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Cakes, Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts

Cookies N’ Cream Ice Cream Cake

4.34 from 3 votes
This Cookies N' Cream Ice Cream Cake recipe gives you the best of both worlds: amazing chocolate cake and frosty sweet ice cream (no churn!), topped with a whipped cream frosting.
By Dee Frances | | 2
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake with cherries on top

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Hi Bold Bakers!

IN THIS RECIPE: Let’s welcome back Dee, one of our Bold Baking Network experts and founder of One Sarcastic Baker!  — Dee has a lovely recently-released Baking Science cookbook (buy it here) and is here to make us and incredible Ice Cream Cake recipe. Not only are you going to get a delicious way to cool off this summer, but it tastes just as amazing as it looks. 

Life is short, and every day is full of dilemmas, questions, and decisions to make. 

Today we will make your life a tad more manageable, so next time you don’t need to compromise and have your ice cream and cake. Hence, Ice Cream Cake.

What Is An Ice Cream Cake?

An ice cream cake is a layer cake filled with homemade ice cream, frosted with heavy cream, and topped with ganache and cherries. It’s super simple, fun, and most likely will please everyone.

The hardest part of making the cake is finding space for it in the freezer. But please note that you will need to consolidate the room for a short time because this cake will be gone in no time.

This epic dessert is an assembly of three components: cake, ice cream, and whipped cream.

The interior of the ice cream cake

The Cake

Bake it ahead and assemble the dessert when the cake is completely cool. I used Gemma’s Best-Ever Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Whipped Chocolate Ganache, and you can also bake Vanilla Birthday Cake or Brownie Cake.

This time, I sandwiched the ice cream between two layers of cake. But you can also place the ice cream over one layer of cake and frost. 

The Size

Eight-inch or nine-inch are both excellent options. Even though a tall cake is very impressive, the ice cream will melt faster than the cake softens, and slicing might become a messy challenge. 

The Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

You can quickly whip a homemade no-churn ice cream in 10 minutes using a stand or hand mixer.

All you need to do is whip the cream, then fold the sweetened condensed milk and crushed Oreos. Pour into the pan (or any other mold) and freeze until solid.

Side-by-side of mixing the ice cream and after its frozen

Other Flavors

The cake gets its flavor and texture from the crushed Oreo added. Not a fan of Cookies and Cream? No problem. Fold in whatever your heart desires. Here are some ideas:

Avoid using fresh fruits or any juices.

The Size

When sandwiching the ice cream between two layers of cake, I like to mold the ice cream in size smaller pan. For example, if I bake the cake in two 9-inch pans, then I will use one 8-inch pan for the ice cream. This helps the ice cream from oozing out as it melts.

When topping the cake over one layer of cake, I like to use the same size pan.

The Stabilized Heavy Cream

Heavy cream is the best way to go, do not be tempted to use buttercream or meringue. Remember that the cake is stored in the freezer and buttercream is best eaten at room temperature.

You can definitely use this Chocolate Whipped Cream instead, or if you feel comfortable with last minutes frosting then go with marshmallow fluff or meringue topping for a Baked Alaska style dessert.

I used dry milk powder to stabilize the cream and I highly recommend not to skip it, it truly made a difference and you want the cream to be thick and have a spreadable consistency.

A dollop of whipped cream as frosting on top of the cake

Decorating The Cake

You can’t go wrong with it. Frost and decorate like a pro if you are an experienced cake decorator or use a spoon or a knife to frost the cake. A naked cake is also a great option.

Tips

  • To release the ice cream from the pan, dip the bottom of the cake in a bowl of water. You can also use running water, but make sure to use cold water and not to wet the ice cream.
  • I like to tap the maraschinos cherries over a paper towel to soak the liquids from the jar.

Adding the cherries on top of the ice cream cake

Connect With Dee Everywhere

You can find Dee in all kinds of places on the internet. Give her a visit, a follow, and some online love!

The Bold Baking Network

Bigger Bolder Baking is thrilled to introduce you to the Bold Baking Network, a team of talented chefs, creators, and experts looking to teach, entertain and help you on your baking journey. Here are more articles from our amazing collaborators.

Buy Dee’s Cookbook

Baking Science Book Cover

If you’re into baking science, look no further than Dee’s brand new cookbook that’s all about the why’s and how’s of baking — it’s literally called Baking Science. You can buy it right here.

Try These Recipes!

Cookies N' Cream Ice Cream Cake Recipe

4.34 from 3 votes
Print Recipe
This Cookies N' Cream Ice Cream Cake recipe gives you the best of both worlds: amazing chocolate cake and frosty sweet ice cream (no churn!), topped with a whipped cream frosting.
Author: Dee Frances
Servings: 1 9-Inch Cake
Prep Time 10 mins
This Cookies N' Cream Ice Cream Cake recipe gives you the best of both worlds: amazing chocolate cake and frosty sweet ice cream (no churn!), topped with a whipped cream frosting.
Author: Dee Frances
Servings: 1 9-Inch Cake

Ingredients

For The Ice Cream

  • 1 ½ cups (360 ml/12fl oz) heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup (240 ml/8fl oz) sweetened condensed milk
  • 14 Oreo cookies , finely ground

For The Cake

  • Your favorite chocolate cake. Baked in two 9-inch pans. Please see the recipe notes.

The Frosting (Stabilized Heavy Cream)

  • 3 cups (720 ml/24fl oz) heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ cup (30 g/1 oz) powdered sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons (11g/0.3oz) Dry milk powder

Toppings

  • ½ cup (85 g/3 oz) semi-sweet chopped chocolate
  • 2 teaspoons unflavored oil or shortening
  • 8 maraschino cherries , stem attached
  • 2 crushed Oreos

Instructions

To Make The Ice Cream

  • The ice cream needs a minimum of 6-8 hours to set in the freezer, so it is essential to plan.
  • Grease the bottom and sides of one 8-inch or 9-inch pan and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, pour the heavy cream and whip, starting on low speed and gradually increasing to high speed until the cream is thick.
  • Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and gently fold to incorporate.
  • Fold in the ground Oreos.
  • Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place in the freezer to set for a minimum of 6-8 hours or preferably overnight.

To Make The Frosting

  • Pour the heavy cream into a chilled bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the powdered sugar and dry milk powder.
  • Whip on low speed, gradually increasing speed to high until the cream is thick and stabilized.

Preparing the Toppings

  • Melt the chocolate, then add the oil, and stir until smooth. The chocolate should be soft and warm but not hot.
  • Line a bowl with a paper towel and gently place the maraschino cherries. Gently and slowly swirl the bowl to remove and access liquids.

Assembling

  • Have the cake, ice cream, and frosting ready with your serving plate, a turn table (if using), and an offset spatula (if using).
  • Place one cake layer on your serving plate, then top it with the ice cream, then top with the second layer of cake. (For an easy release, dip the bottom of the pan into a large bowl of water for 2 seconds.)
  • Frost with the stabilized whipped cream, then place it back in the freezer to firm up for about 30-45 minutes.
  • Remove from the freezer and use a spoon to drizzle the ganache.
  • Fill a piping bag fitted with a large rose tip (I used Wilton 1M) with the remaining whipped cream and pipe eight rosettes on top of the cake.
  • Sprinkle the top of the cake with the crushed Oreos and top each rosette with maraschino cherries.
  • Freeze until serving.

Recipe Notes

  • The cake recipe and flavor are your choices. I recommend chocolate mostly because it balances the sweetness of the ice cream.
  • I like the ice cream to be smaller than the cake, so prevent it from running out as it melts.
  • A few options for assembling the cake: you can sandwich the ice cream between two layers of cake or one layer at the bottom.
  • For one layer at the bottom, make sure the ice cream is the width of the cake.
  • Decorate and top the cake as you wish. A naked ice cream cake is also a great option.
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Jessica J
Jessica J
11 months ago

Hi Gemma,
Could you give the measure in grams of the Oreo cookies? I am going to make the ice cream with another type of cookie and I am worried about the size difference.
Thank you so much!

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About Us

Meet Gemma

About Us

Meet Gemma

Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, a cookbook author, and the creator of Bigger Bolder Baking. I want to help you bake with confidence anytime, anywhere with my trusted and tested recipes and baking tips. You may have seen one of my 500+ videos on YouTube & TikTok or as a guest judge on Nailed It! on Netflix or the Best Baker in America on Food Network. No matter your skills, my Bold Baking Team & I want to be your #1 go-to baking authority.

 

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