Homemade DARK CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM SANDWICH (with sugar or sugar-free)
1 box chocolate, Devil's food or fudge cake mix (can use sugar-free)
2 eggs…………………………………………………………..… 1/4 cup warm water
1 TB DARK unsweetened cocoa powder...……...…. 3 TB butter, melted
1 tsp. instant coffee powder (intensifies the chocolate flavor)
2tsp. DARK or sugar-free chocolate syrup
1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened (can be sugar-free) ~ TIP: put the container into the microwave for 25-30 seconds if it's too hard
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Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spritz a 13x9" jelly-roll pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line pan with parchment paper and spray again.
Beat cake mix, eggs, water, cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, instant coffee and melted butter in a large bowl with electric mixer until well blended. (Dough will be thick and sticky.) Spoon the dough into prepared pan (a rubber scraper is helpful). Cover the dough with plastic wrap or parchment paper and press evenly it into pan (the plastic wrap will keep the dough from sticking to your hands). (Don't forget to push it evenly into the corners! ~You can roll over the top of the plastic wrap with a rolling pin to even it out too.) Remove plastic wrap and prick surface all over with the smaller end of a bamboo chopstick or skewer, so it won’t rise up too much.
Bake about 16-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.
Measure across the cooled cake with a ruler, and cut it across exactly in half. Remove one half from pan. Spread the ice cream evenly over the half in pan, and top with the second half. You can use the foil in the pan to wrap up the giant ice cream sandwich.
Freeze for at least 4 hours. Cut into 8 equal pieces (or more, if you want smaller ones.) Wrap and freeze sandwiches until ready to serve (freezer pint baggies are good).
(Please excuse the melting ice cream in the photos! It was about 100 degrees in North Texas today!)