How to Make an Ice Cream Cake

Don't spend $20 or more on a store bought ice cream cake! Make one yourself. It's less expensive, tastes better, and can be exactly the way you want it!

  1. Start at least one day before you need to serve the cake.
  2. Choose your favorite flavor of ice cream. 1.5 quarts will fill a 9" cake pan nicely.
  3. Take the ice cream out of the freezer and allow to thaw for about 20-30 minutes. You want it soft, but not too soft. You don't want it runny. At the same time, put one of the round cake pans in the freezer to let it chill.
  4. Line the chilled round cake pan with plastic wrap.
  5. Fill the pan with softened ice cream. Work as quickly as you can, since you don't want it to melt too much. Start with the bottom of the pan, making sure the ice cream gets into the corners. Try to get it as even as possible, being careful to fill in any holes and gaps.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap, then with foil, and place into the freezer overnight to re-harden.
  7. Bake your cake at least 6 hours before serving. Fill the second round cake pan with half the batter, and fill the cupcake tin with the other half (save these for kids' lunch boxes). Bake, cool, and remove from pan as directed on box or in recipe. It is important that the cake is completely cool before proceeding.
  8. Remove the cake pan with the ice cream from the freezer at least 3 hours before serving time. Remove top plastic and foil, then place a dinner plate on top of the pan, and invert the pan onto the plate. Remove the plastic wrap from the ice cream.
  9. Invert the cooled cake on top of the ice cream. This makes a flat top to the cake that is easier to frost.
  10. Frost and decorate, working quickly.
  11. Cover with plastic wrap and place back into freezer to harden for at least three hours.
  12. Remove from freezer at serving time. Decorate with candles, sing Happy Birthday, and cut as you would a store-bought cake.

] Ice Cream Cupcakes Variation

  1. Soften half of the carton of ice cream.
  2. Line a cupcake pan with paper baking cups.
  3. Put a spoonful of softened ice cream in each, pressing it into the corners, so that it is about 1/2 inch deep.
  4. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for several hours.
  5. Take the baking cups with the ice cream layer out of the pan and return them to the freezer.
  6. Line the pan with another set of baking cups.
  7. Prepare cake batter according to directions.
  8. Pour in the cake batter to half the depth you usually would use - until the cups are about 1/3 full.
  9. Bake according to the directions for the cake, but check for to see if it is done early because the cupcakes will be thinner than usual.
  10. Allow to cool thoroughly.
  11. Take the paper off of the cooled cupcakes.
  12. Put each cupcake upside-down on top of one ice cream layer, still in its paper baking cup.
  13. Return to the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
  14. Thaw the other half of the ice cream for 20-30 minutes and stir until it is a little firmer than soft-serve.
  15. Working quickly, frost the frozen cupcakes with softened ice cream and return to the freezer for at least one hour. These are a little cold to eat out-of-hand but a lot of fun!

] Tips

  • Silicone cake pans make removing the ice cream layer much easier! If you have one, use it.
  • Instead of baking a cake layer, you could just put frosting on the ice cream and serve.
  • If you don't have two cake pans the same size, or you want to make two cake layers instead of the cupcakes, just move the ice cream layer to a plate and put it back in the freezer before baking the cake.
  • Use large chunks of frosting when frosting the cake. This makes it easier to spread. Use a butter knife for frosting; don't use something soft like a rubber spatula.
  • It is also possible to substitute flavored (i.e. no chunks of anything in it) ice cream for the frosting. Since you don't want the ice cream frosting to melt more when it touches the cake, freeze the stacked layers of ice cream and cake for one hour before frosting with ice cream. Then just soften the ice cream and stir it into a whipped consistency, and spread like frosting.
  • If you buy the ice cream, cake mix, and frosting on sale, this cake should cost about $7. It's even less expensive if you make the cake and frosting from scratch.
  • If you are not an experienced baker, don't worry if your project doesn't turn out really pretty! It will still taste great, and your birthday-boy or birthday-girl will still appreciate your effort! And remember: practice makes perfect. Keep working at it and your baking projects will turn out better and better.
  • Once you get the hang of this cake try variations: The ice cream sandwiched between two layers of cake, Fruit fillings between the ice cream and cake layers, etc.

] Warnings

  • When working with the ice cream, it's important to work as quickly as possible because you don't want it to melt too much.

] Things You'll Need

  • two eight or nine-inch round cake pans
  • cupcake pan
  • whisk or electric beaters
  • measuring utensils
  • half-gallon of your favorite ice cream
  • one box of your favorite cake mix (with proper ingredients according to the box)
  • one container of your favorite frosting
  • candles, sprinkles, or other decorations