Chocolate Chip and Mocha Ice Cream Cake

What do you give someone that delights in the most simplest things in life? A combination of some of their most favorite things: cookies and cream, chocolate and coffee, ice cream and cake, and all the melodious sweet notes of tiramisu. If I could have included caramel and peanuts, it would have been ambrosia on a plate for him.

Instead of searching low and high and complicating things, the best gifts are the most simplest, easiest of them all - provided they come from the heart. 

So, here is a very easy "cake" that is a breeze to make.

I baked Nestle Toll house chocolate chip cookies (the best kind of cookies that I have baked and that's been approved by my husband) and layered them over mocha-mascarpone cream for a lush and lip-smacking cake. Just follow the recipe that comes on the package of Nestle chocolate chips to get a perfectly baked cookie that's chewy in the middle, crisp on the outside, and that melds the flavors of sweet and salt with the perfect amount of gooey chocolate chips. 

Adapted slightly from Ina Garten's ice-box cake.

Ingredients (serves 10):

1. About 28 Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies (follow the recipe on the package of Nestle chocolate chips)
2. 2 cups of cold heavy whipping cream
3. 12 ounces of cold mascarpone cheese
4. 3/4 cup sugar
5. 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon strongly brewed fresh coffee mixed with 2 teaspoons of sugar
6. 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
7. 2.5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
8. 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
9. Some semi-sweet chocolate shavings to decorate the cake

Preparation:

1. In a cold bowl, whip together the all the ingredients except the chocolate chip cookies, until the cream forms a stiff peak. 
2. In a 9-inch  springform pan, arrange about 7 chocolate chip cookies and semi-sweet chocolate shavings. You may break the cookies to fill in the spaces, but I didn't bother too much with filling in the spaces. Spread 1/4 of the prepared mocha cream on top. Continue layering the cookies and cream, ending with the cream. I had four layers of cream and 4 layers of cookies.
3. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours. (You can also freeze for an ice cream cake)
4. Run a sharp knife under warm water. Run this knife around the sides of the pan and remove the pan. Decorate with chocolate shavings and serve

 
Stress-free, classic dessert that's meant for special indulgences.