Chill out with a slice of ice cream cake! This crowd-pleasing, totally no-bake Dairy Queen-inspired treat combines two of your favorite ice cream flavors, plus layers of crunchy Oreo cookies, homemade hot fudge, and whipped cream. Because this cake needs to freeze for at least 12 hours prior to serving, it’s a great make-ahead dessert for celebrations.
One reader, April, commented: “I’ve made ice cream cakes several times before. But the hot fudge and Oreo layer in this recipe takes it to the next level! This will be the staple recipe used in our house from here on out. ★★★★★“
One reader, Stacie, commented: “This was a big hit for my daughter’s birthday party! We’ll definitely be making it again. The fudge/Oreo layer in the middle is everything! ★★★★★“
Need a celebratory ice cream dessert? Obviously it’s easiest to just pick up a ready-made ice cream cake from the grocery store or ice cream shop, but if you’ve never made an ice cream cake before, I encourage you to try it at least once! And if you love it, be sure to check out these copycat desserts to make at home for more ideas!
It requires a few back-and-forth trips between the freezer and counter, but other than that, it’s surprisingly easy—absolutely no baking and very few tools and ingredients needed.
And just wait for the moment the jaws drop open when you tell your guests you made this yourself! (And they’ll pretty much remain open until their plates are licked clean. I know this from experience.)
This Homemade Ice Cream Cake Is:
- A fun frozen dessert perfect for a summertime celebration
- 5 layers of cool, creamy decadence
- Easy to make, completely no-bake recipe
- Customizable with your favorite flavors of ice cream
- Ribboned with homemade hot fudge
- Topped with fluffy whipped cream and cheerful sprinkles
- As tempting as cookie ice cream sandwiches, but made in 1 pan to serve a group
- A great make-ahead option to add to your list of BBQ cookout desserts.
You can use any flavors of store-bought ice cream you want. Chocolate + strawberry is a favorite combination in my family, but you could also try: chocolate + peanut butter, chocolate + mint chip, cookies dough + chocolate, or coffee + cookies and cream. The combination is entirely up to you.
5 Layers to Love
- Ice Cream: Start with a 1.5-quart carton of ice cream, and let it soften.
- Hot Fudge: I highly recommend making your own homemade hot fudge—it tastes so much better than store-bought and takes just 5 minutes on the stove.
- Crushed Oreo Cookies + Melted Butter: A layer of crushed Oreos mixed with melted butter adds incredible texture to this cake, while keeping the assembly easy and totally no-bake. Melted butter helps the Oreos stay a bit crunchy, and also helps adhere them to the two layers of ice cream. I tested this recipe without the butter, and the two layers completely separated. (Literally, the top layer fell off the cake. It was quite the cleanup job!)
- Ice Cream: A second 1.5-quart carton of softened ice cream, in another flavor.
- Whipped Cream: Homemade whipped cream is quick to make and the perfect topping for this frozen dessert. The recipe below yields enough to cover the cake, plus some extra for decorative piping detail. It’s nice to have a second homemade element to this dessert, since we’re using store-bought ice cream and Oreos.
I like to garnish it with sprinkles for a festive finish. Because of course I do!
Best Pan to Use:
You need a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan that’s at least 3 inches high. If you don’t have a pan this size, you can turn this into a quarter sheet cake using a 9×13-inch pan, or halve the recipe for an 8×2-inch square pan.
Whichever pan you use, line it with plastic wrap. Why? You will have a heck of a time slicing this frozen cake while it’s still inside the pan! You’ll want to completely remove the cake and place it on a frozen or cold cutting board or cake plate to slice. And, if using a springform pan like pictured, the plastic wrap prevents any melty ice cream leakage.
Ice Cream Cake Success Tips (Learned From Experience!)
I made a slew of ice cream cakes the past month, determining the most successful (and non-melty) way to frost and serve this chilly dessert. Take my advice:
- Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it sit and soften for 10 minutes before layering.
- Line the pan with plastic wrap.
- Freeze the cake as directed in the instructions in between adding your layers.
- Don’t skip the melted butter with the crushed Oreo cookies; the melted butter helps the two layers of hot fudge and ice cream adhere to one another.
- Work quickly. Read through the recipe so you understand each step.
- If using store-bought hot fudge, heat it up a bit. This makes it a little easier to spread on top of the ice cream.
- Freeze the cake for at least 12 hours (and up to 2 days).
- If you intend to serve this on a cake stand or other serving platter, freeze the cake stand/platter for 30 minutes before placing the ice cream cake on top and frosting it with the whipped cream. (Otherwise, it will melt immediately, making frosting very difficult!)
- For clean cuts, run a sharp knife under hot water before slicing. This trick works when cutting brownie ice cream sandwiches, too.
Here is the ice cream cake again with vanilla on the bottom layer. Have fun customizing your own ice cream cake using various flavors!
Ice Cream Cake FAQ
Yes—it can take the place of the bottom ice cream layer. Bake a cake in a 9-inch springform pan. I recommend the vanilla cake recipe from my homemade cake pops or the chocolate cake recipe from my chocolate cake pops. Both yield one 9-inch cake in a springform pan. After the cake cools, keep it in the pan, and freeze for 1 hour. Continue with assembling the remaining layers of the ice cream cake.
You can make this in a 9×13-inch pan, or halve the recipe for an 8×2-inch square pan. Be sure to line the pan with plastic wrap so you can easily remove the ice cream cake from the pan to slice it.
Yes, absolutely. Crushed crunchy chocolate chip cookies (homemade or store-bought), Nutter Butters, Nilla Wafers, graham crackers, and Biscoff cookies are some top choices. Any crunchy cookie works!
Yes. Reduce the ice creams to 1 quart each. Keep the hot fudge, Oreo, and whipped cream amounts the same. Your cake will be a bit shorter.
Homemade Ice Cream Cake (Like Dairy Queen)
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 14 hours (includes freezing)
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezing
- Cuisine: American
Description
This crowd-pleasing dessert combines two of your favorite ice cream flavors, plus layers of crunchy Oreo cookies, homemade hot fudge, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Read the recipe in full before starting so you’re prepped, and don’t skip freezing the layers during the assembly process. A 9×3-inch springform pan, 9×3-inch pan with removable bottom, or a 10×3-inch springform pan is ideal for this cake. For other pan options, or to add a layer of baked cake, see recipe Notes below.
Ingredients
Cake
- 10 Oreo cookies (110g)
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1.5 quarts (1.42L) chocolate ice cream, softened (or other flavor)
- 1 cup (8 ounces/227g) homemade hot fudge (or use store-bought), divided
- 1.5 quarts (1.42L) strawberry ice cream, softened (or other flavor)
Topping
- 2 cups (480ml) heavy cream, cold
- 1/3 cup (40g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- optional for garnish: sprinkles
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, pulse 10 Oreos (including the cream filling) into a coarse crumb; feel free to leave some larger chunks. You should have about 1 cup crumbs. Mix with the melted butter and set aside to use in step 4.
- Remove chocolate ice cream (or desired bottom-layer flavor) from the freezer and let it soften for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line a 9×3-inch or 10×3-inch springform pan with plastic wrap. I usually use two pieces to ensure all sides have a little overhang. See recipe Note for other pan options.
- Scoop chocolate ice cream into lined pan and, working quickly, use the back of a large spoon to spread it into an even layer as best you can. Place it in the freezer for 30 minutes.
- During that time, make your homemade hot fudge, or warm up pre-made hot fudge sauce so that it’s a spreadable consistency. Pour and spread 1/2 cup hot fudge evenly over the first ice cream layer, then top with Oreo mixture.
- Freeze for 30 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove strawberry ice cream (or desired top flavor) from the freezer to soften for 10 minutes.
- Drizzle remaining 1/2 cup hot fudge on top of Oreo layer. Working quickly, spoon and spread strawberry ice cream into an even layer as best you can.
- Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze for at least 12 hours and up to 2 days.
- Freeze the cake plate: If you want to serve the cake on something other than the bottom of the springform pan (or if you made this in a 9×13-inch pan or 8-inch square pan), place your desired cake plate/stand or cutting board in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. (The bottom ice cream layer will begin to melt immediately on a room-temperature surface.)
- Make the whipped cream topping: Using a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 4 minutes.
- Remove the frozen ice cream cake from the freezer. Remove the rim from the springform pan. Lift the cake up using the plastic wrap and carefully peel off the plastic. Place the cake back on the bottom of the springform pan, or the frozen cake plate/cutting board. Working quickly, spread the whipped cream all over the top and sides of the ice cream cake. Feel free to pipe a border around the top of the cake; I used Wilton 1M piping tip. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired.
- Slice and serve immediately or freeze for up to 1 hour before serving. (I don’t recommend longer than this.) Use a very sharp knife to cut, dipping it into a glass of hot water in between slices. Keep leftover ice cream cake covered in the freezer.
Notes
- Making Ahead: You can prepare this cake through step 7 up to 48 hours ahead. I do not recommend longer than that, as the ice cream cake becomes extremely difficult to cut through. Feel free to extend that time, but the cake will have to sit out for a bit before slicing (and the edges may begin to melt). You can also make the whipped cream ahead of time, up to 24 hours. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use as frosting on the cake.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | 9×3-inch Springform Pan, 9×3-inch Pan with Removable Bottom or 10×3-inch Springform Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M Piping Tip
- To Use a 9×2-inch Springform Pan: Reduce the ice creams to 1 quart each. Keep the hot fudge, Oreo, and whipped cream amounts the same. Your cake will be a bit shorter.
- Other Pan Options: You can make this in a 9×13-inch pan, or halve the recipe for an 8×2-inch square pan. Be sure to line the pan with plastic wrap so you can easily remove the ice cream cake from the pan to slice it. In step 8, freeze the cutting board or whatever you are slicing/serving the cake on for at least 30 minutes.
- Instead of Oreos: Crushed crunchy chocolate chip cookies (homemade or store-bought), Nutter Butters, Nilla Wafers, graham crackers, and Biscoff Cookies are some top choices. Any crunchy cookie works!
- Can I Use Homemade Oreos? I don’t recommend it. They aren’t crunchy enough.
- Bottom Cake Layer Instead of Ice Cream: Instead of ice cream, the bottom layer can be a cake and I recommend making this in a 9×2- or 9×3-inch springform pan. I recommend the vanilla cake recipe from my homemade cake pops or the chocolate cake recipe from my chocolate cake pops. Both yield one 9-inch cake in a springform pan. After the cake cools, keep it in the pan, and freeze it for 1 hour. Continue with assembling the cake with the hot fudge/Oreo/top ice cream layer. No need to wrap the pan in plastic wrap. Note that if you used a 9×2-inch springform pan, only 1 quart of top-layer ice cream will fit instead of 1.5 quarts. In step 9, before removing the springform pan’s rim, run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen the ice cream.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This cake was delicious! I used vanilla and cookies’n’ cream because my nephew graduated and that was his request! So good but definitely melts so fast!! Will make again and try other flavors!! Thanks for the great recipes. ❤️
I recommend the cake bottom rather than ice cream – is more interesting to me.
I used chocolate peanut butter ice cream and added some melted peanut butter with the hot fudge layer – delicious!
Thank you for yet another wonderful recipe! This is so easy to make! The hot fudge is yummy and quick to make from scratch! Will be making this often! Perfect summer treat 🙂
Can I use cool whip (flavored with some cherry juice in place of whipped cream (Someone doesn’t like whipped cream!)
Hi Pat, cool whip should work well here.
Such an easy treat! I made one for a family picnic, so I did put the ring back around it to keep it together. My decorating was not prize winning but the taste was! I used chocolate and vanilla. So good!
Easiest ice cream cake recipe I’ve made!
Can you make a smaller version of Ice cream
Cake challenge ? Would you make half the recipe?
Hi Denise! You can halve the recipe for an 8×2 inch pan – see recipe Notes for details (Other Pan Options).
Loved these! I doubled the recipe and they came out perfect. Thank you
Better than Nabisco and much healthier ingredients!
So so good!
Love ice cream cake!
This was the perfect recipe to kick off summer break! It was easy to get my kids involved (age 9 and 11). They were excited to create fudge! Personally, this recipe hit home for me because as a child, I still remember when I got an ice cream cake for my birthday(blue bubblegum with vanilla cake layers). I loved creating this with my kids-it’s such a no stress recipe with littles! The kids chose the ice cream flavors: cookies and cream and cookie dough, and we used vanilla cream cookies because my son isn’t a huge chocolate fan.
This recipe was very fun to make. It was very delicious! This was my first ice cream cake. I hope to make more in the future. Kaylee (age 11)
Fun and delicious way to eat cake on a hot summer day!
DQ ice cream cake has been my birthday cake of choice since I was a little girl because I love them so much. So I was going into this with low expectations. With that being said, this recipe with that homemade fudge layer is out of this world delicious! I would choose this over DQ any day!
my family loved this ice cream cake!!
6″ ice cream cakes are one of my favorite treats to make. I have tried so many combinations of cookies for crusts, sauces as well as the ice cream choices.For a 6″ cake, two pints are needed but two and a half make a 3″ tall cake. I often make the cake well ahead of time, remove it from the pan once it is frozen and wrap it up in the plastic…plus she addition…that I lined the pan with. It looks like a giant puck and is ready for the whipped cream finishing the day of the event.
These were great directions, Sally. I think the key is to be as inventive and creative as one’s heart and taste buds desire!!
I made this ice cream cake with a left over cake layer I had in the freezer. It came out absolutely beautiful and delicious. I will definitively make it again.
Fun cake to make fudge recipe was as good as my grandma’s Karo syrup vs eagle brand
Swooning over this ice cream cake! Super delicious, and that hot fudge is amazing!
Do you have any advice on how to take this to a barbecue picnic at a local park? I need to bring a dessert and a side but have no clue what to bring. I am new to the mom’s group so I really want to bring two great recipes.
Hi Christi, this ice cream cake is best sliced and served immediately or frozen for up to 1 hour before serving. (We don’t recommend longer than this.) So, it may not be the best candidate for a picnic, unless serving immediately. Here is our roundup of 25+ tasty desserts for a BBQ cookout and summer cookie recipes for inspiration!
My sister successfully transported an ice cream cake for my birthday using dry ice bought at a grocery store (I remember that she had to go to more than one grocery store to find some that was inexpensive). It worked really well, just be sure to follow proper precautions and know that the ice cream may actually get a little too frozen and need to sit out before serving.
Hi Sally – My daughter and I are thinking this month’s challenge is the perfect dessert for Father’s Day, but (unlike me) she’s not the biggest hot fudge fun. Do you think a warm caramel or strawberry sauce might work instead? Want to make sure the cake stays together!
Caramel would be a great choice! So would strawberry, though it may freeze into an undesirable icy consistency.
This is our go to birthday cake! My husband makes it for myself and my daughters.
I absolutely loved this recipe! It was so easy and fun to make and tasted just as good
I absolutely loved this recipe! It was so easy and fun to make.
Could you use a layer of the Oreo mixture as a bottom crust?
You could, but I will be honest, it can be difficult to cut through. I do it with this peanut butter ice cream pie, but there’s not as much ice cream on top.
Hi Sally! Love your website! We were in the restaurant business for our whole careers and our last business I did all the desserts. Our best seller was a Rolo Ice Cream Pie. Oreo base, Rolo, Vanilla, Rolo and Oreos on top. With Caramel Sauce. People loved it. Great idea to put chocolate sauce in the middle. Gotta try that. Thanks for your recipes!
That sounds incredible Brenda! I love caramel and ice cream.
Can you use homemade ice cream or is it too soft?
I find it’s too soft. It’s definitely doable, but the cake will melt quickly.
Can I make this a few weeks ahead and store in the freezer?
Hi Carol, up to 2 days is best. It becomes extremely hard and difficult to cut beyond that.