Jon Stewart, born Jonathan Leibowitz, is one of America’s best known Jews, and also in an inter-faith marriage. In 2012, as Passover and Easter were approaching Stewart encouraged Jews to up the ante on Passover as it wasn’t competing very well against Easter, especially for kids. In the “Faith Off” clip below, from The Daily Show, he says where Easter has chocolate, Passover has Matzah. Where Easter has Peeps, Passover has hard boiled eggs. You get the idea.

“Oh wait, I’ll see you over at the Red Sea ride when I’m done building ice cream pyramids.”

What about spicing things up, Jon asks? What about ice cream pyramids? Well Jon, in honor of your last Passover behind that Comedy Central desk where we’ve come to depend on you to deliver us news we can actually digest, we’re giving you just what you asked for: Ice Cream Pyramids.

This is a great way to get your kids excited about the upcoming Passover holiday, and if you’re serving a non-meat seder or Passover meal during the week of the holiday, this could certainly be the piece-de-resistance to serve as dessert.

When I started this experiment I had hoped to build a pyramid using small blocks of ice cream, similar to this sugar cube pyramid. But no matter how solid the ice cream was, or how quickly I worked, it wasn’t to be. So, plan B!

What you’ll need:

• 1 gallon of ice cream
• Cutting Board
• Large serrated knife/chef’s knife
• Chocolate, caramel, chopped nuts, Nutella (or toppings of  your choice)

Before you begin:

Choose a gallon of your favorite ice cream that comes in a rectangular box. Make sure it is frozen solid.

Place your cutting board and a serrated knife in the freezer so that the ice cream won’t melt as quickly.

Clear space in the freezer for the finished product.

Instructions:

1.  Cut the box away so that you’re left with just a large block of ice cream.

2.  Cut the ice cream so that you have 1-inch thick square slices.

3.  Start by placing a square on the cold cutting board, and then, if desired, cover with favorite ice cream topping, then continue to layer the same way using all of the ice cream.

4.  You may need to re-freeze at a few points along the way if the ice cream is melting too quickly.

5.  Next comes the carving. Each piece, from bottom to top, should be trimmed with your knife so that it’s slightly smaller than the last, until you’re at a small point for the top of the pyramid. You can then leave as is, or smooth the sides to be flat.

6.  Continue by decorating the sides with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc.

7.  Then place in freezer to re-firm.

8.  The end result is delicious, and the process is fun! You can set this up as a race between a few teams to see who can build the pyramid the quickest, or set a timer and see which group could build the tallest pyramid in the allotted time. Traditionally, matzah is only kosher for Passover if it’s made in 18 minutes or less, so you could try setting an 18-minute limit for your game as well.

9.  As soon as it’s completed, place the finished product in the freezer to let it firm up before serving. You may actually have to let it set in the freezer as you go, depending on how quickly you are assembling it.

10.  To finish off, you can drizzle some chocolate sauce or caramel on top.

Chag sameach (happy holiday)! Please share your ice cream pyramid photos on InterfaithFamily’s Facebook page!