Fun and sweet, this birthday cake ice cream is an honest-to-goodness dream boat in a cone. It tastes like a frozen, creamy, insanely delicious cake batter.
If you like vanilla birthday cake, then you will LOVE this birthday cake ice cream. Thanks to two special ingredients, it is sweet with a perfectly creamy texture.
I’m a big fan of birthday cake ice cream – it tastes nostalgic and reminds me of being a kid. When developing this recipe, I used store-bought cake mix to bring the flavor, which worked perfectly. There is no mistaking the birthday cake flavor!
Key ingredients
Some of these ingredients might make you raise an eyebrow, but have faith that this ice cream will satisfy every ice cream dream you’ve ever had!
- Cornstarch : This is one of the ingredients that isn’t super common in homemade ice cream, however, it really helps keep the ice cream nice and creamy.
- Heavy cream : This is also known as heavy whipping cream and the high fat content makes the ice cream creamy and rich. It also enhances the vanilla flavor.
- Cream cheese : Another interesting inclusion for an ice cream recipe, cream cheese helps give a super, silky smooth texture.
- White cake mix : You’ll incorporate the cake mix right before you refrigerate the ice cream. You can use store-bought, boxed cake mix for this recipe to keep things easy. If you have yellow bake mix on hand, it can be used instead, however, the color may be slightly different than what’s pictured here.
How to make homemade birthday cake ice cream
1. First, mix the cornstarch with milk.Why ⇢the cornstarch helps thicken the ice cream and gives it a wonderfully smooth mouthfeel.
2. Boil the milk with sugar, salt, and cream cheese until the cream cheese melts.
3. Whisk the white cake mix into your ice cream base and cool completely.Why ⇢the cake mix gives this ice cream its signature flavor!
4. Once the ice cream base is completely cold, process it in your ice cream maker.Tip ⇢The ice cream will have a soft-serve consistency after processing. For hard-serve ice cream, transfer it to your freezer for 1 hour.
No ice cream maker? No problem! ⇢ If you don’t have an ice cream maker, follow the instructions in my No Churn Ice Cream recipe post.
I almost always add sprinkles to this ice cream. It doesn’t change the flavor, but I think it adds a little fun.
Toppings and decorations for birthday cake ice cream
This is possibly the best part of this ice cream! You can go to town and get really creative with how you want to decorate or top your homemade ice cream. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
- Rainbow sprinkles
- Whip cream
- Chocolate sauce
- A sprinkling of birthday cake popcorn
- Crumbled cake or cookies, like Oreos or Golden Oreos
- If you’re a peanut fan, try adding some chopped honey roasted peanuts on top
- Consider making birthday cake ice cream sandwiches. Place your ice cream between two cookies! Yum!
Watch how to make homemade birthday cake ice cream
This ice cream can be served in a bowl or a cone. Freezing it for an hour or two will firm it up enough to scoop for a cone!
More classic ice cream flavors
Best Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe (with two secret ingredients!)
White Chocolate Ice Cream
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
Salted Caramel No Churn Ice Cream
Birthday Cake Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- ⅓ cup sugar
- A pinch sea salt
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups white cake mix
- Optional: sprinkles
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix two tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch and it set aside. 2 cups whole milk, 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat add the remaining milk, cream, sugar, and sea salt. Bring it to a boil then add the cream cheese. Stir it until the cream cheese has fully melted, about 4 minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pot and let it boil for 1 minute. 1 ¼ cups heavy cream, ⅓ cup sugar, A pinch sea salt, 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- Remove the pot from the heat, whisk in the white cake mix, then refrigerate until completely it’s cold, at least 4 hours. 1 ½ cups white cake mix
- Process the ice cream according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions.
- Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-proof container then freeze until it’s firm, about 4 hours. (You can eat it right away, but it will be very soft.) Top with sprinkles and enjoy! Optional: sprinkles
