An simple Neapolitan ice cream cake with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream layers with fudgy crushed Oreos! It will remind you of ice cream cakes from Dairy Queen or Carvel. Another no-bake option is my strawberry smores icebox cake.

I’ve had making an ice cream cake on my recipe to-do list for, what, five years? It’s been five years.

Every year, I intended to do it. And then it was winter by the time I got around to it. In the thick of winter, who wants to prepare an ice cream cake? No one, unless you live in Australia and our winter is your summer.

I’m interested whether Aussies like ice cream cakes. Is there such a thing? If you are from Australia, please let me know because I need to know right now. I did some searching and it seems to be, but I’d prefer real-life human proof.

Picking the flavors

Well, I finally made an ice cream cake, and I went for a Neapolitan ice cream cake with a layer of fudge and crushed Oreos. Isn’t that great? Yeah, yes, yes! Except for one minor issue that I neglected to consider

Keep the weather in mind!

I selected the warmest and most humid Saturday of the year in Massachusetts to bake said ice cream dessert. The sort of heat when your central air conditioning just takes the edge off and the humidity lingers like an unwanted visitor.

That aided in the process of softening the ice cream to form the layers, but I had to work quickly. And then there’s the photography. I can’t remember ever moving that rapidly during a picture session in my life.

Sprinkles were flying everywhere, melting ice cream was oozing from the props’ edges, and strawberries were rolling onto the floor. These photographs clearly show the passage of time, which I find fascinating.

Quick question: are you an upright slice or a slice on its side? In general, I want my slices upright. Yet when it comes down to the final quarter of a slice, I invariably wind up tipping it over.

Particularly with ice cream cake.

Something about the notion of being able to eat the bottom layer first makes me uneasy.

Maybe that I might begin at the thickest point and work my way down.

That’s all pure anarchy.

Don’t obsess over making the layers even

As you’ve probably observed, my layers aren’t even or symmetrical. Do you understand why? Because, well, who cares?

It would be too stressful for me to be concerned with how flawless the layers are, so I don’t. For me, the aim of baking is to de-stress rather than to add to my tension.

If you want to put in the time and effort to make each of your layers flawless, go ahead and share photos with me so I can admire your patience and creativity.

All I care about is:

• if it tastes delicious or not
• whether or whether I can obtain enough fudgy crunch in each mouthful
• if it has a sufficient number of sprinkles

What’s more, guess what?

I can check every item since this tastes nice, has a fair quantity of fudgy crunch in each mouthful, and has a good number of sprinkles.

As a result, I consider it a success.

Which layer are you the most excited about?

I was most enthusiastic about the fudgy crunchy layer at first, but after I was done and eating a slice, I found myself digging around for as much strawberry ice cream as I could in each piece.

It is something I would never have expected.

A few tips for making your ice cream cake:

• Use parchment paper to line your spring form pan. You could line it with plastic wrap as well, but it will be a little messy as you spread each ice cream layer. Just hold on to the pan’s side and the edge of the liner while you spread the ice cream about to prevent it from sliding as much as possible.

• And before you think, Forget that, I’ll simply skip the liner, realize that you’re setting yourself up for an incredible melting ice cream catastrophe as it flows out of every crack of the pan onto your counter (not that this has ever happened to me).

• Let your ice cream to soften on the counter for at least 15 minutes. If you attempt to spread still-frozen ice cream, it will be quite difficult. Pull them all out at once, knowing that by the time you come to the final one, it will be the softest and simplest to distribute.

• Layer your layers in whatever sequence you choose! I had no plan for how I stacked mine; it was just what happened to be the next closest quart of ice cream while I was cooking it.

• Therefore, whether you’re a chocolate, fudgy crunch, strawberry, or vanilla fan like me, this is the place to be. If you want to experiment, go ahead; anything you do will be excellent.

• Let the ice cream layers to set before adding the Cool Whip icing. This is necessary because by the time you’ve finished stacking all of the ice cream, it will be mushy and melty, and it will need to firm up before you can frost the exterior.

Adding decorations

As soon as I finished icing the cake, I added the piped border and a slew of sprinkles, and then added the sliced strawberries as an extra garnish shortly before serving. They will not freeze well, so avoid storing the cake with fresh cut strawberries on top.

But, adding sliced strawberries to the interior of the cake as part of the strawberry layer is a lovely addition.

Tip for serving

Before making each slice, run your knife under hot water and wipe it off with a moist towel. This will make it much simpler to cut the cake.

On an ice cream cake kick and want more? 

• Whitney Bond Small Ice Cream Cakes
• Tara Teaspoon’s Fruit and Cream Ice Cream Cake
• Half Baked Harvest’s Triple Layer Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Cake
• The Recipe Rebel’s Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cake
• The Little Epicurean’s Cookie and Cream Ice Cream Cake