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This Strawberry Crunch Ice Cream Cake is made with strawberry and vanilla ice cream, plus strawberry shortcake crunchies! It’s a delicious cake that’s perfect for summer!
Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream Cake
This ice cream cake is totally addicting! It’s inspired both by this Strawberry Ice Cream Crunchie Cake and these Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars. I grew up LOVING those ice cream bars and those little crunchy pieces on the outside were definitely the best part. I knew I had to incorporate them into this ice cream cake.
One other thing I had wanted to incorporate was a strawberry fudge layer, similar to the chocolate fudge layer in my Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake. I’m a big fan of that fudge layer and really wanted a non-chocolate variation. Unfortunately, white chocolate is much more finicky. When I had the fudge layer at the right consistency, it never really froze completely and would slowly leak out of the sides of the cake. When I got it so that it wouldn’t leak, it was just too chewy and firm. Sadly, I had to abandon it.
This ice cream cake is still awesome – even without that! Of course you’ll want to use your favorite brand of ice cream, but when combined with the strawberry shortcake crunchies, it’s a fun and delicious ice cream cake!
How to make the strawberry crunchies
I tried a couple different options for these crunchies. One option was using golden Oreos as a cookie base and then flavoring some of them to be strawberry. The other option was playing around with using pudding mix – strawberry and vanilla – to add flavoring. Ultimately I didn’t think either of those gave the right flavor.
I ended up deciding on completely homemade crunchies. You’ll need:
- All purpose flour
- Sugar
- Freeze dried strawberries
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
You’ll use some flour, sugar and butter in each of the flavors of crunchy. Then you’ll add freeze dried strawberries (ground into a powder) for the strawberry crunchies and the vanilla extract for the vanilla ones. You basically make a crumble with each flavor and then bake them in the oven to crisp them up. After cooling, you can crumble them up further, if needed.
While freeze dried strawberries might be a little harder to find (I find them at grocery stores and Target pretty easily), they add the most real strawberry flavor and is definitely the way to go.
How to make a Strawberry Ice Cream Cake
After your strawberry shortcake crunchies are made, it’s time to layer the cake. But first let’s talk about the cake pan. I used an 8 by 3 inch cake pan, because I like a taller cake. You could definitely use a 9 inch pan though, and a springform pan would certainly be convenient. Either way is fine
Once you’ve got your pan, you’ll want to line the inside of it with clear wrap. You’ll use the clear wrap later to help lift the ice cream cake out of the pan. From there, add your strawberry ice cream and spread it evenly into the pan.
Add about a cup of the strawberry shortcake crunchies to the ice cream and spread evenly, then freeze everything for a couple hours, until fairly firm.
Add the vanilla ice cream layer on top, then freeze the whole cake until firm.
From there, you’ll make your whipped cream and frost the outside of the cake. The ice cream does melt quickly, so feel free to pop the cake in the freezer as needed. I did a quick outer coat, froze it for about 20 minutes, then did the final layer. I popped it back in the freezer for another 20 minutes before adding the crunchies, but you want to be sure not to wait too long or it might be harder for the crunchies to stick to the whipped cream.
Finally, add some freeze dried strawberry powder to the remaining whipped cream and pipe a border onto the top of the cake.
The final Strawberry Crunch Ice Cream Cake is not only beautiful, it’s delicious! I’m totally in love with all the strawberry shortcake crunchies! I hope you enjoy it too!
Strawberry Crunch Ice Cream Cake
- Prep Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Strawberry Crunch Ice Cream Cake is made with strawberry and vanilla ice cream and strawberry shortcake crunchies! It’s a delicious cake that’s perfect for summer!
Ingredients
Strawberry Crunchies
- 1 cup (130g) all purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 cup (155g) sugar, divided
- 3/4 cup freeze dried strawberries
- 7 tbsp salted butter, room temperature, divided
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
ICE CREAM LAYERS
- 1.5 quart container strawberry ice cream
- 1.5 quart container vanilla ice cream
WHIPPED CREAM
- 1 3/4 cups (420ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 3/4 cup (86g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries
- Red and Ivory gel icing color, optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
2. To make the crunchies, you’ll need two bowls. One for the vanilla crunchies and one for the strawberry. Add 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar to each bowl.
3. Add the freeze dried strawberries to a food processor and grind into a powder. Add the powder to the bowl for the strawberry crunchies. Stir well to combine.
4. Add 4 tablespoons of butter to the strawberry bowl and the vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of butter to the vanilla bowl and use a fork to combine each mixture until it comes together to form a crumble.
5. Lay the strawberry crumble evenly out onto one of the cookie sheets and ay the vanilla crumble evenly out onto the other cookie sheet.
6. Bake the crumbles for about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on it, particularly the strawberry crumble. The strawberry powder can brown quickly if left in for too long.
7. Let crumble cool completely and then use your fingers to break into smaller pieces, if needed. It’s ideal for the crumble pieces to be no larger than a small pea.
8. Combine all of the crunchie pieces together and gently toss to combine.
9. To layer the cake together, line an 8×3 inch cake pan* with clear wrap that covers the bottom and goes above the sides of the cake pan. I used two pieces. You’ll use the wrap that is sticking above the sides of the pan to lift the ice cream cake out later.
10. About 20 minutes before you need it, set the strawberry ice cream out to soften. Add the softened strawberry ice cream to the prepared cake pan and spread into an even layer.
11. Spread about 1 cup of the crunchies evenly over top of the strawberry ice cream, then freeze for about 2 hours, until mostly firm.
12. About 20 minutes before you need it, set the vanilla ice cream out to soften. Add the vanilla ice cream to the top of the crunchies, then freeze until firm, 2-3 hours.
13. Use the clear wrap to lift the frozen cake out of the pan, then place it on a cardboard cake circle or a serving plate. Set it back in the freezer.
14. To make the whipped cream, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
15. Frost the cake with the whipped cream, placing the cake back in the freezer as needed to keep it from melting.
16. Quickly press the remaining crunchies onto the sides of the cake, then place the cake back in the freezer.
17. Grind the freeze dried strawberries for the whipped cream into a powder and add it to the remaining whipped cream. Add some additional red and ivory gel icing color to it as well, if you like.
18. Pipe a border around the top of the cake. I used Ateco tip 844.
19. Freeze the cake until ready to serve. Cake is best when stored well covered and eaten within 4-5 days.
Notes
I like using the 8×3 inch cake pan and having a taller cake, but if you don’t have one of those pans on hand and don’t want to purchase it, you could also use a 9 inch pan (including a springform pan). The cake just won’t be as tall.
I needed two 1 oz bags of freeze dried strawberries for both the crunchies and whipped cream.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 653
- Sugar: 53.7 g
- Sodium: 162.8 mg
- Fat: 41 g
- Carbohydrates: 63.7 g
- Protein: 7.8 g
- Cholesterol: 201 mg
Should the strawberry and vanilla crumbles be a crunchy consistency after baking for 5 minutes? After cooling them, they seem “cake” like, not crunchy at all.
Hmm, it’s been a while since I made this. I don’t remember them being overly crunchy. I wanted them to resemble the popsicles that have them on them, and I think of those as being on the softer side. That said, they would be crunchier if baked longer.
I made this about a month ago, but I froze it in advance undecorated till I was ready to use it for my guests. I served it today and it was such a hit I had 3 people ask for a second piece! It looked exactly like the picture too and they raved about the strawberry whipped cream and the crunch. Since I had to make it in advance I used your other strawberry filling you use in the other ice cream cake recipe and they loved that too. It made a nice contrasting layer in between the vanilla and strawberry layer. Thanks for creating this recipe!
Awesome! So glad to hear it was a hit!
Used as inspiration. Chocolate cake layer, strawberry ice cream, thin layer strawberry ice cream topping, strawberry & vanilla crumbles and homemade whipped cream.
The crumbles made the dessert!!
Everyone loved – no leftovers!
It sounds delicious! Glad it was a hit!
I bought a bag of freeze dried strawberry powder on Amazon from Herbaila. A 1 lb bag will probably last me forever.
Thank you for the recipe! Could I add a layer of strawberry puree in the middle or would there be a sauce you’d recommend to just add extra strawberry flavour?
Thank you!
Yes! I have a strawberry sauce/filling layer in this strawberry ice cream cake that is so good!
Thanks – this worked so well! I used gluten free flour to make a gluten free ice cream cake with the crunchie layer which I wouldn’t be able to buy in a store. Not hard at all, just need to budget time well
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I have made this two years in a row for my daughter’s birthday. It’s her favorite cake as it brings back memories of the strawberry shortcake ice cream pop from the ice cream truck. This year I got smarter and made the recipe thru step 12 and let it freeze overnight. This allowed me to frost the cake and add the crumbles without moving the cake back and forth between the freezer and counter to keep it from melting. Thanks for this recipe. It’s easy to make and a real crowd pleaser.
Awesome! I’m so glad it’s a hit!
I made this for my wife’s retirement party. Since I was serving a large group I actually used a 12″x4″ cake pan (Big Daddy) and used four total large tubs of ice cream – and double the crunch I made. It turned out beautifully – and was a big hit. Going to make it again for my son’s 30th birthday! It is a long process – but not difficult. BTW I got the freeze dried strawberries at Trader Joe’s.
Awesome! So glad it was a hit!
Do you have a video for this? Thank you.
I don’t, I’m sorry.
How much of the frosting did you save for the piped part on top with strawberries in it ?
I just frosted the cake and then used what was left for the top. Depending on size of your piping tip/border, you’ll need about 3/4 cup, give or take.
I’m trying to make this for a friend’s birthday this weekend, but was wondering – would the strawberry ice cream recipe you have for your other strawberry ice cream cake work here, or does it need to be the store bought brand? I wasn’t sure if one would freeze up more than another. (I tend to get some bits melting on other ice cream cakes I’ve done, but already learned some new techniques from you, so I’m excited to try this one)
You could certainly use the strawberry ice cream from the other ice cream cake, but it is a no churn ice cream, so it’d turn out a little bit different.