Easy vegan berry ice cream cake with a hint of ‘cheesecake’ made with only 4-5 ingredients! The vibrant colours makes it a perfect centrepiece for celebrations.
It’s bushfire season in Australia (and the country is on fire) so I need something to cool me down and cheer me up. This vegan ice cream cake hits the spot in so many ways. It is:
- light to eat
- fruity and creamy
- so easy to make!
- colourful so it makes me happy!
Which vegan ice cream should I use?
I might be stating the obvious but if you want a creamy cake, make sure you use a creamy vegan ice cream! I used this brand of vegan ice cream, which is available in Australia.
But why?! Berries have a high water content so when berry puree is mixed with ice cream, the berries crystalise and makes the ice cream a little more icy than normal. The ice cream cake is definitely still creamy, but not as creamy as the original ice cream!
One way of minimising the iciness is by removing the water content in the berries. You can do this by placing the berries in a small pot and simmering them until the berries are concentrated and turn thick and jammy. I would not recommend just squishing the juice out of the berries as you’ll be removing a lot of the flavour. Alternatively, you can use berry jam instead of actual berries. For simplicity, I just used fresh/frozen berries for this recipe because it still results in a cake which is delicious and relatively creamy.
Making the berry ice cream layers
It’s easy to make this vegan ice cream cake, but it’s a little tedious when you make a layer, freeze it, make another layer, freeze…. get the point?!
Freezing each layer allows the cake to have more defined layers. It’s not essential to wait until each layer freezes but if you don’t, you’ll end up with more of a swirly cake rather than a layered cake.
Also, make sure you read the whole recipe before you start making it. There is a more efficient way to make the cake, for example:
- Make the raspberry and blueberry ice cream in your food processor. Add the raspberry ice cream to the tin and freeze. Put the blueberry ice cream in an airtight container and freeze.
- Do the jam layer and freeze.
- Remove the vanilla ice cream from your freezer to soften. Add it to the tin and freeze.
- Do the next jam layer then freeze.
- Remove the blueberry ice cream from your freezer to soften. Add it to the tin and freeze.
Or you can make a simplier version of this vegan berry ice cream cake!
If you’re short on time or ingredients, you can completely omit any of the layers or omit the jam. The cake will still work but it’ll just be shorter. I’ve never heard anyone complain about a short cake ;).
For example, you can make the cake with just the blueberry and vanilla ice cream layers! Or you can make just one flavour with jam swirled throughout it.
I hope you enjoy this recipe :).
Check out my other Summery recipes:
- Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Smoothies
- Creamy Mango Passionfruit Bars
- Baked Vegan Cheesecake with Berries
If you try this recipe, let me know how you went! Please leave a comment below and rate it. This will help me, other readers and allow this blog to be seen by more people. If you post it on social media, please tag @rainbownourishments and #rainbownourishments.
If you have questions about this recipe or blog post, please leave a comment below and I will respond as soon as possible. Rainbow Nourishments receives a high number of questions through social media and email and is unable to respond to each individual query. Comments on this post are more likely to receive a response!
Vegan Berry Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
Ice Cream Cake
- 1/2 cup (65g) raspberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup (75g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 lemon, zest and juice (optional)*
- ~4 1/4 cups (1kg or 1L) vegan vanilla ice cream, softened**
- 1/2 cup (160g) raspberry jam
To decorate
- 1/2 cup (65-75g) raspberries and blueberries, fresh
Instructions
- Line a 22 cm (8.6 inch) long loaf tin with baking paper so the paper hangs over the sides.
- Add the raspberries and half of the lemon zest and juice to a food processor and process until as smooth as possible. Add 400g of the softened vanilla ice cream to the food processor and pulse until combined.
- Spoon the raspberry ice cream into the loaf tin. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth the surface. Set aside the tin in the freezer for 1 hour or until set.
- Scoop half the raspberry jam onto the raspberry ice cream and spread with a spoon or spatula. Return the tin to the freezer for 30 minutes or until set.
- Scoop 200g of the softened vanilla ice cream into the loaf tin. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth the surface. Return the tin to the freezer for 1 hour or until set.
- Scoop the remaining raspberry jam onto the vanilla ice cream and spread with a spoon or spatula. Return the tin to the freezer for 30 minutes or until set.
- Add the blueberries and the remaining lemon zest and juice to a food processor and process until as smooth as possible. Add the remaining (400g) of the softened vanilla ice cream to the food processor and pulse until combined.
- Spoon the blueberry ice cream into the loaf tin. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth the surface. Set aside the tin in the freezer for 2 hours or until set.
- To serve: Remove the ice cream from the tin by pulling on the baking paper. If it doesn't pop out, carefully run the tin under warm water then remove. Use a sharp knife to cut portions out of the cake. Top the cake with fresh berries and serve immediately. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
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