Desserts
Ice Cream Cake
Let them eat cake…especially if there’s a reason to celebrate. No matter what your milestone or occasion, this ice cream layer cake will make it extra-special.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream and cake! With this sweet treat of cake and ice cream layered under dreamy, billowy frosting, you’ll squeal with delight! This cake is quite a showstopper, but at its core, it’s really just a simple yellow cake with layers of ice cream.
As cakes go, this one is nearly foolproof because of the ingredients and mixing method. First, use cake flour for a more tender cake, then mix it with oil so it’s super-moist. Coating all the flour with the fat first means there’s little chance of overmixing, which would result in a tough cake. The other ingredient change is the sugar. Use superfine or baker’s sugar because the finer grains mean easier mixing, more volume when beaten with the egg yolks, and a cake with lighter texture and taller layers.
After baking, as the cake cools, mold and freeze your store-bought ice cream into layers according to the directions on page 50. Once frozen you can build the cake, freeze it, and frost it with the totally retro but classically refined Italian Meringue.
Ingredients
WHISK:
COMBINE:
BEAT:
ASSEMBLE:
Test Kitchen Tips
While traditional yellow cakes are made with butter, this recipe uses oil to keep the cakes from freezing solid, so they’re easier to cut.
Because this yellow cake is just sweet, it goes with nearly any flavor from coconut to chocolate and strawberry to blueberry. So, pick your pints and customize this cake with layers of your favorite ice creams or frozen yogurts.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°. Coat two 8×2-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray, line with parchment circles, and coat again.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Blend in oil with mixer on low.
Combine buttermilk and vanilla.
Beat sugar and egg yolks in a separate bowl with a mixer on high until ribbons form, 5 minutes.
Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to egg mixture, blending on medium after each addition until completely combined. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until a toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean, 35–37 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans 10 minutes; turn onto a rack to cool completely.
Assemble cake with ice cream and Italian Meringue according to directions.
For the most tender cake, mix the flour and oil so glutens can’t form when other liquids are added.
Make a lighter, more voluminous cake batter by beating the yolks and sugar to ribbons.
So the cakes don’t collapse in the centers, be sure to fully incorporate the flour mixture into the batter.
Split the layers: After slicing off the domed top of each cake (for level layers), insert toothpicks around the perimeter and halfway up the side of the cake. Hold a serrated knife parallel to the work surface and slice (using the toothpicks as a guide) through the cake.
Make 3 ice cream layers: Line an 8-inch cake pan with plastic wrap. Scoop 1 pint ice cream into the pan, tarting at the edges and working to the center. Once filled, use the back of a hot spoon to press the layer flat and smooth the top. Cover and freeze the layer at least 15 minutes before removing to make the next.
Assemble the cake: Line two 8-inch pans with plastic. Place a cake layer in the bottom of each pan. Top each with an ice cream layer and a second cake layer. Top one with the remaining ice cream layer. Invert 3-layer cake and sandwich onto 4-layer cake. Wrap cake in plastic and freeze overnight.
Frost the cake: Top assembled and frozen cake with Italian Meringue. Then spread the meringue down the sides of the cake with the back of a large spoon. To create curlicues and the billowy look, press the back of the spoon into the meringue and pull out and up at the same time.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per serving
Calories: 719
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 34g 52%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 123mg 41%
Sodium 354mg 14%
Carbs 96g 32%
Fiber 1g 4%
Protein 9g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.