Made with only 4 easy ingredients! Mom’s Homemade Ice Cream Cake is delicious, nostalgic, and the perfect way to celebrate. Easily vegan/GF
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I am so excited to share my Mom’s Homemade Ice Cream Cake with you! Growing up, my Mom always made this cake for birthdays and special occasions. She would swap out the ice cream flavors and cookies based on our preferences, but the foundational recipe remained the same. This dessert is especially nostalgic for me and I’m so happy it has a forever home on my website. I hope you love it as a much as I do.
Ice Cream Cake Ingredients
Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream: For this particular recipe, I wanted to evoke that classic Carvel cake situation. Feel free to use vegan ice cream if desired!
Whipped Cream or Cool Whip: I used a batch of my homemade whipped cream, but my Mom often used Cool Whip. It’s delicious and it works! Feel free to use vegan whipped topping, too.
Oreos: Again, because I’m going for Carvel vibes. Use gluten-free Oreos if needed!
Tips & Tricks, Odds & Ends
- Use the Plastic Wrap: I know, I know. We’re all trying to minimize plastic usage in our homes. I actually tested this recipe with parchment paper to try and avoid this technique. However, it did not work well at all. Plastic wrap works like a charm, and it’s rarely used in my kitchen otherwise. We’re all doing our best out here, folks.
- The Waiting Game: I know it’s annoying to impatiently wait for each layer to freeze, but it is essential to getting the perfect structure and texture!
- Switch Things Up! This is a base recipe, so feel free to go wild with your favorite flavors. Use whatever ice cream you like, stir cocoa powder into your whipped cream for a chocolate situation, switch out the cookies…the world is your oyster.
If you make my Mom’s Homemade Ice Cream Cake, be sure to leave a rating and review! This encourages others to try it out and super helps with Google rankings. I’m also on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok. It makes my day to hear from you!
More Delicious Desserts
- Blackberry Hazelnut Crisp (Gluten-Free/Easily Vegan)
- Gluten-Free Hummingbird Cake (Snack Size!)
- Vegan Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Incredible 5-Ingredient Mascarpone Mousse
- 5-Ingredient Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Truffles
Mom’s Homemade Ice Cream Cake
Equipment
- 1 9-inch springform pan
- plastic wrap
- ice cream scoop
- offset spatula
- Hand or Stand Mixer (optional, if you want to use homemade whipped cream)
Ingredients
- 1 1.5-quart container vanilla ice cream (dairy-free if needed)
- 1 1.5-quart container chocolate ice cream (dairy-free if needed)
- 1 batch homemade whipped cream (or 1 8-oz container cool whip or vegan cool whip)
- 16-20 crushed Oreos (gluten-free if needed), divided
Instructions
- Set out your vanilla ice cream to defrost for about 10 minutes. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining it with plastic wrap. Scoop the vanilla ice cream into the bottom of the pan and smooth until evenly distributed. Place in freezer for 20-30 minutes, or until it firms up some.
- Remove pan from freezer and quickly layer 12-15 crushed Oreos on top of vanilla ice cream. Place in freezer for about 10 minutes and set out your chocolate ice cream to defrost.
- Remove pan from freezer once more and scoop chocolate ice cream on top of crushed Oreo center and smooth until well-distributed. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight (this is important because you want your cake to be solid when you frost it!).
- Remove ice cream cake from freezer. Release the springform pan and carefully flip the ice cream cake upside down onto a plate or serving platter, removing the plastic wrap. Work quickly, using an offset spatula to frost ice cream cake with whipped cream or cool whip of choice. Top with remaining crushed Oreos and place in freezer a final time (last time I promise!) to re-solidify, 30 minutes-1 hour.
- When cake is completely solid and you're ready to eat it, remove from freezer, slice into 10 pieces, and devour immediately!
Notes
Photography by Hope Agresti
