Last week was my birthday, which is the best day of my birthday week, which is the best week of my birthday month. I’m not sure when exactly I decided my birthday was in fact a month-long event, but it was definitely a decision that I stand by. In fact, I was still celebrating my birthday week this weekend at Taste of Country Music Festival, which is why this post is a day late.

Now, the only thing that was weird about my birthday this year is that I made my own dessert. You would think that someone who runs a baking blog would be all about making her own birthday cake, but I actually way prefer to get something with a name along the lines of “triple chocolate decadence” from a nice bakery instead of facing the pressure of deciding what will best capture my desires at 7:02pm on June 11.

So after some serious back and forth between cookie dough stuffed cupcakes and a couple other ideas, I came to what I’m considering the right decision: Mud Pie. The recipe is Sandy’s (Trout Farm Apple Pie and Oh Henry Bars), but the star of the show is her homemade hot fudge. I had to call/text/email her about 50 times before I was confident enough to give this a go, but thankfully she put up with me and I can now share it with all of you!

First, make the Oreo cookie crust. Mash 25 Oreos, or use a mini chop or food processor, until a fine crumb forms.

Combine the Oreo crumbs with 1/4 cup melted butter in a 9 inch pie pan, pressing mixture into the bottom and sides to make a uniform crust. Put the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes to harden. Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter and unsweetened cocoa in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Have the rest of your ingredients ready to go.

When smooth, add the sugar and cocoa and stir until melted.Next, while continuously stirring, add the cream in a couple of additions. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture just starts to boil.Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Set aside to cool for a bit, but do not allow to harden.By now, the crust should be ready. Spread the softened coffee ice cream (I used Breyer’s, which is 1.5 quarts, and it fit perfectly) into the crust, making sure top remains flat. You don’t want a big mound of ice cream in the middle, since that will give you problems with the hot fudge later.

Once the fudge is sufficiently cooled that you don’t think it will all just run off the pie, pour it over the top to coat the entire pie. Put the pie on a baking sheet (in case it does start running) and place the entire thing in the freezer until ready to serve, at least overnight.

When you are going to serve it, remove it from the freezer and allow it to sit at room temperature for a bit, unless you want to make a mess and a fool of yourself trying to cut slices when it’s still solid.The pie will keep covered in the freezer for a good long time, so it’s not a bad one to make when you’re bored and keep on hand in case you have a dessert emergency.

Enjoy!

Mud Pie

Ingredients:

• 25 Oreos, crushed
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1.5 quarts coffee ice cream, softened

Directions:

1. Combine the crushed Oreos and 1/4 cup of melted butter in a 9 inch pie pan, pressing mixture into bottom and sides to create uniform crust. Put in freezer for 15 minutes.
2. Over low heat in a medium saucepan, melt unsweetened chocolate and 1/4 butter, stirring until smooth.
3. Add cocoa powder and sugar and stir to combine.
4. Add light cream in a couple of additions, continuing to stir constantly until mixture just comes to a boil.
5. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.
6. Spread coffee ice cream into Oreo crust, taking care to keep top of pie flat rather than mounded.
7. Pour cooled fudge over coffee ice cream. Freeze at least overnight until ready to serve.