speaking of Valentines …. here’s mine.
Yup, Max is looking rather sassy in his Valentine’s Day scarf! I’ll make it up with extra treats. Paw swear!
Now back to human Valentines … while I do enjoy cooking and consider it one of the ways I show love, I am not terribly fond of whipping up a big, fancy meal on Valentine’s Day either. It’s not the cooking part that bothers me but the clean-up. I hate doing dishes! But I don’t mind making a dessert to enjoy together, especially if it something simple that can be made in advance. This Coffee Ice Cream Pound Cake is the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert (or really anytime). It’s simple, impressive and make ahead. Ding dong, we have a winner!
And yes, I am aware that most of the country is cold right now and an ice cream dessert may seem like an odd choice for a Valentine’s Day dessert.
I also assume that you can figure out a way to warm yourself up. 😉
An Easy and Impressive Valentine’s Day Dessert
To keep it simple, I use a ready-made pound cake, although you can certainly use your favorite homemade pound cake too. And please share your recipe too, because I’m on the hunt for one! This recipe is more about assembly than baking as the only component that requires any real culinary effort of your part is the chocolate sauce. I use the word “effort” loosely because it is easy peasy to make.
Isn’t she beautiful? I definitely think so and so will your sweetheart. We can keep how easy it is to make a secret. 😀 This is also a very flexible dessert as you can change-up the ice cream to suit your tastes and what’s in season. This summer I plan to make a version with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberry sauce. Nom. Nom.
Ice Cream Pound Cake
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
- 1 (16 oz.) Pound Cake (store-bought or homemade)
- 2-3 cups ice cream (I used coffee)
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup strong coffee or heavy cream
- Optional Toppings: whipped cream, crushed peanuts, chocolate covered espresso beans, chocolate curls, etc.
Directions
- In a medium bowl, add chocolate chips and coffee. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
- Remove pound cake from aluminum pan. Place a large piece of aluminum foil in pound cake pan, you want the foil to extend past the pan. This is how you will remove the dessert later.
- Slice pound cake in half, lengthwise (see notes). Place the bottom half back in the aluminum pan and spread a thin layer of chocolate ganache over it. Freeze for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, take ice cream out of freezer and let it thaw enough so you can spread it. When ready, remove pound cake from freezer and spread ice cream over the chocolate ganache layer. Freeze for 1 hour.
- If needed, reheat chocolate ganache and spread another thin layer over ice cream. Place pound cake top over chocolate ganache. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or until serving. If not serving until the next day, cover with aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn.
- Use aluminum foil overlap to lift pound cake from pan. Top with the remaining chocolate ganache (reheat to get a spreadable consistency). To make it pretty, if desired, you can cut a thin slice around the edges of the cake. Serve slices with whipped cream and your desired topping.
Special Notes
I am terrible at cutting an even slice, which is why mine looks a little lopsided. 😀 Ongoing, I will cut the pound cake in thirds versus in half and leave out the middle piece (you can save it to snack on later) to give it a better balance between cake and ice cream.
Enjoy!
Tanya
P.S. I made an awesome make-ahead breakfast as another Valentine’s Day option.
This Chocolate Chip Croissant French Toast Bake will make your sweetheart swoon!
YUM!! we don’t celebrate vday (never have) but that doesn’t mean i can’t make (or eat) this cake… because cake.
Cake is ALWAYS the right answer! 😀
This looks AWESOME. I love pound cake and coffee ice cream.
Thanks, Steph! It is delicious and so easy to make.
YUMMMM!!!!!! that looks delicious.
I could take or leave Valentine’s Day. I actually have a hair appointment on 2/14 so that shows how much I care about it.
Thanks, Rebecca Jo. Yeah, I can take or leave Valentine’s Day too. But this cake – I will always take, LOL!
This looks ah-mazing!!!!!! 🙂
Thanks, Mackenzie. It tastes pretty amazing too!
THAT LOOKS DELICIOUS!!! That might be dinner on Valentine’s Day 😉
Thanks, Audrey! I hope you give it a try. It’s really, really yummy!
This looks so good and so easy! Yum!
Thanks, Nancy! It is super easy, which is my favorite kind of dessert!
at first i was like ew coffee but i see the switches for coffee haters such as myself. haha. looks delish! Max is definitely looking sassy. love it.
I didn’t realize you were a coffee hater! I love me some coffee, although my love for coffee didn’t happen until I was in my mid-20s and I can’t drink black. 😀 Max does look so sassy and handsome! And he so hates his scarf!