No Churn Birthday Cake Ice Cream

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Complete with rainbow sprinkles, brownie chunks, and a ribbon of chocolate syrup, this homemade Birthday Cake Ice Cream is out of this world. It’s super easy to make with basic ingredients and no machine required.

Why You’ll Love This Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Browsing through ice cream recipes and wondering why you should pick this one? I’ll tell you!

• Better than Cold Stone. This recipe is meant to mimic Cold Stone’s Birthday Cake Remix ice cream and boy does it get the job done. Skip the lines and make this ice cream at home at a fraction of the price.
• Mix-in melee. Loaded with brownie, sprinkles, and chocolate syrup, this ice cream is bursting with fun, flavorful mix-ins and fun changes in texture. I love the chewy brownies with the creamy ice cream.
• So creamy. Homemade ice creams often turn out on the icy side. Not this one! It’s thick, creamy, and completely addictive.
• Hassle-free. You’ll only need about 15 minutes of active time in the kitchen for this recipe AND you won’t even need a fancy ice cream maker. Simple ingredients. Simple instructions. Simple supplies. It doesn’t get much better!

Recipe Ingredients

Time to gather you’re ingredients for this outstanding birthday cake ice cream recipe. Here’s what you’ll need. You’ll find exact measurements in the recipe card below.

Chocolate Fudge

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips – I highly recommend sticking with semi-sweet. Other types of chocolate will change the texture. Darker chocolate will make it thicker and lighter chocolate (like milk or white chocolate) will get too thin.
• Corn syrup – The corn syrup keeps the chocolate mixture soft even when frozen.
• Heavy whipping cream – Don’t use milk or half and half or they’ll thin out the mixture. Stick with heavy whipping cream.

No Churn Ice Cream

• Funfetti box cake mix – You could easily use a different cake mix here if you’re looking for a different flavor profile. You’ll have to heat treat the cake mix and then allow it to cool before using.
• Sweetened condensed milk – You cannot use evaporated milk here. It’s not the same thing and will give you less-than-favorable results.
• Milk – Whole milk, 2% or even more heavy cream would be fine here.
• Vanilla extract
• Heavy whipping cream – The heavy cream must be cold. Otherwise, it won’t whip up and hold volume properly.
• Sprinkles – I recommend using sprinkles that won’t bleed into the ice cream. I prefer Jimmies but pick your favorite. Avoid the small round nonpareils. They tend to bleed.
• Brownies – You can make homemade brownies, or you can buy pre-made brownies if you prefer.

How to Make Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Here’s a quick overview of how to make this easy no churn ice cream. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.

• Prep. Line a 9X5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Make the chocolate fudge. Heat the heavy cream until just boiling and pour it over the chocolate chips and corn syrup. Let the mixture sit for a couple of minutes and then whisk until smooth.
• Make the ice cream base. Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, milk, cooled cake mix, and vanilla extract.

• Make the whipped cream. Whip the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks form.
• Add volume to the ice cream. Gently fold the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture in two parts.
• Add the mix-ins. Gently fold in the sprinkles and brownies.

• Layer the ice cream into the loaf pan. Add 1/3 of the ice cream to the pan, drizzle 1/3 of the chocolate fudge over the top, and swirl the fudge into the ice cream with a knife. Repeat with two more layers of ice cream and chocolate fudge. Add some sprinkles
• Freeze. Freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Tips for Making No Churn Ice Cream

Want to make this creamiest, yummiest ice cream possible? I have a few suggestions to help you get there.

• Heat treat. You must heat treat the cake mix before using it. Otherwise, it won’t be safe to consume. How? Spread the mix over a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 7-10 minutes or until it reaches a temperature of 160°F. Then allow it to cool. You can also check out my tutorial for how to heat treat flour (and cake mix).
• Use high-fat milk for the creamiest texture. While plant-based milk or low-fat milk would work in this recipe, you’ll get creamier results with 2% or whole milk (whole milk is best). Without the extra fat, your ice cream will be less creamy and is more likely to turn out icy.
• Cold heavy cream. Start with cold heavy cream. If it is not chilled, it will not whip up and hold volume properly, giving you an icy ice cream.
• Be gentle. When folding the whipped cream and then the mix-ins into the ice cream, be gentle and stir just until everything is incorporated. Stirring too aggressively or too much will knock the air out of the whipped cream, causing it to lose volume. Over-mixing will also cause the color from the sprinkles to bleed into the ice cream and the brownies to break apart.
• From scratch. Making your own whipped cream, brownies, and chocolate sauce will take this ice cream from great to over-the-top delicious. So do it. It’s worth the extra time.
• Don’t skimp on chill time. This ice cream has to chill in the freezer for 4-6 hours to reach the proper consistency. So give it that time. Note that the back of the freezer tends to stay colder than the front, so place the ice cream near the back, if possible, to speed up the process.
• Save some time. I love using homemade whipped cream, homemade brownies, and homemade chocolate sauce but you could use store-bought versions if you’re looking to save some time. You’d need 12 ounces of Cool Whip (thawed).

Variation Ideas

There are lots of different ways you can switch up the flavor profile of this celebratory birthday cake ice cream! Don’t be afraid to get creative.

• Use a different cake mix. You can use any cake mix of your choice to change the flavor of your ice cream. From devil’s food cake to red velvet, anything goes!
• Switch up the mix-ins. Go ahead and use any mix-ins you’re craving – just try not to stuff too many different things into one batch. M&Ms, nuts, chocolate chips, Oreo cookie pieces, or Edible Cookie Dough would be delicious.
• Try a different sauce. Instead of chocolate sundae syrup, consider using Salted Caramel Sauce or another flavored ice cream sauce of your choosing.

Serving Suggestions

This ice cream pretty much already has everything sweet in it. It doesn’t need much more. That being said, if you’re really in a celebratory mood, go ahead and top it with some rainbow sprinkles and maybe even a drizzle of my Hot Fudge Sauce or Caramel Sauce.

I have also been loving serving this ice cream alongside (or on top of) a slice of my Like a Box Brownies or this Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake. Delicious!

How Long Does No Churn Ice Cream Last?

This birthday cake ice cream will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. After that, it might start to get a little icy, especially if you went with a low-fat milk.

More Ice Cream Recipes To Try

Feeling inspired to start making your own ice cream? Here are some other top-notch homemade ice cream recipes for you to try.

• No-Churn Strawberry Ice Cream
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream
• One Ingredient Strawberry Ice Cream
• One Ingredient Banana Ice Cream
• No Churn Peppermint Bark Ice Cream
• Ice Cream Cake Recipe

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