You won’t believe how easy it is to make this insanely delicious dairy-free ice cream cake. With just minutes of effort, your favorite flavors of store-bought vegan ice cream, and a package of Oreos, you’ll have the best vegan ice cream cake ever. It’s the perfect vegan dessert to serve at any birthday, holiday, or event. Just be warned, you may never want to bake a birthday cake again!

The centerpiece to any great celebration is always cake. While all cakes are invited to my parties, absolutely nothing beats an ice cream cake. Stacked up high with layers of frozen custard, cookies, frosting, and sprinkles, every slice is a riot of flavors, colors, and textures. Whether it’s summer or winter, every last bite will be gleefully gobbled up before a single drop can melt away.

It may sound like an impossible dream once you’ve gone vegan, but you’ll be thrilled to discover that’s not the case! Making your own ice cream cake without any dairy or eggs is surprisingly easy, if not downright fun. This recipe comes from The Vegan Friendly Cookbook by Michelle Cehn and Toni Okamoto. It’s a recipe passed down from Toni’s mother-in-law, Jolene Shapiro. Enjoy!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• No experience necessary – Not a baker? Never made ice cream before? No problem! The most important skill you need here is patience since it simply takes time for the layers to set properly. Everything else is more assembly than cooking. You can even get the kids in the kitchen to help!
• Make ahead – Since this cake can just chill out in the freezer until it’s party time, not only can it be made well in advance, but it’s also much better if you do. That will ensure it’s perfectly set and sliceable while you have a chance to enjoy the party.
• Any flavor goes – Mix and match to make your favorite combinations. Absolutely any ice cream is fair game, which you can then pair with all your favorite cookies, candies, and sweet toppings.
• Gluten-free options – Double check labels and select gluten-free cookies to make this a treat for those with celiac disease too.
• Crowd-pleasing – This one is foolproof. Who could resist the lure of ice cream cake? Young or old, vegan or not, everyone will LOVE this treat.

Key Ingredients

Vegan ice cream: I scream, you scream, we all scream for vegan ice cream! Whether it’s made from oats, soy, coconut, pea protein, or any combination, everything goes here. Just make sure that you picking up a full pint (16 ounces) and not a downsized container, since some manufacturers have started packaging a scant 14 ounces at a time to boost their bottom line.

Sandwich cookies: Chocolate wafer cookies with a vanilla crème filling is the classic combination, but you have plenty of opportunities to add even more flavor to this layer! There are dozens, if not hundred, different Oreo options.

Vegan butter: Since vegan butter becomes solid at cold temperatures, it acts as a binder here, while preventing the cookie layer from getting too soggy.

Chopped peanuts: Go nuts! For a crunchy, salty contrast to the sweet and creamy ice cream, classic peanuts always satisfy. If you have a nut allergy, though, you can always swap them out for pepitas, sunflower seeds, or simply more sandwich cookies.

Melted chocolate: For aesthetics and flavor, you can’t top a generous drizzle of chocolate. This could be just straight up melted chocolate, chocolate ganache, homemade magic shell, or even chocolate syrup.

Chocolate and buttercream frosting: Don’t leave your creation naked; frosting is a fun and easy way to make it look amazing. If you don’t want to make your own, you could take a shortcut here with store-bought frosting too. Most flavors of Duncan Hines frosting are “accidentally” vegan, but always check labels to make sure.

Sprinkles: Add a dose of magic and happiness to your dairy-free ice cream cake by shaking on your favorite brand of vegan sprinkles! These days there are lots of colorful sprinkles, sparkly sprinkles, and all sorts of fun-shaped sprinkles that are made without the dreaded confectioners glaze (which isn’t vegan). Yay, sprinkles!

Flavor Combination Ideas

Not sure where to start, or simply overwhelmed by the endless possibilities? Here’s a cheat sheet for some of our favorite pairings.

• Cookie Monster: Cookie dough ice cream on the top and bottom, crunchy chocolate chip cookies, vanilla frosting. Top with whole, mini chocolate chip cookies, or Cookie Crisp Cereal pieces!
• Neapolitan: Strawberry ice cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sandwich cookies, and chocolate and vanilla frosting. Top with fresh strawberries and mini chocolate chips.
• Grasshopper: Mint chocolate chip ice cream, chocolate ice cream, mint-chocolate sandwich cookies, and chocolate frosting.
• Chocolate-Covered Strawberry/Cherry: Chocolate ice cream, strawberry or cherry ice cream, double chocolate sandwich cookies, and chocolate frosting. Top with lots of melted chocolate and fresh strawberries or maraschino cherries.

Recipe for Success

If this is your first time making an ice cream cake, don’t sweat it! Here are some tips to party-perfect results.

1. Make sure the ice cream has been “tempered” before adding it to the cake pan. That means slightly softened. All you need to do is let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it’s not frozen solid, but not yet melted. This makes it much easier to spread smoothly.
2. Press the ice cream layers down firmly to remove any air bubbles for an even, flush fill.
3. Keep your kitchen as cold as possible so the ice cream doesn’t melt while you work with it. If that’s not possible, take breaks between each step, putting your cake back into the freezer to re-solidify.
4. To make cutting the cake easier when it’s all said and done, run your knife under hot water before each slice, wiping the blade off on a clean kitchen towel to keep the cuts neat.

Tips for Storing and Saving Your Ice Cream Cake

Make your cake well in advance of your party so you can simply enjoy the festivities. Keep it in the pan to prevent any other items from bumping into it, cover with a layer of plastic wrap, and label clearly. It should keep in the freezer for up to 6 months.

When you’re ready to serve, transfer it to the fridge and let sit for 20 – 30 minutes before slicing so it’s not rock solid. Add any fresh fruits or final garnishes right before bringing it out to the table.

Return any uneaten pieces back to the freezer immediately so they don’t melt away!

More Frozen Dessert & Vegan Ice Cream Recipes to Try

If you’re looking for more delicious vegan dessert recipes, take a peek at our favorites below. You can also find amazing vegan bakeries and bakers who ship nationwide! What at time to be alive.

• Vegan Matcha Chip Ice Cream
• Vegan Creamsicles
• 3-Ingredient Watermelon Gelato
• Vegan Rocky Road Ice Cream
• Chocolate-Dipped Banana Pops
• Minimalist Mango Berry Nice Cream

Equipment You’ll Need

• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Food processor
• Springform pan
• Spatula
• Parchment paper

Print

This vegan ice cream cake recipe was created by Jolene Shapiro and originally published in The Friendly Vegan Cookbook by Michelle Cehn and Toni Okamoto. Gorgeous vegan ice cream cake photos by the incredibly gifted vegan photographer Zhoro Apostolov. This article was written with support from Hannah Kaminsky. Thoughts are our own, and we have no affiliation with any brands mentioned. Please note that this article may contain affiliate links which supports our work at World of Vegan.