I wanted to make an ice cream cake…because it is summer. So I decided to make an Oreo ice cream cake.

This cake had 2 chocolate cake layers, filled with a homemade no churn ice cream, then it was covered in whipped cream and I also threw a chocolate ganache on top just for fun.

IT WAS SO GOOD. I don’t know if I can say this about things I’ve made myself, but it was the best ice cream cake I’ve ever had.

Video Tutorial

Breakdown of the process

Here’s the thing, ice cream needs to freeze. So because of this, this cake needs to be made over 2 days.

There are quite a few different parts to making it, but it will be worth it in the end just trust me.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what you are going to need to do:

Day 1:

Make the chocolate cake layers – we’re going to make these first, just because these layers can be taken out of the tins. Whereas once we have made the ice cream, this needs to stay in the tin overnight. I’m assuming most of us don’t have more than 2 of the same size tins, so it’s easier to make the cake layers first. So just make them, wrap them in cling film and leave them in your fridge.
Make the ice cream – make this, add this into a tin and leave this in the freezer overnight.

Day 2:

Make the whipped cream
Make the ganache – this is optional, you don’t need this. It was just for the drip on the outside.
Now you can finally assemble the cake

The chocolate cake layers

Like I mentioned, the first thing we are going to make is the chocolate cake layers.

Here are the ingredients you are going to need to make these:

Cocoa powder – unsweetened cocoa powder is always best to use.
Instant coffee – this is going to intensify the chocolate flavour.
Hot water – hydrating the cocoa powder with this water is also going to intensify the chocolate flavour.
Oil – for moisture. I use vegetable oil but any flavourless one works.
Buttermilk – also for moisture.
Eggs
Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour.
Sugar – I used a mixture of both white and brown sugar. The brown sugar is going to add extra flavour and moisture.
Baking soda
Vinegar – this is going to react with the baking soda, which will make your cakes fluffier.

Ingredient substitutions for the cake layers

There are a few ingredients that I used to make the cake batter, that can be substituted.

Let’s talk about these!

The coffee

All the coffee does is intensify the chocolate flavour, it doesn’t make the cake taste coffee flavoured.

But if you wanted to leave it out, you could. It won’t make a huge difference.

The oil

Cakes typically have some kind of fat, this can be oil or butter. Oil adds moisture, butter adds flavour.

With chocolate cakes, since chocolate is a very overwhelming flavour, I feel like butter doesn’t add anything to the overall flavour.

So I like to use oil so I can get extra moisture.

If you wanted to use butter, you could. In the recipe card below, it says to use 200ml of oil. If you are using butter, use 200g and melt this before using it.

Buttermilk

This is also for moisture. Plain natural yoghurt is the best substitute, most of the time I just use yoghurt.

Or you could make a buttermilk substitute by mixing together 120ml of whole milk and 1/2 a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Leave this aside for 10 minutes, then you can use it.

But with that being said, actual buttermilk or yoghurt gives the best results.

The vinegar

We’re going to mix this with the baking soda, then add it into the cake batter.

As the cakes bake, this vinegar will react with the baking soda, which will give the cakes an extra lift, leaving them with a fluffier velvety texture.

I use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar works great too. If you didn’t have either, lemon juice could also be used.

The ice cream layer

I wanted to say, you do not have to make the ice cream, you could just buy it, it will make things easier.

If you are buying, just line a tin with cling film, add the ice cream into this, flatten it down and cover the top with more cling film. Then I still recommend leaving this in the freezer overnight,

If you are making it, we’re making a no-churn ice cream, so it is super easy to make you only need 4 ingredients:

Double cream
Vanilla extract
Sweetened condensed milk
Crushed Oreos

You just whip the cream and vanilla together, then fold in the condensed milk and Oreos. Now add it into a cling film lined tin and leave it to freeze overnight.

With no-churn ice cream, recipes typically recommend to leave it to freeze overnight, or 4 hours works too.

Yes after 4 hours your ice cream layer will be frozen BUT with ice cream cakes, you want the ice cream to be as solid as it can be. This is to prevent it from melting as you are decorating the cake.

So try not to skip the overnight part, decorating a cake whiles it is melting is a stressful experience, I don’t wish this on anyone.

The whipped cream

I decided to cover this cake in whipped cream instead of buttercream.

I DO NOT LIKE buttercream on ice cream cakes. I feel like it becomes too frozen, where as whipped cream doesn’t freeze as solid. I don’t know if that’s factually correct, but in my opinion whipped cream stays softer.

Anyway for this all you need is double cream, icing sugar and vanilla. Just whip these together until you get firm peaks.

By the way, double cream is also known as heavy cream, we just call it double cream in the UK. Also whipping cream could be used instead.

How to fix over whipped cream

You only want to whip your cream until you start to get firm peaks, as soon as you reach this point, stop whipping.

If you over whip the cream, it will become too thick, which will make it hard to ice the cake.

IF YOU DO OVER WHIP IT, this is ok it is fixable.

Just add some un-whipped cream into it and mix this in. Keep repeating this until it goes back to being smooth and spreadable.

The only time where this won’t work is if you whip the cream to the point where it turns into butter. So try not to do this.

The ganache

The last thing to make is the ganache, for the drip. This is completely optional, I just added it for aesthetic purposes.

But if you also wanted to add a drip to your cake, all you need is dark chocolate and double cream. You just heat this until the chocolate has melted, then let it cool for a bit, then it is ready to use.

I used dark chocolate because I think dark chocolate drips look the best. But you could use milk chocolate, or even white chocolate.

If you are using milk or white chocolate though, you need to adjust the recipe a little. I used 120ml of cream, but you should use half this amount, so 60ml instead.

Milk and white chocolate have milk in them, unlike dark chocolate. So if you don’t half the amount of cream, the ganache will be too thin.

Decorating the cake

Now that everything has been made, you can finally decorate. You can decorate this however you want.

I just wanted to mention, this might be obvious…but ice cream melts.

I was able to decorate this whole cake without the ice cream melting, but if at any point you notice that the ice cream is starting to melt whiles you are decorating it, put it in the freezer immediately. Leave it in there for about 30 minutes, then you can continue decorating.

I am in the UK, even though it is summer, it was a cold day when I made this. So I had no problems.

But if you live in a hot place, you might have to go back and forth with the freezing and the decorating!

Here are a few other cake recipes I think you should also try:

Oreo Ice
Cream Cake

Ingredients

For the chocolate cake layers:
50g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee
80ml hot water
200ml vegetable oil
120ml buttermilk
4 eggs
200g plain flour
125g granulated sugar
125g light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar
For the ice cream:
480ml double cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 can sweetened condensed milk (around 400g)
14 Oreos, crushed
For the whipped cream:
600ml double cream
200g icing sugar (you can adjust this depending on how sweet you want the whipped cream to be)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the ganache drip (optional):
100g dark chocolate
120ml double cream (if you are using milk or white chocolate instead, use 60ml of double cream)
Extras:
Some more Oreos to decorate

Directions

DAY 1
Making the cake layers:
Start by pre-heating your oven to 180c/350f, also grease and line two 8 inch cake tins.
In a large bowl, add the cocoa powder, coffee and hot water. Whisk these together.
Add the oil, buttermilk and eggs into this. Whisk until combined.
Now add the flour and both sugars, whisk just until you get a smooth batter.
In a small separate bowl, add the baking soda and pour the vinegar over this. This will start bubbling, just give it a quick mix and then whisk this into your batter.
Pour this into your prepared cake tins, then bake at 180c/350f for around 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Once baked, leave to cool in the tins for about 20 minutes, then take them out, wrap them in cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.
Making the ice cream:
Line an 8 inch cake tin with cling film, leave this aside.
In a large bowl, add the double cream and vanilla. Whip this until the cream thickens and you get firm peaks.
Add the condensed milk and crushed Oreos into this, fold until combined.
Add this into your prepared tin, then flatten it and smooth it out. Cover the top with cling film and leave this in your freezer overnight.
DAY 2
Making the whipped cream:
In a large bowl, add the double cream, icing sugar and vanilla. Whip this until you get firm peaks.
Leave this in your fridge until ready to use.
Making the ganache (again this is optional):
In a bowl, add the chocolate and cream. Heat this in your microwave for 30 seconds.
Take it out and give it a stir, then place it back into the microwave and heat for 15 seconds this time, take it out and stir again. Keep repeating this until all the chocolate has melted and you've got a smooth ganache.
Leave this aside, at room temperature.
Putting the cake together:
Now you can finally put the cake together.
I started by cutting the tops of my cake layers off, just to get more even layers. But you don't have to do this.
Place one cake layer down onto a cake board, then take your ice cream out of the freezer, unwrap it and place this on top. Now add the second cake layer.
Now you can decorate however you want, I just covered it in whipped cream, added a drip with the ganache, piped some more cream on top and added Oreos on top too. REMEMBER ice cream melts, so you want to move a little quickly. If at any point you feel like the ice cream is melting, put the cake in your freezer for around 30 minutes, then continue decorating.
Leave this decorated cake in your freezer for about 10-20 minutes before cutting into it, then you can enjoy! If you don't plan on serving it straight away, it can stay in your freezer but before you are about to serve it, leave it at room temperature for about 20 minutes. This will make it easier to slice, and it tastes better when it's not too frozen!

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

Video Tutorial