Are you looking for a fun and delicious dessert? Treat your family to this amazing Strawberry Pecan Ice Cream Cake! It’s easy to make with my step by step recipe.
Who does not love an ice cream cake? You are pretty much guaranteed to make any kid’s day the minute she spots one … or any adult, for that matter!
My obsession with ice cream cakes has continued well past childhood, and I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making one. I decided to finally do it, and with a little trial and error, I created this delicious Strawberry Pecan Ice Cream Cake.
This is the one recipe that you have to try this summer!
Strawberry Pecan Ice Cream Cake
Believe it or not, this Strawberry Pecan Ice Cream Cake recipe is actually fairly easy to make. You just need a little patience. I recommend making the cake and layering it with the ice cream the day before you plan to serve it.
The recipe starts with is a simple, yet delicious white cake recipe that I pulled straight from my grandmother’s cookbook. This cake is super moist and has a tender crumb and spongy texture that is perfect for laying with ice cream.
I wanted to showcase simple, fresh summer flavors in my ice cream cake, so for the ice cream layer, I mixed my favorite vanilla ice cream with diced strawberries and pecans … so delicious.
Once your cake layers are cooled and your ice cream is mixed, you’re ready to start assembling. The key to holding this Strawberry Pecan Ice Cream Cake together is a spring form pan. Make sure that your spring form pan is the same diameter (9-inches) as your cake pans.
Here’s where you can learn from my mistakes. I used to have a spring form pan set, but I must have gotten rid of a couple of the pans before moving to NYC. The only pan I had left was 10-inches, an inch bigger than I needed. It made the process much, much messier (picture melted ice cream everywhere) than it needed to be, so learn from my mistake and use the right sized pan!
This Calphalon spring form pan would have been perfect, and I’ll be purchasing one before making my next ice cream cake. If you need cake pans, as well, I love these Simply Calphalon ones (affiliate links).
To assemble the ice cream cake, you’ll place one cake layer in the bottom of the spring form pan. Cover the cake with the ice cream mixture, then top it off with the remaining cake layer, pressing the cake down gently to even out the top. Freeze these layers until solid (overnight is best).
After the cake is frozen, you’ll frost it with lightly sweetened whipped cream and decorate it with berries. Freeze it for another hour or so, and your showstopping Strawberry Pecan Ice Cream Cake is ready to serve!
Ingredients
- nonstick cooking spray
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
- 1/2 lb. strawberries, diced
- 1/2 cup pecan pieces
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 lb. strawberries
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray two 9-inch cake pans with nonstick spray, then lightly coat with flour. Set aside.
- Using a mixer, cream together sugar and butter until well mixed and light in color.
- Blend in vanilla.
- Add eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.
- With mixer running at low speed, slowly add milk to butter mixture.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add flour to butter mixture, and mix until well combined.
- Divide cake batter evenly between two pans.
- Bake cake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Cool cake on a baking rack for about 10 minutes.
- Remove cake layers from pans, then cool completely on rack before assembling.
- Let ice cream soften at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Using mixer, mix ice cream until smooth.
- Mix in strawberries and pecans.
- Place one cake layer in the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan.
- Top cake with ice cream.
- Cover ice cream with second cake layer. (Tip: if you're using the right size spring form pan, then all of your layers should touch the edge of the pan. Mine was too big.)
- Freeze until solid or overnight, covered with plastic wrap.
- Combine heavy cream and powdered sugar in a mixer.
- Using whisk attachment, mix until cream can hold a peak.
- Remove the outer ring from the spring form pan, then frost the cake with whipped cream.
- Decorate with strawberries and blueberries, as desired. Reserve any remaining berries for serving.
- Freeze cake until whipped cream is frozen, about an hour.
- Remove cake from freezer, then cut it into slices with a knife (run it under hot water to make slicing easier).
- Serve cake immediately topped with berries (return any leftover cake, covered, to freezer). Enjoy!
This Strawberry Pecan Ice Cream Cake is the perfect summer treat. Make it for your favorite patriotic holiday or serve it for someone special’s birthday … either way, it is sure to be devoured!
Here are a few tips for customizing your cake:
- Use your favorite cake recipe, but keep in mind that my recipe makes two very thin, 9-inch cake layers. One standard 9-inch layer, cut in half horizontally after it’s cooled, will equal the two cake layers from my recipe.
- Pick your own add-in’s for the ice cream. Chocolate, berries, nuts, and pretzels would all be delicious. Just make sure everything is cut into small pieces, or it will be hard to eat once frozen.
- You could even choose another ice cream flavor; next time, I’m combining chocolate ice cream with strawberries.
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
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What a pretty cake and I’ll bet that it tastes great as well.
Thanks, Paula! It’s delish and I may be working on leftovers all summer. 😉
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