An ice cream cake with strawberries is the ultimate cake for summer days. It's just perfect with a crunchy pretzel crust, swirls of strawberry jam in the vanilla ice cream and topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
This ice cream cake with strawberries needs to be on the menu every summer. With a combination of vanilla ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream, this means an EPIC summer dessert. The buttery, salty and sweet pretzel crust has the perfect crunch to offset the creamy ice cream. I recently made a batch of my favorite homemade strawberry jam, and it's just a little bit tart and not too sweet.
The swirls of jam in the ice cream are so fun to find in each spoonful. The fresh strawberries and whipped cream are the absolutely ideal bow on top of this incredible dessert. I wanted this to be a nod to one of my other favorite refreshing summer desserts, Strawberry Pretzel Jello.
We tend to get together A LOT with family and friends during the summer. The menu is simple, fresh and with lots of seasonal produce, so this cake is the perfect addition. I love that it is so easy to put together but ends up being a complete showstopper.
Ingredients:
The complete list of ingredients and their exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Pretzel Crust:
- pretzels (mini pretzels or pretzel sticks will work)
- granulated sugar (just enough to sweeten the salty pretzel crust)
- melted butter
Ice Cream Cake:
- vanilla ice cream
- Instead of vanilla ice cream, you can definitely use strawberry ice cream.
- strawberry jam
Toppings:
- fresh strawberries
- whipped cream (heavy cream + powdered sugar + vanilla extract)
Ice Cream Cake With Strawberries Video
How To Make Ice Cream Cake With Strawberries
- Make the pretzel crust.
- Place the pretzels and sugar into a large ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush the pretzels into crumbs. You can also use a food processor. Pulse the pretzels and sugar in a food processor, about 15 pulses, until coarsely chopped. Pour in the melted butter and mix to combine.
- Press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Bake in the preheated oven (350 F) for about 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.
- Assemble the ice cream cake.
- Scoop out the ice cream into a large bowl and mix it with a spoon or with a mixer until it is smooth. It's important to work quickly, so that the ice cream doesn't melt completely.
- Transfer the ice cream to the cake pan, spreading it out over the cooled crust.
- Dollop spoonfuls of the jam over the top of the ice cream.
- Use a butter knife to swirl the jam throughout the ice cream. You can also add some chopped fresh strawberries to the ice cream cake.
- Freeze the ice cream cake until it's completely frozen, about 6 hours.
- Decorate and serve the ice cream cake.
- When you are ready to serve, whip up the heavy cream with powdered sugar using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Take the cake out of the springform pan and place onto a serving plate or cake stand. If you use parchment paper it will be much easier.
- Pipe out the whipped cream around the edges of the cake. I used a Wilton 1M piping tip. I also spread a thin layer of strawberry jam over the surface of the cake as well. Decorate the top of the cake with fresh strawberries
Serving the Ice Cream Cake
Serve immediately, using a very sharp knife to cut the cake, making sure you are cutting all the way through the crust.
To make it even easier to cut, run the knife through really hot water before making the cuts and it will help to keep the slices very clean with a sharp edge.
Store the leftover ice cream cake in the freezer.
Make a Graham Cracker Crust Instead
Instead of the pretzel crust, you can make a graham cracker crust or even a vanilla wafer crust. Switch up the different ice cream flavors and the jam and berries, to make different variations of ice cream cake.
More Strawberry Desserts
Ice Cream Cake with Strawberries
An ice cream cake with strawberries is the ultimate cake for summer days. It's just perfect with a crunchy pretzel crust, swirls of strawberry jam in the vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
- Prep Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 cake
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
Pretzel Crust:
- 4 oz pretzels ((3 cups))
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 8 Tablespoons butter
Ice Cream Cake:
- ½ gallon vanilla ice cream (softened)
- ¾ - 1 cup strawberry jam
- toppings: fresh strawberries
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped with a few Tablespoons of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan with melted butter. You can line the bottom and the edges of the springform pan with parchment paper to make the ice cream cake easier to remove later.
- Place the pretzels and sugar into a large ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush the pretzels into crumbs. You can also use a food processor. Pulse the pretzels and sugar in a food processor, about 15 pulses, until coarsely chopped. There should still be small pieces of pretzel; don’t obliterate the pretzels into sandy crumbs.
- Pour in the melted butter and mix to combine. Press the pretzel mixture into the bottom of the prepared springform pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.
- Scoop out the softened ice cream into a large bowl and mix it with a spoon or with a mixer until it is smooth. It's important to work quickly, so that the ice cream doesn't melt completely. Otherwise, ice crystals could form when you freeze the finished cake.
- Transfer the ice cream to the cake pan, spreading it out over the cooled crust. Ice cream melts really quickly, so if yours has gotten too soft at this point, put it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, before adding the jam.
- Dollop spoonfuls of the jam over the top of the ice cream. Use a butter knife to swirl the jam throughout the ice cream. Place the ice cream cake into the freezer until completely frozen, about 6 hours. (You can also add chopped up strawberries to the vanilla ice cream as well.)
- When you are ready to serve, whip up the heavy cream with powdered sugar using a standing mixer with a whisk attachment or a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Take the cake out of the springform pan and place onto a serving plate or cake stand. If you use parchment paper it will be much easier.
- Pipe out the whipped cream around the edges of the cake. I used a Wilton 1M piping tip. I also spread a thin layer of strawberry jam over the surface of the cake as well. Decorate the top of the cake with fresh strawberries.
- Serve immediately, using a very sharp knife to cut the cake, making sure you are cutting all the way through the crust. To make it even easier to cut, run the knife through really hot water before making the cuts and it will help to keep the slices very clean with a sharp edge.
- Store the leftover ice cream cake in the freezer.
Notes
I used homemade strawberry jam to swirl into the ice cream. It has a thinner consistency than store-bought jam. If your jam is really thick, mix it up first with a whisk or even blend it up in a blender/food processor before dolloping it over the ice cream.
I might be crazy but I think there was the cheesecake part before. What were the ingredients for that?
I see that you mentioned that the cheesecake portion of this cake could be left out, and I have this wonderful idea. I often buy a variety of ice cream here that is so delicious, strawberry cheesecake flavour by Chapman's. It is heaven in a tub and I think it would work so well here and I would totally omit the cheesecake ingredients. I know this recipe is so flexible and it can be made into a real showstopper that everyone will be excited to try. No need to be slaving in hot kitchen for those lovely barbques with a dessert like this.I also think I will opt for a graham wafer crust,since there is also some graham wafer in this ice cream. Would the baking time be the same I wonder? I believe it would be approximately 10-15 minutes but could you please give me your thought on this?
Hi Carol!
Yes, you can definitely make a graham cracker crust instead of the pretzel crust. I usually bake graham cracker crust for 10-15 minutes (about 12 minutes seems to be the sweet spot for me). This cake is so versatile and fun to try different combinations of flavors and ingredients.
Love this. By the way how long can the ice cream cake last in the freezer?
I usually serve it right after making it, but as long as you store it in an airtight container, it should last for at least 1 month. If you don't cover it really well, it will get freezer burned and will absorb odors from the freezer.
This looks divine! We are going to try this! Thanks for the recipe! Pinned it!
Used this recipe for a school project. Turned out beautifully!! Would totally recommend!
Can I use a store bought graham cracker crust instead if the pretzel?
I haven't tried it myself, but it would probably work.
This sounds so delicious! Planning to make it this weekend 🙂 Will let you know how it turns out.
Hi Olga
Can I double the portion for this cake?
If you double the portion, Oksana, you will need to use a bigger cake pan or use 2 cake pans. You can absolutely double it though! The more the better:).
This looks amazing!
Olga, please do a post about cold lunch ideas for husbands. My husband also cannot re-heat his lunch, and packing cold lunches has been a struggle for me, I thought maybe you could share your creativity with us :)) would greatly appreciate it!
Thank you, Yelena.
In regards to the cold lunches, I make VERY boring sandwiches, the same ones all the time - ham and cheese or turkey and cheese, that's it, for my husband. He enjoys the comfort of eating the same things for breakfast/lunch all the time. I will try to come up with a blog post to share ideas for lunches, but that would be something I would eat myself, ha ha, not for him.
Mmm sounds delicious and looks beautiful! Wanna try making it soon.. Thanks olga:)
I hope you enjoy it, Evelyn!
Just pure genius! I think this will be so delicious, and it is also not so complicated, but will taste like a dream. Cannot wait to make it!
That's what I love about this cake - it's so simple. It's the combination of all the right things together:). I'd love to hear what you think once you make it, Carol.
Beautiful, looks yummy!!!!
This sounds like heaven! Making this soon!! I mean ice cream and cheeecake in one sentence is already heaven! Lol!!! Thanks Olga!!!
I hope you will enjoy it:).