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When I was little, long before the days of Carvel ice cream cakes, my mother would make an ice cream cake for my birthday. She’d always ask me a week prior to my birthday whay kind of cake I would like to have knowing full well what the answer would be.

I love this ice cream cake!

Considering all the free/cheap ice cream we’ve received lately, now would be an ideal time to make this cake. I will tell you this is not something you can decide to make that day and have it ready for consumption that evening. Even 24 hours is cutting it close (but 24 hours is doable). You best bet is to start this two days before you need it. It is NOT labor intensive, but due to the ice cream and freezing whipped cream, it does take a while.

I am not a chocolate cake person. I actually don’t like chocolate anything, except for, well, chocolate. With this cake the best results arrive when using a dark chocolate (devil’s food) cake mix. The chocolate cake seems to enhance the whipped cream and the ice cream. You certainly can try another flavor as all tastes are different, but I would advise staying away from a white or vanilla cake (normally my favorite) as it recedes and does not enhance in this recipe.

My mother started this recipe using chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream. Since I don’t particularly like chocolate or strawberry ice cream, I used to end up picking different flavors. Pistachio was always a good choice, so was a cherry or another fruit ice cream with a strong flavor. I always stick with vanilla for at least one layer because, well, it is my favorite.

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Ice Cream Cake

(5) 8″ round pans (you can get by with 3 pans)
3 containers various flavors of ice cream (you will need 2 quarts of each flavor)
1 packaged chocolate cake cooked to package directions
3 pints whipping cream
1 Tsp vanilla
confectionery sugar
wax paper

Grease the bottom and side of (3) 8″ round pans. Line with an oversized sheet of wax paper. You want the paper large enough to readily grip when you remove the ice cream from the pans when refrozen.

Soften 6 quarts of ice cream, 2 quarts of each flavor, one flavor per 8″ round, inside the lined 8″ rounds.

When soft enough, spread evenly in pan and refreeze. You want it to be as flat as possible so it freezes evenly.

Make cake the evening before you will need to work with it. This will allow it to dry slightly although you want to cover it overnight.
Slice cake in half horizontally just prior to cake assembly. You want to end up with four thin cake layers.

Place mixing bowl in freezer for 15 minutes prior to whipping cream.
Whip cream just prior to cake assembly.

Whipped Cream

In large, cold mixing bowl mix three pints of whipping cream. Slowly add one tablespoon of vanilla. As cream stiffens, add confectionery sugar. Add to taste, but use at least 1/3 of a cup.
Beat until very stiff but do not allow to separate.
Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

For your cake assembly you will need to work quickly and efficiently. You may put the cake back in the freezer at anytime to harden if it becomes too soft.

Remove the ice cream from the 8″ containers and put back in freezer until needed.
The ice cream should pop right out. if it doesn’t, put the bottom of the pan in a sink full of water for a few seconds. This should melt the bottom enough to allow the ice cream to pop with a gentle tug of the waxed paper. If you only have (3) 8″ cake pans, this can be done prior to baking your chocolate cake. Just put the ice cream round back in the freezer still on its wax paper until ready to assemble.

Cake Assembly

On bottom of cake plate place one split chocolate cake layer.
On top of this split layer place a layer of ice cream. The ice cream should be flat on you can go on to the next layer. If it is not, you may fill in any large gaps with whipped cream. You want everything to be as flat as possible on each layer so as not to end up with a lopsided cake!
Place a second split chocolate cake layer on top of the first ice cream layer.
Place a second ice cream layer on top of the second split chocolate cake layer (fill gaps as needed).
Place a third split chocolate cake layer on top of the second ice cream layer.
Place a third ice cream layer on top of the third split chocolate cake layer (fill gaps as needed).
Finish with the fourth chocolate cake layer.

Retrieve the whipped cream from the refrigerator and frost. Frost in swirls as it will freezer the same way. The finished product will look quite elaborate.

If at anytime your cake starts to get too soft to work with, return to freezer until hard.

Once frosted, return entire cake to freezer for at least 2 hours until ready to serve.

Because of the chocolate cake you don’t need sit this dessert out for more than 5 minutes before cutting, you can, you just do not NEED to. Unlike an ice cream store cake it will cut without use of an an electric saw.

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