Name: Banana Split Cake
Total time: 3 h 10 min
Ingredients: 8 ice cream sandwiches; 3 pints strawberry ice cream , softened; 1 cup hot fudge sauce , warmed; 1 cup heavy cream , whipped; 1/3 cup walnuts ,chopped; 1 ripe banana , peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced; 1 maraschino cherry for garnish (optional)

Why This Recipe Works

Our festive ice-cream cake recipe duplicates the flavor of a banana split with strawberry ice cream—with the added twist of cakelike structure from ice-cream sandwiches. For cleaner nut chopping, we placed the walnuts in a heavy-duty zipper-lock bag and tapped them with a meat pounder until they were the desired size. We topped our creation with gooey hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts, and an optional cherry for a Banana Split Cake recipe we could go bananas for.

Instructions

For the cake: Chill 9-inch springform pan in freezer. Cut each ice cream sandwich in half lengthwise, then cut it in half crosswise to yield 4 pieces. Transfer sandwich pieces to plate and freeze until very firm. Line outer edge of chilled springform pan with sandwich pieces, arranging them lengthwise. Fill center of pan with strawberry ice cream and smooth surface. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, 2 hours or up to 1 week.

To serve: Remove cake from pan and transfer to serving platter. Spoon warmed fudge sauce onto center of cake and spread almost to edge. Dollop with whipped cream and top with nuts and sliced banana. Top with cherry, if desired.