Key Lime Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream Cake Recipe

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This Key Lime Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream Cake Recipe combines three delicious flavors into one colorful ice cream cake that’s completely no-bake, no-churn and filled with fresh fruit!

A Creamy, Dreamy, Three-Layered Ice Cream Cake!

So I’m still suffering some consequences from our July 4th celebration. We went out on the lake and while waiting to be ready to go and walking around outside, I inadvertently stood on a small ant hill without realizing it. 🙁 Needless to say, it was several any bites later before I realized it. The fortunate part is that they were black ants, not red ones. The unfortunate part is that socks and shoes haven’t been super fun the last few days. Boo ants! I’m pretty sure all the bugs are my least favorite thing about summer.

However, some of the best parts of summer are obviously fresh fruit and ice cream. I guess that makes me feel a little better. I can eat ice cream cake and nurse my poor feet. 🙂 This ice cream cake recipe has three layers of delicious, creamy ice cream sitting on top of a shortbread crust. The flavors are light, refreshing and combine to create the ultimate mix of yumminess!

Why This No-Churn Ice Cream Cake Works

• No Churn Needed: As with most of my ice cream cake recipes, like this classic Ice Cream Cake and this Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake, the ice cream here is no churn.
• No-Bake Cookie Crust: For the bottom layer, I took my favorite Walker’s Shortbread, pulsed it into crumbs with my food processor, and mixed it with a little butter to keep it all together. The thick, buttery shortbread crust is so tasty, and functions as the “cake” on the bottom. It’s one of my favorite parts of this cake!
• Three Flavors of Ice Cream: On top of the crust, you’ve got not one, but three great layers of smooth, creamy, no churn ice cream – coconut, strawberry and key lime.
• Soft, Fruity Ice Cream: To keep the strawberry and key lime ice creams creamy, you start by making a pie-filling like mixture with strawberry puree and key lime juices, each thickened (separately, of course) with cornstarch – right in the microwave. These mixtures are added to the ice cream to keep it from getting icy.

What Ingredients Are in This Ice Cream Cake Recipe?

This list might look a bit long, but each item is very simple. You don’t need anything special, just ordinary kitchen basics and a little time. Let’s take a closer look:

For the Fruit “Filling” Mixtures

• Strawberry Puree: Pulse fresh, hulled strawberries to make the puree. This is for the strawberry layer.
• Key Lime Juice: Freshly squeezed, if possible, although bottled juice is also fine. This is for the key lime layer.
• Water: To thin the filling mixture as needed.
• Sugar: Regular granulated sugar is fine.
• Cornstarch: To thicken the filling and add some silkiness. Don’t skip this! It makes the ice cream creamy, not icy, even when the fruit is added.

For the Cookie Crust

• Shortbread: Shortbread cookie crumbs. I used Walker’s Shortbread, but you could use any similar cookie.
• Sugar: Again, granulated sugar is fine for this – or you could use brown sugar for a little touch of warm, toasty sugar flavor.
• Butter: Melted. You can use salted or unsalted butter, whichever suits your taste.

Ice Cream Ingredients

• Cream Cheese: Each layer of ice cream is made with rich, full-fat cream cheese for part of the base.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar.
• Milk: Whole milk will give the best flavor and texture.
• Extracts: Coconut extract gives the coconut layer its signature flavor. You can also use strawberry extract to boost the taste in the strawberry layer, if you like, but that is optional.
• Whipping Cream: The whipping cream should be cold, right out of the fridge.
• Powdered Sugar:
• Food Coloring: The layers of ice cream get their pretty color from a little pink food coloring and a bit of green food coloring.

Optional Decorations

• Cool Whip
• Strawberries
• Limes

How to Make This Ice Cream Cake Recipe

You will need to assemble this cake in an 8-inch round cake pan with tall sides (more on that in the Tips section). The process goes in stages -you’ll want to make the crust first and let it firm up in the freezer, while you work on the coconut ice cream. Then let the coconut ice cream firm up while you do the strawberry, and so on. Here are the steps in order:

1. Set up the Cake Pan. To set up your cake pan, line an 8×3 inch springform pan with parchment paper that goes about 2 inches above the top edge of the pan (see this photo of a lined cake pan). If you only have a regular 8×3 inch cake pan, line it with plastic wrap, which can later be used to lift your cake out of the pan. Then add the parchment paper.
2. Make the Strawberry Filling Mixture. Combine strawberry puree, water, sugar and cornstarch for the strawberry filling in a small bowl. Microwave in 10 second increments until the mixture has thickened, about 30 seconds to a minute. Set it aside to cool.
3. Make the Key Lime Filling Mixture. Just like you did with the strawberry filling, combine the key lime juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Microwave in 10 second increments until thickened, and set it aside to cool.
4. Create the Crust. To make the crust, combine the shortbread crumbs, sugar and melted butter, and stir to make a crumbly, moist mixture. Press this into the bottom of the cake pan in an even layer. Set the crust in the freezer to firm.
5. Stir Together Coconut Ice Cream Ingredients. To make the coconut ice cream, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth, and then beat in the milk and coconut extract until smooth. In a separate bowl, make whipped cream by beating the whipping cream and powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Fold the 1/3 of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, and then fold in the rest.
6. Freeze the Coconut Layer. Spread the coconut ice cream on top of the crust, and smooth it out into an even layer. Place the cake pan back into the freezer.
7. Make the Strawberry Ice Cream. Following the same process as the coconut ice cream, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth, and then beat in the milk, strawberry extract (if using) and strawberry filling. Make whipped cream, and fold in 1/3. Then fold in the rest, along with the pink food coloring.
8. Add the Strawberry Ice Cream to the Cake. Spread the strawberry ice cream on top of the coconut ice cream and smooth it out. Place the cake pan back into the freezer.
9. Make the Key Lime Layer. Make the key lime ice cream the same way that you made the strawberry ice cream, and then add it to the cake.
10. Chill the Cake. Once the key lime layer is in place, return the pan to the freezer, and let it chill for 5-6 hours, or overnight.
11. Un-Mold the Ice Cream Cake. After the cake has chilled for several hours or overnight, it’s time totake the cake out of the pan! If it sticks, you can use a warmed offset spatula to help loosen it. Place the cake on a serving plate.
12. Decorate. Top the cake with whipped cream (you can use Cool Whip or make homemade whipped cream) and fresh strawberries and lime slices. Let it sit out of the freezer for at least 30 minutes, before cutting and serving.

Helpful Tips for Success

As I was developing this ice cream cake recipe, I realized that there are quite a few tips and tricks that everyone should know when making an ice cream cake at home. So, without further ado, here are my top tips for great ice cream cake:

• Microwaving the Filling: You could make each filling individually on the stove, but to keep things simple, I prefer microwaving the mixture in intervals in the microwave until thickened.
• Cake Pan: To put the cake together, you can use an 8 inch round pan, and I highly recommend an 8×3 inch pan, so the sides are taller. You can even get it as a springform pan.
• Cake Collars: Clear plastic cake collars can also be helpful for keeping your cake tall and even. I actually used the cake pan to press the crust into form, and then removed it from the cake pan, using just the cake collar for building the rest of the cake!
• Using a Regular Pan. If you use a regular cake pan, I recommend lining it with plastic wrap so that you can use the wrap to lift out the cake later on. You can also place a cardboard cake circle in the bottom of the pan, on top of the clear wrap, to help make the lifting process easier.
• Whipping the Cream: It’s important to have a clean bowl, clean beaters, and cold whipping cream for getting stiff peaks.
• Decorating. You can decorate this cake any way you like, with sprinkles or drizzles or piped whipped cream or even frosting. I decorated it with a little bit of whipped cream and some fresh fruit. It makes such a fun and pretty presentation and the flavors are terrific together! So light and refreshing! Keep in mind that some decorations may slide around more than others on top of ice cream.

How to Store Homemade Ice Cream Cake

You can store this cake for 4 – 5 days in your freezer, covered well to protect it from any possible freezer burn. An airtight cake stand is great for this! No cake stand? Try cutting the cake into slices, and freezing those individually!

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Enjoy!

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