This vegan ice cream cake is made chocolate cookie crumbles and and fudge sandwiched between two layers of creamy dairy-free ice cream. It's the perfect treat for birthdays and summer celebrations!
Did you grow up eating Dairy Queen ice cream cakes for basically every birthday? Well guess what? So did I. But also, my first after school job was at the DQ, so I have first hand knowledge of how they make their ice cream cakes.
Also, I happen to love veganizing nostalgic childhood desserts — stuff like like Rice Krispie treats, Fudgsicles and Pop Tarts. I think that, along with my ice cream shop experience, basically makes me the perfect person to come up with a recipe for vegan ice cream cake that tastes just like the old DQ favorite.
This dairy-free ice cream cake was just as delicious as the ones I enjoyed as a kid. Maybe more delicious! I served it to my non-vegan family members and they were wowed. So many compliments!
So, if you've got a birthday or celebration coming up, or if you're just craving a cool creamy nostalgic treat, whip one on these babies up. I promise you'll love it!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan ice cream. The recipe calls for chocolate and vanilla vegan ice cream, but don't feel limited by this. You can use whatever flavor(s) you like! Just try to use the same brand for both layers, otherwise you might end up with a firm layer and a soft layer, and they won't look even when the cake is cut. Oatly makes basic chocolate and vanilla if you want to go that way. Bryer's makes oat-based ice cream in vanilla (no chocolate, but they do have some other tasty sounding flavors), and sells it in convenient 1.5 quart containers!
- Chocolate sandwich cookies. We're talking Oreo-style cookies. Can you use Oreos? That's up to you, but there's lot of debate out there as to whether they're vegan. I used Newman-O's, which are made with organic sugar (no bone char!), and are listed as a vegan product under Newman's FAQ page.
- Vegan butter. Earth Balance, Miyoko's, and Melt are a few common brands you'll see at most stores, probably right next to the regular butter.
- Vegan hot fudge. I used my homemade vegan hot fudge, but you can use store-bought if you can find it.
- Coconut cream. This is sold in cans, right near the coconut milk in most stores.
- Powdered sugar. Use organic powdered sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Vanilla extract.
- Toppings. I decorated my vegan ice cream cake with some canned vegan whipped cream (Whipt brand) and rainbow sprinkles. Feel free to go crazy with any other vegan-friendly decorations you like! Make sure the cake is completely frozen if you write a message on it.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Begin by taking your chocolate ice cream out of the freezer to soften. In the meantime, line the bottom and sides of a large springform pan with plastic wrap. Spread the ice cream in a even layer in the bottom of the pan, then stick it in the freezer.
Start preparing your fillings while the first layer chills. Crush your cookies, either in a food processor or by placing them in a bag and smashing them with a rolling pin. Stir the crushed cookies together with melted vegan butter.
Tip: This recipe makes a nice big cake, so it's perfect for feeding a crowd. For a smaller cake, simply use a smaller springform pan and scale down the ingredients. You can always snack on any extras you end up with!
Bring your hot fudge to about room temperature. If you're just making a batch of homemade, give it plenty of time to cool down. If it's been in the fridge, warm it up a bit. You want it to be spreadable, but not hot so it will melt the ice cream.
Take the chocolate layer out of the freezer after about 30 minutes, then spread the fudge in a relatively even layer over the ice cream. It won't be perfect — don't worry about that! Just make sure most of the ice cream is covered.
Now spread the crushed cookie and butter mixture over the fudge. Gently press it into the fudge layer. Now stick the pan back into the freezer for at least another half hour.
Take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer to soften for ten or twenty minutes, then take the cake pan out and spread the vanilla over the cookie layer. Smooth it out and put it back in the freezer, this time for a couple hours.
To make your frosting, beat the coconut cream with an electric mixer until fluffy, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla.
Release the cake from the pan, remove the plastic, and cover the whole thing with frosting. Add some decorations if you'd like, then freeze it again until it's solid!
Tip: Making this cake isn't terribly labor intensive, but it does end up taking a while when you account for the multiple freezing stages. Plan on making it the day before you'll be serving it!
Slice up your vegan ice cream cake and dig in!
Tip: This cake can be tough to slice straight from the freezer! Use a large chef's knife that's been warmed under some hot water before cutting.
Shelf-Life and Storage
Once fully frozen, seal your cake tightly with plastic or place it in an airtight cake keeper. It will keep in the freezer for a while! I've kept one around for as much as three weeks and it was still delicious.
More Vegan Desserts
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream Cake
- 1 ½ quarts vegan chocolate ice cream (Note 1)
- 18 vegan chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (including the filling)
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
- 1 ¼ cups vegan hot fudge (Note 2)
- 1 ½ quarts vegan vanilla ice cream
For the Coconut Whipped Cream Frosting
- 2 (13.5 ounce/400 gram) cans coconut cream, chilled overnight in the fridge
- 1 cup organic powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Toppings
- Vegan whipped cream
- Vegan rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Take your chocolate ice cream out of the freezer and let it soften for 10 to 20 minutes (Note 3). Proceed to the next step of preparing your springform pan in the meantime.
- Line the bottom and insides of a 9-inch springform pan with plastic wrap.
- Transfer the chocolate ice cream to the springform pan and use a spatula to spread it out into an even layer. Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Place the crushed cookies into a medium bowl, and add the melted butter. Stir to combine the cookie crumbs and butter.
- If the hot fudge has been in the fridge, warm it up slightly, just so that it's spreadable but not hot enough to melt the ice cream.
- Take the pan out of the freezer. Spread the fudge in an even layer over the chocolate ice cream, then top the fudge with the cookie crumbs. Press the crumbs into the fudge. Return the pan to the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer to soften 10 to 20 minutes before you're ready to remove the cake pan from the freezer.
- Spread the vanilla ice cream over the cookie layer, using a spatula and/or bench scraper to smooth and level it out.
- Return the pan to the freezer for at least 2 hours, until the ice cream feels solid.
- To make the frosting, place the coconut cream into a large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer at high speed to beat it until creamy, about one minute. Add the powdered sugar, a bit at a time, then the vanilla. Place the bowl in the fridge to chill while you get the cake ready to be frosted.
- Remove the cake from the freezer, then carefully release the springform pan. Invert the cake onto a plate, remove the base of the springform pan and peel off the plastic.
- Take the frosting out of the fridge, then spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
- Optionally, decorate the cake with sprinkles and whipped cream.
- Place the cake into the freezer and freeze it until the frosting and toppings are set.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- You can replace either or both ice cream layers (chocolate and/or vanilla) with any vegan ice cream flavor of your choosing.
- You can use store-bought or homemade fudge. If using homemade, make it in advance and let it cool before using it. You'll need about a half of a batch if using my homemade vegan hot fudge.
- The softening time will vary by brand. Check to see how firm it is when it comes out of the freezer. It it's already a bit soft, give it ten minutes. If it's rock hard, it will need closer to twenty.
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Can someone tell me why this recipe failed for me? I followed all steps exactly. Spent all day on this. When I got to the coconut cream part, it’s not a cream texture like the picture but liquid like a soup. I used 2 x 400g cans of organic coconut cream from Cha’s organics and had them chilled in the fridge overnight. This layer isn’t salvageable, shops are closed and I have people coming over for a dinner party tonight.
Sorry to hear this didn’t work out! Was the coconut cream fully separated when you took it out of the fridge? I’m not familiar with Cha’s Organics. It looks like it’s a Canadian brand, and I’m in the U.S. — but I’m guessing that was the issue. It could have been stored improperly at the store, or it might just behave differently from the brands available here. I always try to give a heads-up if there’s a product to avoid for certain uses, but unfortunately I can’t do that if it’s not one I have access to.
Yummy recipe. Saw it posted on a site and decided to try it out. However as it was not for a celebration and I did not plan for it to be eaten at once, I made layered ice cream cups instead so that it was portioned out into single servings. I made my own ice cream (Miyoko Schinner’s vanilla and chocolate - my go to recipe), used Whole Foods 365 Oreos (the best ones!), and made the fudge sauce which was AMAZING. Overall, easy recipe with tasty results. Because I made everything from scratch, it just took a little longer to make the layers and wait for them to firm up enough. I did want the cookie layer to be mostly crunchy, so I took the cream out of half of them. Didn’t bother with the topping since I wasn’t making a cake. Family enjoyed and I’d definitely make it again.