Two of my favorite things combine in today’s recipe to make a killer dessert: fresh summer produce and creamy homemade ice cream. This blueberry ice cream cake is an ode to summer and its weather that has, so far, proven to be straight-up oppressive. With frozen layers of cream cheese ice cream and a fresh blueberry sauce throughout, this cake is certainly seasonally appropriate. Let me tell you all about it.
So why combine blueberries with ice cream cake? With blueberry season well underway, many of us (raises hand!) have found themselves with a surplus of produce. Lucky for us, homemade fruit sauces swirl splendidly into homemade no-churn ice cream. If you’ve never learned how to make no-churn ice cream, fear not! I recently wrote a post all about no-churn ice cream that you can read here. Today’s recipe uses the classic technique with the addition of cream cheese which gives this cake great flavor. That, plus the blueberry sauce and graham cracker crumble, makes for a terrific make-ahead treat!
Making the Blueberry Ice Cream Cake:
To make the ice cream cake, start with the blueberry sauce. Combine fresh or frozen blueberries with sugar and lemon juice on the stovetop. Cook the mixture until it reduces and thickens slightly. In the meantime, begin preparing your ice cream. Softened cream cheese creams together with sweetened condensed milk before folding into whipped cream. Split the ice cream mixture in half. One bowl will remain cream cheese flavored and the other gets a helping of blueberry sauce. Layer the two in a prepared pan with additional blueberry sauce.
This cake also employs the help of a graham cracker “crust” which adds a little bit of salted texture. I was going for a frozen dessert that was reminiscent of a blueberry cheesecake, and I think this fits the bill. Although the crumbs are optional, I think you’ll love them. Don’t skip this step. 🙂
If you get a chance to try this recipe, shoot me a message and let me know what you think! Happy Sunday to you and happy baking!
If you like this blueberry ice cream cake you should try:
Blueberry Mascarpone Ice Cream
Peanut Butter Honey Graham Ice Cream Cake
Blueberry Sour Cream Pie
Black Forest Ice Cream Cake
Blueberry Galette with a Cornmeal Crust
Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Blueberry Ice Cream Cake
This blueberry ice cream cake features a no-churn cream cheese ice cream, a salted graham cracker crumble, and a swirled blueberry sauce.
- Prep Time: 25
- Total Time: 360
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Sauce:
- 2/3 cup blueberries
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
For the graham cracker crumbs:
- ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the ice cream:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
Making the Blueberry Sauce:
- Combine the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir regularly, mashing the berries with a potato masher or the back of a fork to release the juices. Cook for about 7-8 minutes or until the sauce has reduced to thicken slightly. Set aside to cool.
Making the graham cracker crumbs:
- Stir to combine all the ingredients. Set aside.
Making the ice cream cake:
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cold heavy cream on medium-high speed until it thickens to cloud-like consistency. Set aside.
- In a separate medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sweetened condensed milk and stir to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream until evenly incorporated. Spoon half of the ice cream into your other used bowl. Set aside.
- Line an 8”x4” loaf pan with plastic wrap overhanging on both sides. This will make for easy removal of the ice cream cake from the pan. Spoon 1-1/2 tablespoons of the blueberry sauce into the bottom of the pan and spread out. Spoon the remaining sauce into one of the bowls of ice cream and fold gently to combine. Set aside.
- Add the plain cream cheese ice cream into the pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Next, layer in the blueberry ice cream and smooth out. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the graham cracker crumbs on top of the pan next, patting gently to set them slightly into the ice cream cake. Cover the cake’s bottom with a sheet of plastic wrap and place in the fridge to set up, about 6 hours or overnight. Save the remaining graham cracker crumbs for serving.
- When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap top and flip the cake out onto a plate. Gently wiggle the pan off the cake and plastic wrap lining, removing the lining once able. Slice the cake and serve with additional fresh blueberries and the remaining graham cracker crumble.
1 thought on “Blueberry Ice Cream Cake”
I absolutely love your recipes. I can’t wait to make this for my grandkids. But as I read the instructions, you instructed to refrigerate the finished loaf for six hours. Did you mean for us to “freeze” the loaf for six hours?
Thanks so much…keep up the good work🌹