Alvaro del Portillo Cake Shakes
The husband was raised in Chicago, and our family spent a couple years living there. Portillo's Hot Dogs is a popular local restaurant chain famous for hot dogs, beef sandwiches, and . . . cake shakes. This is—yes—a milkshake into which is blended a whole piece of chocolate cake! Portillo’s moist chocolate cake is made in-house with a box mix supplemented with mayonnaise. It sounds crazy, but it tastes amazing. And since mayo is just eggs + oil, it’s not really all that off. The association with Blessed Alvaro del Portillo is mostly just a coincidence of names, but it’s also a Chicago thing. Blessed Alvaro visited Chicago in 1988, famously leaving behind a pair of shoes that were saved by a priest at the residence and, after Blessed Alvaro’s beatification, cut up into tiny pieces and attached to holy cards. I don’t know if anyone in Chicago took him out for a hot dog and a cake shake during his visit, but one can hope!
Ingredients
- 1.5 quarts vanilla bean ice cream
- 1/4 chocolate cake
- ½ cup whole milk
Instructions
- Soften the ice cream for about 10 minutes, or until easily scoopable. Cut your chocolate layer cake into quarters. Place the ice cream, milk, and cake into a blender. Blend to combine, adding more milk if necessary. Use a spoon or spatula to encourage the mixture to move. Don’t add more milk than needed, or the shake will be thin. Don’t over-blend, you want to keep the consistency of the cake. Pour the shake into a glass and top with some cake crumbles. Enjoy!