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Ending this first week of summer with my favorite ICE CREAM CAKE.
The only way to do it in my book!
Clearly it’s been a bit of an ice cream week here on the site. Last Friday I shared this S’mores peanut butter ice cream cake, Tuesday I shared this easy raspberry shortcake ricotta ice cream, and today it’s ice cream cake!! Too much ice cream?
Um, NO definitely not. It’s summertime, therefore there’s no such thing as too much ice cream. I mean, that’s just crazy people talk.
ps. I have a big giveaway going on right now over on this Instagram post and today is the last day to enter. So make sure you head over there…it’s ice cream related!
OkokOK, so I’ve been working on this ice cream cake for a couple of weeks now. It took me a while to get it just right, but when I finally did, I knew all the time and effort was worth it. Not only is this cake crazy fun and pretty, but it’s also DELICIOUS. Even though I love pretty things, the most important aspect is always that my recipes are yummy. And trust me, this cake is yummy and then some.
Here’s the thing, while ice cream cakes are really not hard to make, they just take time. I wanted so badly to give you guys an ice cream cake recipe that required only one simple freezing. But in the end, the cake I dreamed up needed a couple of freezing sessions. Seeing as it’s a layered ice cream cake, I’m hoping that if you’ve read this far, you realize that’s to be expected. Don’t hate me. Promise this cake is worth the time, just be sure to plan ahead when making.
This is not the cake to decide on making hours before a party. Think ahead guys, it’s worth it!
Now that I got that little disclaimer out of the way, let’s chat about this here ice cream cake.
With the 4th of July right around the corner, I really wanted to create a fun and festive ice cream cake to celebrate. The first layer is my favorite vanilla cake recipe. Because I wanted to do a red, white, and blue cake, I decided right away that this cake would have zero chocolate. I know, totally out of the norm for me, but I still LOVE this cake. it’s vanillay and berrylicous.
To create the fun surprise inside, we are cutting out a small portion of the cake’s center to make room for fresh berries. Then frost the cake with whipped butter cream and top with a layer of homemade roasted berries. I mean, I mean, that right there is already so good.
But then, it gets better! Add a thick layer of vanilla ice cream (you will cut the center out of this layer as well), frost it and fill the hole with fresh berries (I used strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries for pretty red and blue colors). Now add the final layer of vanilla cake, sealing those berries inside. Frost, freeze, and decorate.
DONE.
You now should have a piñata ice cream cake that is more than perfect for the 4th of July!
What’s so fun about this cake is that when you bring it out, guests will just assume it’s a simple ice cream cake, but as soon as you cut out a slice, colorful berries will spill out!
So fun right? Typically these piñata style cakes are filled with candy, but with all the red and blue berries in season, I really loved the idea of using berries. Plus they are so delish and pretty!
This cake is really just a classic combo of vanilla cake with ice cream and berries, put presented in such a cool way. Aside from the major fun factor, it’s also addictingly good. The two vanilla cake layers surround the ice cream, creating a perfectly balanced bite every single time.
Plus, towards the end of eating, the ice cream starts to melt into the cake creating some of the most delicious forkfuls ever.
Again, so good.
4th of July we are armed and ready for you! Bring on the fun…and all the red, white and blue piñata cakes.
Roasted Summer Berry Piñata Ice Cream Cake
Servings: 16 servings
Calories Per Serving: 332 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3 cups vanilla ice cream, softened
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 whole eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups mixed berries, plus fresh berries for serving
- 2 tablespoons honey
Whipped Buttercream
- 3 sticks salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Line one (8 inch) spring form pan with plastic wrap. Spread the ice cream in one even layer. Freeze until firm, 6 hours or overnight. Once Frozen, cut a 10cm round from the center of the cake. Remove center and save for later. Place the ice cream back in the freezer. 2. To make the cake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper, then grease with butter.3. In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held mixer) beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, beat in the eggs. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with flour until just combined.4. Pour the batter among the cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes, until the tops are just set and no longer wiggly in the center. Remove and let cool five minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a rack to cool further. To one of the cakes, cut a 10cm round from the center. Remove the center and discard. Keep the remaining cake layer whole. Freeze the cakes until frozen, at least 2 hours. 6. To make the berries. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, combine the berries and honey. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or until the berries have burst and released their juice. Let cool. 7. To make the buttercream. Add the butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat the butter and powdered sugar together until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and continue beating, scraping down the sides as needed, for another 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream and whip the frosting for 2-4 minutes more or until light and fluffy.8. To assemble the cake. Lay the vanilla cake layer, the one with the hole cut out of the center, flat on a serving plate. Spread with buttercream over the cake, then add half roasted berries over the buttercream. Add the ice cream cake layer and again, spread the buttercream over the ice cream and inside the hole. Spread the remaining roasted berries on top of the buttercream ice cream layer. Freeze 2 hours or until firm. 9. Remove the cake from the freezer and fill the hole with fresh berries. Now add the remaining vanilla cake layer and frost the cake all over with the remaining buttercream. Freeze another 2 hours or until firm. Just before serving, decorate the top of the cake with berries. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
*10 hours freezing time required
Also, sparkles on summer cakes are my favorite thing ever. <–apparently I am still 8 years old.
Hi there! I’m planning to make this cake for my husband for his birthday. My question is, what do you cover the cake with in the freezer? Plastic wrap? A cake collar? Thanks!
Hi Melissa,
You can go ahead and cover this with plastic wrap:) Happy Birthday to your husband, I hope you love this recipe! xx
I made this and found the buttercream to be super buttery tasting even though I feel I did everything as written. I know other buttercream recipes call for way more powdered sugar and wondering if that’s why the difference was there in my attempt with this recipe? Or any tips to make it taste less buttery and be softer and airier because it was even hard to cut into and the ice cream melted way before the buttercream even had a chance to soften. Thanks so much
Hey Anita,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! The heavy cream really should have lightened it up a bit, was there anything you may have adjusted? You could certainly try adding more powdered sugar, I just would be careful so it’s not overly sweet. I hope this helps for next time:) xTieghan
thanks! i’ve realized that different brands of butter, powdered sugar etc make for a different cake.
Making this today and excited to see how it turns out. Question though, in the first step you say to save the 10cm cut out of ice cream for later-where does this come back in? I’ve been rereading the recipe trying to figure it out! Thanks!
Hey Danielle! You can do whatever you’d like with the extra round. It’s not used within the cake, so you could snack on it, make cake pops with it, or crumble over the cake for decoration. It’s just extra cake, so do whatever you’d like with it 🙂 Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Think you!! xTieghan
This was the first cake I ever made! It was a hit last summer and I will likely make it again this year. My only trouble was making sure the ice cream layer was completely frozen–it kept melting during assembly and took forever to refreeze. By the time it was served, the ice cream layer was almost gone! But, this did make the vanilla cake layers even better. My dad raved about it for weeks!
That is so amazing! Thank you so much for making this, Keira! xTieghan
I really love it. You have really done a nice job. As you have shared the best things for me. Even this recipes can be made in busy time also. It’s really special for me. thanks for sharing it here on this site.
Thank you! I am glad you like this recipe!
Very attractive cake. How long can this cake be frozen for after its done? Will a fondant topping be too heavy for this cake?
The cake can be frozen for up to 2 months. I have never done a fondant topping, so I really cannot say. I don’t think it needs a fondant topping however. Let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂