This homemade ice cream cake is about as simple as you can imagine while still providing a visual “wow” factor. Even better, it costs about half of what you’d pay to buy this cake in an ice cream shop! And it’s totally customizable.
I used to lament the fact that we didn’t have an ice cream shop near our house. Sometimes I’d get really specific and lament the fact that we didn’t have a DQ near our house, because when you want a Blizzard, you just gotta have a Blizzard. So a DQ/Orange Julius opened in a gas station two miles from our house a few years back, and since I also love Orange Julius, there was much rejoicing. I probably visited that location fewer than ten times…probably a lot fewer than ten times…but it was nice knowing that it was there. Then a few weeks ago…it closed. Waaaaaa. For the record, the last time I went there was on my anniversary, nearly a year ago. We don’t go out for ice cream much.
Still, it was convenient when you needed to buy an ice cream cake. My brother-in-law, Josh, is a dyed-in-the-wool ice cream lover. It’s a running joke in our family that if there is ice cream around, Josh always has room for some. Okay, a lot. A few years back I ordered him a Snickers Blizzard cake from the DQ near our house. That’s when I discovered my love for Snickers Blizzards. I decided that since there’s no DQ too close to my house (because the nearest DQ is like 20 minutes away-gasp!) that I would just go ahead and make my own Snickers ice cream cake.
It was a good decision. Let me tell you something…making an ice cream cake is not nearly as intimidating as it sounds. If you have a springform pan, a food processor (or really, just a plastic bag and a meat mallet or rolling pin), and the ability to soften ice cream, you can throw this together. And you will be so glad that you did. While I made this ice cream cake with Snickers, you can make it with any flavor of ice cream and any mix-ins (or no mix-ins at all) that you want. This ice cream cake is easy, totally customizable, and I made it for around $12-much less that I’d pay to buy this anywhere!
I know you want to make this homemade ice cream cake!
30 minPrep Time:
3 hrTotal Time:
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Ingredients
- 1 bag Snickers minis - chopped
- 1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream
- 6 ounces chocolate sandwich cookies
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1 quart chocolate ice cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 4 1/2 ounces chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon)
Instructions
- Wrap the outside of a 10-inch springform pan with aluminum foil.
- Soften the vanilla ice cream. Scoop 2/3 of it into a large bowl. Add one cup of the chopped Snickers and mix until well combined. Spread into the springform pan. Place in freezer along with the remaining ice cream.
- Place the chocolate sandwich cookies into a food processor along with the butter and the chocolate chips. Process until well combined and no large chunks of cookie remain. Dump into the springform pan on top of the vanilla ice cream layer. Spread to the edges of the pan and press the crumbs down to compress. Return to freezer.
- Soften the chocolate ice cream. Scoop it into a large bowl (you will only need 1/3 of a 1.5 quart container) and add a cup of the chopped Snickers. Mix to thoroughly combine. Spread on top of the cookie crumb layer in the pan. Return to the freezer.
- Make the ganache: Heat the cream in a small saucepan until just bubbling. Pour over the chocolate chips in a small bowl and allow to sit for a few seconds, then whisk until smooth. Spread the ganache over the cake and freeze until completely set.
- Pour the heavy cream in a mixing bowl and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Beat until medium peaks form. Pipe or dollop the cream on top of the cake (if you don't have piping bags, gallon size zipper bags with the corners cut out work great. You can also just use a spoon to make little dots of whipped cream on the cake!). Sprinkle the remaining Snickers around the top of the cake. Freeze until ready to serve.
Notes
Total time is approximate and includes time needed to freeze the cake between steps. This is a great cake to start a day or two ahead of time! You can make this cake with any flavor(s) of ice cream that you'd like, and you can use 2 1/2 cups of any mix-ins you want-or omit mix-ins altogether. It's completely up to you!
Click here to print the recipe for homemade ice cream cake!
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