12 Ice Cream Cake Recipes That Are Perfect for Summer
Look, I’m not going to pretend I have my life together enough to bake a traditional layer cake when it’s 95 degrees outside. Who does? But ice cream cake? That’s a different story. It’s basically the summer dessert equivalent of cutting corners without anyone noticing—except everyone’s too busy enjoying themselves to care.
Here’s the thing about ice cream cakes: they’re deceptively simple. You don’t need fancy piping skills or a degree in pastry arts. What you do need is decent timing, a reliable freezer, and maybe some patience while you wait for things to set. I’ve made my fair share of melted disasters, trust me, but I’ve also pulled off some seriously impressive desserts that had people asking for the recipe.
These twelve recipes range from stupid-easy to mildly ambitious, so pick your adventure based on how much energy you’ve got left after surviving the heat. Some use store-bought components smartly—because let’s be real, nobody’s judging you for using quality ice cream from the store. Others let you flex a bit if you’re feeling creative. Either way, you’re ending up with something cold, sweet, and infinitely better than whatever’s wilting in your fruit bowl.
Why Ice Cream Cakes Actually Make Sense
Before we dive into recipes, let’s talk about why these things work so well for summer entertaining. First off, they’re made ahead—like, way ahead. No last-minute stress while guests are already at your door. You make it, freeze it, and forget about it until dessert time.
Second, they’re cold. Groundbreaking observation, I know, but when it’s sweltering outside, a frozen dessert hits different than some room-temperature cake that’s been sweating on your counter. Plus, ice cream naturally contains calcium and some vitamins from its dairy base—not that anyone’s eating cake for health reasons, but hey, according to research on ice cream nutrition, moderate portions can fit into a balanced diet.
Third, the flavor combinations are endless. Chocolate and vanilla? Sure. Matcha and black sesame? Why not. Cookie dough with brownie chunks? Now you’re talking. You can customize these cakes based on what’s in your freezer and what sounds good, which is way more flexible than traditional baking.
The Classic Cookie Crumb Base
Let’s start with the foundation most ice cream cakes need: the crust. Crushed cookies mixed with melted butter create that perfect crunchy layer that contrasts with creamy ice cream. Oreos are the obvious choice, but honestly, any cookie works. I’ve used chocolate chip cookies, graham crackers, even those homemade cookies that turned out too crispy.
The ratio’s simple: about 2 cups of cookie crumbs to 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix until it looks like wet sand, press firmly into your pan, and freeze for at least 30 minutes. Don’t skip the freezing part—I learned that lesson when my entire crust floated up into the ice cream layer.
If you’re short on time or don’t have specific cookies on hand, check out these no-bake cookie recipes that work perfectly for crushing into crusts without heating up your kitchen.
Recipe 1: Classic Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
This one’s embarrassingly easy, which is exactly why it’s genius. You literally layer ice cream sandwiches in a pan, add some whipped cream and toppings, freeze it, and call it a day. Get Full Recipe.
Here’s how it works: line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper. Lay down a single layer of ice cream sandwiches—the cheap ones from the grocery store work great. Spread softened ice cream over them if you want extra creaminess, or just layer more sandwiches. Top with whipped cream (I use this stand mixer to make it fluffy), drizzle with chocolate sauce, and freeze for at least 4 hours.
The sandwiches soften into this cake-like texture that’s part cookie, part ice cream, all delicious. You can dress it up with crushed candy bars, sprinkles, or fruit, but honestly, it’s perfect as-is.
Recipe 2: Brownie Bottom Ice Cream Cake
If you want to bake something but keep it manageable, start with a brownie base. Make brownies in a springform pan, let them cool completely, then top with softened ice cream. Get Full Recipe.
I usually make brownies from a box mix because I’m not above shortcuts, but if you’ve got a killer homemade recipe, use that. The key is making sure the brownies are totally cool before adding ice cream—warm brownies equal melted mess. Once your brownie base is frozen solid, spread your ice cream layers, freeze between each addition, and finish with whatever toppings make you happy.
For the brownie layer, I swear by this square baking pan—it’s the perfect size and the non-stick coating actually works. The chocolate-on-chocolate situation here is intense, so maybe use vanilla or mint ice cream to balance it out.
Speaking of chocolate desserts, you might also enjoy these classic chocolate chip cookie recipes that pair beautifully with ice cream.
Ice Cream Cake Essentials That Actually Help
- 9-inch Springform Pan with Removable Bottom – Makes removing frozen cakes so much easier. The latch system is chef’s kiss.
- Offset Spatula Set – Spreading softened ice cream evenly is impossible with a regular spoon. This changed everything.
- Silicone Freezer Storage Mats – Keeps your ice cream cake from getting freezer burn while it sets overnight.
- Digital Recipe Collection: Ice Cream Cake Mastery – 25+ tested recipes with troubleshooting guides and flavor pairing charts.
- Printable Meal Prep Planner – Includes dessert planning sections so you remember to make your cake 24 hours ahead.
- Ultimate Substitutions Guide – Dairy-free, low-sugar, and nut-free alternatives for every recipe component.
- Join our WhatsApp Community – Share your ice cream cake wins (and fails), get real-time troubleshooting help, weekly recipe drops.
Recipe 3: Oreo Crunch Explosion
This is basically cookies and cream taken to its logical extreme. Oreo crust, cookies and cream ice cream, crushed Oreos between layers, and more Oreos on top. It’s aggressively cookie-forward and I’m not sorry about it. Get Full Recipe.
Make your Oreo crust using the method I mentioned earlier—about 24 cookies, crushed, mixed with melted butter. Press into a springform pan and freeze. Layer in softened cookies and cream ice cream, sprinkle crushed Oreos, repeat. I like doing three layers with two Oreo-crumble sections, but you can adjust based on your pan size.
The texture contrast here is everything. Creamy ice cream, crunchy cookie crust, those surprise Oreo chunks throughout. If you’re feeling extra, drizzle some hot fudge sauce between layers before freezing. Let it harden and you’ve got this fudgy ribbon situation happening.
Recipe 4: Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cake
Summer means strawberries, and this cake uses them perfectly. Pound cake or angel food cake slices as the base, strawberry ice cream, fresh berries, whipped cream. It’s like if strawberry shortcake and ice cream cake had a baby. Get Full Recipe.
Slice your cake horizontally and lay pieces in the bottom of your pan. If you’re using store-bought cake, Sara Lee works great—no shame. Spread softened strawberry ice cream, add sliced fresh strawberries, another cake layer, more ice cream. The fresh berries stay surprisingly good when frozen, adding these little tart bursts against the sweet cream.
I use this serrated cake knife for slicing cake layers evenly. Game changer for not ending up with lopsided disasters. Top the whole thing with whipped cream right before serving—frozen whipped cream gets weird and icy.
For more summer berry inspiration, these soft and chewy cookies are perfect for serving alongside your cake.
Recipe 5: Peanut Butter Cup Perfection
Peanut butter and chocolate is an undefeated flavor combo, and this cake delivers hard. Chocolate cookie crust, peanut butter ice cream, fudge sauce, crushed peanut butter cups, and a chocolate ganache situation on top. Get Full Recipe.
Start with your chocolate cookie crust—Oreos work, or use actual chocolate wafer cookies if you can find them. For the filling, I mix peanut butter ice cream with some actual peanut butter swirled through for extra intensity. Reese’s cups, roughly chopped, get sprinkled between layers. The frozen peanut butter cups turn into these perfect little crunchy-creamy bites.
The ganache topping is just heated heavy cream poured over chocolate chips, stirred until smooth, then poured over the frozen cake. It hardens into this shell situation that cracks beautifully when you cut slices. Honestly, it looks way fancier than the effort required.
Recipe 6: Mint Chocolate Chip Delight
Mint chocolate chip is underrated, IMO. This cake uses brownie pieces instead of a traditional crust, layers of mint chip ice cream, and chocolate chips throughout. Get Full Recipe.
Bake brownies in your springform pan or make them separately and break them into chunks. Layer brownie pieces on the bottom, add softened mint chocolate chip ice cream, sprinkle extra chocolate chips (I like using mini chips—they distribute better), repeat. The brownie pieces soften as they freeze with the ice cream, creating this fudgy-minty situation.
If you’re not into artificial mint flavor, look for ice cream made with real peppermint extract. Makes a difference. This ice cream scoop with the heat-conductive handle makes scooping cold ice cream way less of a workout, FYI.
Recipe 7: Salted Caramel Pretzel Madness
Sweet and salty is where it’s at, and this cake nails that balance. Pretzel crust, caramel ice cream, salted caramel sauce, more pretzels on top. Get Full Recipe.
For the crust, crush pretzels until they’re coarse crumbs—not dust, you want some texture. Mix with melted butter and a tiny bit of brown sugar. Press into your pan and freeze. The salty-sweet contrast against caramel ice cream is genuinely addictive. Drizzle salted caramel sauce between layers, and right before serving, top with crushed pretzels so they stay crunchy.
You can make your own salted caramel sauce, or buy it—I won’t judge. Actually, I lie, I’ll judge a little if you buy the cheap stuff that’s mostly corn syrup. Get the good caramel. It matters here. The salt content in pretzels varies by brand, so taste as you go and adjust with extra flaky sea salt if needed.
Looking for more creative flavor combos? Check out these drop cookie recipes that inspired some of my ice cream cake variations.
Recipe 8: Triple Chocolate Therapy
For the chocolate obsessed—and you know who you are. Chocolate cookie crust, layers of chocolate ice cream, chocolate fudge ice cream, and chocolate ganache on top. Chocolate chips and brownie chunks mixed throughout for good measure. Get Full Recipe.
This is not subtle. This is chocolate delivery in frozen cake form. Use different chocolate intensities—milk chocolate ice cream, dark chocolate fudge, and semi-sweet chips create layers of flavor instead of monotone chocolate. The brownie chunks add textural interest and more chocolate, because apparently we haven’t had enough yet.
I use this double boiler insert for melting chocolate smoothly without burning it. Makes ganache foolproof. The key to layering multiple ice cream flavors is letting each layer freeze solid before adding the next—usually about 2 hours in a good freezer.
Recipe 9: Funfetti Birthday Cake Special
Birthday cake ice cream is already a thing, but this takes it further. Vanilla cake layers, vanilla ice cream mixed with sprinkles, white chocolate chips, more sprinkles, and a whipped cream frosting situation. Get Full Recipe.
Use your favorite vanilla cake recipe or box mix—bake it in thin layers. You want maybe three thin cake layers alternating with ice cream. Mix rainbow sprinkles directly into softened vanilla ice cream before layering. The sprinkles don’t freeze solid, so you get these little pops of color and slight crunch throughout.
For the top, I do a stabilized whipped cream that won’t deflate after freezing. Just regular whipped cream with a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla, but you can add a tiny amount of unflavored gelatin if you’re worried about it holding up. Cover the whole thing in more sprinkles because restraint is overrated.
If you’re planning a birthday party, these cookie bars make great accompaniments to your cake spread.
Tools and Resources That Make Ice Cream Cakes Easier
- Food Processor with Pulse Function – Crushing cookies into uniform crumbs in 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes with a rolling pin.
- Bench Scraper – Smoothing ice cream layers and cleaning up your workspace. Simple tool, major impact.
- Deep Freezer Thermometer – Your freezer might not be as cold as you think. Proper temp makes everything set faster and better.
- Video Tutorial Series: Ice Cream Cake Techniques – Step-by-step videos showing exactly how to layer, smooth, and unmold perfectly.
- Flavor Pairing Wheel PDF – Takes the guesswork out of combining ice cream flavors, sauces, and mix-ins.
- Troubleshooting Cheat Sheet – What to do when your cake won’t unmold, layers are melting, or things aren’t setting properly.
- WhatsApp Baking Community – Real-time help when you’re mid-recipe and something’s going wrong. We’ve all been there.
Recipe 10: Coffee Lovers’ Dream
Coffee ice cream doesn’t get enough love, but this cake fixes that. Chocolate graham cracker crust, coffee ice cream, chocolate-covered espresso beans, chocolate sauce, and a coffee whipped cream. Get Full Recipe.
The crust here uses chocolate graham crackers instead of regular—adds depth without overpowering the coffee flavor. For the ice cream, use good quality coffee ice cream, or if you’re feeling ambitious, make your own with cold brew concentrate. I’ve done both, and honestly, Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream is hard to beat.
Chocolate-covered espresso beans get chopped and sprinkled between layers. They stay crunchy when frozen and add this intense coffee punch. For the topping, I make whipped cream with a bit of instant espresso powder dissolved in it first—adds coffee flavor without making it too liquid. Some nutritional research suggests moderate coffee consumption has benefits, so basically this cake is health food.
Recipe 11: Lemon Blueberry Refresher
When chocolate feels too heavy for summer, go citrus. Graham cracker crust, lemon ice cream or sherbet, fresh blueberries, and a blueberry sauce. Light, tart, actually refreshing. Get Full Recipe.
Standard graham cracker crust works perfectly here—the mild flavor lets the lemon shine. Use lemon ice cream if you can find it, or lemon sherbet for something lighter. Frozen blueberries work fine here, actually—they release juice as they thaw slightly, creating natural sauce pockets.
Make a quick blueberry sauce by heating blueberries with sugar and lemon juice until it thickens. Let it cool completely before drizzling between layers. The tartness of real lemon against sweet blueberries is that perfect summer flavor balance. Top with lemon zest right before serving for aromatics.
For more refreshing summer treats, you might enjoy these gluten-free cookies that work great with fruit-based desserts.
Recipe 12: Coconut Cream Paradise
Last one’s for the coconut fans. Coconut cookie crust, coconut ice cream, toasted coconut flakes throughout, white chocolate drizzle, and lime zest on top. Tropical vibes in frozen form. Get Full Recipe.
For the crust, use coconut cookies—those buttery ones with shredded coconut already in them. If you can’t find coconut cookies, add sweetened shredded coconut to a graham cracker crust. Toast extra coconut flakes in a dry pan until golden and fragrant—takes like 3 minutes, watch them constantly because they burn fast. These go between ice cream layers for textural contrast.
The white chocolate drizzle on top adds sweetness and looks impressive. Just melt white chocolate chips with a tiny bit of coconut oil for smooth drizzling consistency. The lime zest is non-negotiable—it cuts through all that coconut richness and ties everything together. This microplane zester makes quick work of citrus zest without getting the bitter white pith.
Making Ice Cream Cakes Actually Work
Here’s what I’ve learned after making way too many of these: timing is everything. Your freezer needs to be properly cold—0°F or below. If things aren’t setting right, your freezer might be overcrowded or not cold enough. I learned this the hard way after a cake that stayed soft for 8 hours turned out to be a freezer problem, not a recipe problem.
Soften your ice cream before spreading, but don’t let it turn to soup. You want it pliable enough to spread smoothly but not so melted that it loses structure. I usually pull ice cream from the freezer and let it sit at room temp for about 10 minutes, depending on how hard it is initially.
Layer thickness matters. Too thin and your layers disappear into each other. Too thick and you’ve got weird texture issues and it takes forever to set. Aim for about 1 to 1.5 inches per ice cream layer. Use an offset spatula for smooth, even spreading—it’s literally impossible to do this well with a regular spoon.
When it comes to dietary modifications, most of these recipes adapt well. Dairy-free ice creams work fine, though the texture can be slightly different depending on the base—coconut milk-based ones tend to be creamier than almond milk versions. For lower sugar options, check out recipes like these low-sugar cookies that show you can reduce sweetness without sacrificing flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far in advance can I make an ice cream cake?
You can make ice cream cakes up to a week ahead without any quality loss, which makes them perfect for party planning. Just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. The texture actually improves after a day or two as all the layers meld together slightly.
What’s the best way to soften ice cream for spreading?
Pull your ice cream from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until it’s pliable but not melting. You want it soft enough to spread smoothly with an offset spatula but firm enough to hold its shape. Microwave defrosting tends to create liquid spots while leaving other areas frozen solid, so patience works better.
Can I use dairy-free ice cream for these recipes?
Absolutely, though results vary by brand. Coconut milk-based ice creams work best and maintain a creamy texture when frozen. Almond and oat milk versions can get slightly harder and icier. Cashew-based ones are middle ground—decent texture but sometimes grainy depending on the brand.
Why won’t my ice cream cake come out of the pan?
This usually happens when you skip lining the pan with plastic wrap or parchment paper. The solution: run a thin knife around the edges, then place a warm towel around the outside of the pan for about 30 seconds to loosen it slightly. If you’re using a springform pan, make sure the latch isn’t frozen stuck—warm it gently with your hands first.
How do I get clean slices instead of a melted mess?
Use a long, sharp knife dipped in hot water before each cut. Wipe the blade clean between slices to prevent drag marks and melting. Let the cake sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before cutting if it’s been in the freezer overnight—this makes slicing easier while keeping everything frozen enough to hold shape.
Final Thoughts on Summer Ice Cream Cakes
These twelve recipes prove you don’t need pastry school credentials to pull off an impressive summer dessert. Pick based on your skill level, available ingredients, and how much freezer space you’ve got. The sandwich cake is genuinely foolproof if you’re starting out. The triple chocolate situation is for when you want to show off a bit.
The beauty of ice cream cakes is their forgiving nature. Layers slightly uneven? Frozen whipped cream will cover it. Crust cracked when you pressed it? Nobody will know once you add ice cream. Something melted while you were working? Refreeze it and keep going. I’ve had cakes turn out beautifully after multiple panic moments and emergency refreezes.
Make them for birthdays, BBQs, or just because it’s too hot to think about turning on your oven. Your guests will appreciate the cold dessert, and you’ll appreciate not sweating over a stove. Store any leftovers tightly wrapped in the freezer—though honestly, leftovers are rare with these.
Start with whichever recipe sounds most appealing, follow the basic principles I’ve laid out, and don’t stress too much about perfection. These cakes are meant to be fun summer desserts, not works of art for a museum. Though honestly, a few of mine have looked pretty damn good, even with my questionable decorating skills. Yours will too.
