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This Homemade Ice Cream Cake recipe is better than store-bought, guaranteed!! Filled with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, plus crushed Oreos and hot fudge, this is sure to be a big crowd-pleaser! If you’re looking for an even easier ice cream cake option, try my Ice Cream Sandwich Cake.
Ice Cream Cake Basics
This no-bake, super simple recipe is made up of three different parts. All equally important and delicious.
The Ice Cream
I used two 1.5 quart containers of Breyers ice cream; one chocolate and one vanilla. That’s 3 whole quarts of ice cream OR 3/4 of a gallon if you’re counting. See my variations below to switch things up.
The Filling
Falling in love with Dairy Queen Crunch Cakes at an early age, I’ve learned that magic shell and chocolate wafer crackers aren’t going to cut it for me! Plus, I could make it better. 😉 So I used crushed OREO thins and store bought hot fudge sauce. And it was so freaking good. It was decided by all that that was the most delicious part of the cake.
The Frosting
I was going to use marshmallow fluff, but then upon further investigation, I realized it would have frozen pretty solid. I didn’t want to chance it, so I just used whipped cream. But it worked perfectly and tasted delicious. Easy to spread, easy to slice, and added a little extra creamy bite.
How to make Ice Cream Cake
While the process to making an ice cream cake is super simple, it is time consuming (freeze times) and you’ll want to plan ahead. For full recipe details, see the printable recipe card and helpful tutorial video down below.
Remove Ice Cream from Freezer + Prep Cake Pans
Remove ice cream from the freezer and defrost about 15 minutes. While ice cream is softening, line two 8-inch cake pans well with plastic wrap, leaving several inches of overhang.
Spoon + Press Ice Cream into Prepared Pans
Spoon soft ice cream into each prepared pan, pressing down to remove air bubbles as you go. Cover with plastic wrap and press down evenly to smooth the top. Freeze for 8-12 hours or until hardened.
Place Serving Platter into Freezer {1 hour before}
1 hour before assembling cake, place serving platter into freezer. (Make sure your platter can freeze!)
Make the Frosting + Refrigerate
Place heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate.
Assemble the Cake
Remove ice cream layers and serving platter from freezer. Unwrap the tops of the ice cream layers and using the excess plastic wrap, remove layers from pans. Place chocolate layer on the bottom. Smooth an even layer of hot fudge over the chocolate layer, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle crushed OREO thins over hot fudge and press down gently. Add vanilla layer overtop. Spread whipped cream overtop of the entire cake, add sprinkles as desired.
Freeze Cake Until Ready to Serve
Once the cake is assembled, place back into the freezer until ready to serve.
Try Different Flavor Combinations
Using different flavors of ice cream, kinds of cookies or fillings can really allow you freedom in creating a unique and super delicious ice cream cake. Here are a few ideas! The sky really is the limit here.
- Mint Chocolate Chip: Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream + crushed thin mint cookies + hot fudge filling
- Butter Pecan: Butter Pecan ice cream + chopped pecans and shortbread cookies + butterscotch filling
- Chocolate Brownie: Chocolate Brownie ice cream + chopped brownie filling + chocolate sauce filling
- Reese’s: Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream + chopped Reese’s Peanut butter cups and chopped peanuts + hot fudge sauce filling
- Ultimate Oreo: Oreo ice cream + chopped Oreos + hot fudge filling
Storing Ice Cream Cake
You’ll need to store leftover ice cream cake in the freezer. Keep it wrapped well in plastic wrap or an airtight container with a lid. You can expect your cake to stay good in the freezer for about 7 days. After that, ice crystals will begin to form and the flavor of the cake will begin to diminish.
More Ice Cream Cake Recipes to Try!
- Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream Cake
- Salted Caramel Ice Cream Cake
- Funfetti Ice Cream Cake
- Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
Try this Homemade Ice Cream Cake Recipe out today! Whether it’s for a birthday, a BBQ, an anniversary or just because, this recipe is sure to bring a smile to your face. 🙂
Printable recipe card is below as well as a super helpful video! Enjoy!
