Ice Cream Cake

You won't believe how easy it is to make your own ice cream cake at home using whatever cake flavor you like, your favorite ice cream and whipped cream frosting. Never buy ice cream cake again!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

freezing 6

Total Time 6 55

Servings servings

Calories 310kcal

Author Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

Two 8"x2" cake pans
Bench scraper (optional)
Offset spatula (optional)
1M piping tip and piping bag (optional)

Ingredients

Easy Chocolate Cake

10 ounces All-Purpose Flour 2 cups spooned in and leveled
14 ounces Granulated Sugar 2 cups
4 ounces Cocoa Powder 1 cup
1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 large Eggs room temperature
8 ounces Buttermilk 1 cup
8 ounces Hot Coffee (or hot water) 1 cup
4 ounces Vegetable Oil ½ cup
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Stabilized Whipped Cream

16 ounces Heavy Whipping Cream 3 cups
3 ounces Powdered Sugar ¾ cup
1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 ½ teaspoons Powdered Gelatin KNOX or something similar
2 Tablespoons Cool Water
1 ½ teaspoons Heavy Whipping Cream

Ganche Drip

6 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate 1 cup
4 ounces Heavy Whipping Cream ½ cup

Ice Cream Layer

48 ounces Cookies and Cream Ice Cream 1.5 quarts

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the chocolate cake

Heat oven to 335ºF and prepare two 8” cake pans with cake goop or another preferred pan release.
Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low 5 seconds just until combined.
Add in the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
Turn the mixer down to low and add in the hot coffee and mix until just its just combined.
Divide the cake batter into your prepared cake pans.
Bake the cakes for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes or until the pan is barely warm to the touch then flip them out onto a cooling rack to cool fully.
Slice the dome off the top of the cake to make them flat, then wrap them in plastic wrap and place them into the freezer to freeze overnight or a minimum of 6 hours.

For the ice cream layer

Take the ice cream out of the freezer 30 minutes before you need to use it to allow it to soften.
Cover the inside of an 8" cake pan in aluminum foil
Spread the softened ice cream into the cake pan evenly and smooth out the top
Place it back into the freezer overnight or a minimum of 6 hours

Stabilized whipped cream

Remember not to make your whipped cream until your layers are frozen and you are ready to assemble the cake.
Sprinkle your gelatin over the water and let bloom for 5 minutes.
Melt gelatin for 5 seconds in the microwave. If not fully melted do another 3 seconds. You can tell gelatin is melted when there are no granules of unmelted gelatin visible.
After dissolving your gelatin, add in 1 ½ teaspoon of heavy cream and mix. If your gelatin is too cold, heat again until it's melted (5 seconds).
In a cold mixing bowl, whip your heavy for 15 seconds on medium speed until it's foamy.
Add in your powdered sugar and vanilla and continue mixing on medium speed until you reach very soft peaks, barely holding their shape.
Optional: Add a few drops of liquid food coloring to color your whipped cream.
Turn your mixer down to low and drizzle in your gelatin. Continue mixing on medium speed until your peaks are firm and holding their shape but don't over-mix to the point when your whipped cream starts to look chunky or begins turning into butter. Use within 1 hour.

Assembling the ice cream cake

Before assembling your cake, make sure there is enough room in your freezer!
Place your first cake layer on top of your cake platter. Add a thin layer of whipped cream to the top of your cake layer. This is just to fill any gaps or air pockets.
Add your ice cream layer, another thin layer of whipped cream, and your second cake layer.
Cover the whole cake with a thin layer of whipped cream to fill any gaps or holes.
Then apply your final coat of whipped cream. Smooth the sides with a bench scraper or offset spatula and then smooth the top.
Add crushed Oreo crumbs around the base of the cake.
Place the whole cake back into the freezer while you make your chocolate drip. (See below)
Pipe the chocolate drip onto the sides of your frozen cake. Add the leftover to the top and smooth it all out with a spatula.
With a star tip, add some dollops of whipped cream on top, garnish with Oreos.
Serve immediately or freeze.
Take the cake out of the freezer and place it into the fridge or let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cutting. Use a knife dipped in hot water before slicing.

Ganache Drip

This ganache drip is very easy to make, but you can also use store-bought hot fudge sauce if you'd prefer.
Microwave your chocolate for one minute or melt your chocolate over a double boiler.
Microwave the cream for 1 minute or heat it in a saucepan over medium-hight heat until it's steaming (not boiling) and then pour it over the chocolate.
Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes then whisk it until it's smooth.
Let the ganache drip cool to 90ºF before piping it onto your ice cream cake.

Video

Notes

Tips For Success

It's easiest if you make your cake and ice cream layer ahead of time (the day before) and keep them frozen until you need them. It only takes about 20 minutes to actually assemble the cake once everything is frozen.
If you want your cakes to be super moist, you can add an extra ounce of oil.
To make your easy chocolate cake recipe egg-free, use a commercial egg replacer like King Arthur egg replacer or sugar-free applesauce instead of the eggs.
Before assembling your cake, make sure there is enough room in your freezer!
Any type of whipped-topping like stabilized whipped cream, CoolWhip or Bettercreme is going to work well with ice cream cake. If you're traveling a long distance with your cake, use a more stable buttercream like easy buttercream or American buttercream.
Whipped cream whips better if your bowl is cold and the whipping cream is straight from the fridge.
Don't over-mix your whipped cream. I like to finish whipping mine by hand so it stays nice and creamy
You cannot re-use leftover stabilized whipped cream or make it ahead of time. It needs to be used right away before the gelatin sets.
You can make stabilized whipped cream by hand using a whisk and some elbow grease! Just follow the same steps, it will just take a bit longer.
If you're making your own ice cream for this cake, the softened stage right after it's done mixing is the perfect time to put it into your foil-lined pan.

Nutrition