Sweet Sundays: When a standard assembly of cake and frosting just won’t do, and the birthday girl won’t give any hints about her favorite flavors, what’s a baker to do? Stick to the same old, somewhat boring but crowd-pleasing classics? Not on my watch! This sounds like the perfect opportunity for experimentation.

Inspiration for this one came from an unlikely source, not exactly the stuff of celebration or happiness, but in fact, the obituaries. At a loss for how to spoil my sister on her 23rd birthday, it was the last thing on my mind as I was reading the newspaper and came across the announcement that the world had just lost Richard LaMotta, inventor of everyone’s favorite frozen treat, the Chipwich. A staple of American culture, I can’t be certain I’ve actually eaten one myself, but I definitely grew up surrounded by them. The loss was crushing, but my sadness was soon forgotten when I realized that very concept might be just the ticket to a novel new birthday cake.

Taking some liberties with the design, I switched out the traditional vanilla ice cream for chocolate, a move that my vanilla-ambivalent sister greatly appreciated. Though chocolate chip cookies and chocolate ice cream are hardly a creative combo, I knew for sure that my sister had a soft spot for both. Throw in some colorful, crunchy sprinkles to coat the sides, and you had yourself a deal.

Needless to say, it was an unqualified success with the birthday girl.

My only suggestion for anyone wishing to make their own chipwich cake, is to absolutely make the cookies thinner than what is pictured here! I took a full batch of my Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies (published in Go Dairy Free) and simply divided it between two 8-inch round cake pans. Next time, I would use only half that amount, because the effort it required to slice through those giant cookies was practically herculean! We had to break out both the electric knife and the kitchen torch!

Additionally, make sure you allow plenty of time for your ice cream to set up and freeze solid, so that it doesn’t melt before you finish cutting the cake. I used a 1/3rd batch of my favorite vegan chocolate ice cream recipe, minus stracciatella, in this case.

If there ever was a way to improve on such a fantastic sweet treat, this would have to be it!

Article by Hannah Kaminsky, author of My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert and crafty blogger at Bittersweet.