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 10 minutes. Cool completely. You can technically skip this part and just chill the pretzel crust instead of baking. However, I think the flavor of the crust tastes so much better after the pretzels and butter bake together. It’s absolutely delicious. I highly recommend baking the crust.
Transfer the ice cream to the cake pan, spreading it out over the 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 cream cheese and jam. 
Dollop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture and the jam over the top of the ice cream. I used my own homemade strawberry jam, which isn’t as sweet and isn’t too stiff. If you use jam that is vey sweet, you may want to use a little bit less jam for the cake, so it won’t be too cloyingly sweet. Also, if the jam is too thick, warm it in the microwave just until it softens. 
Use a butter knife to swirl the cream cheese and the jam throughout the ice cream. You can also add some chopped fresh strawberries to 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.
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The perfect cake for summer days – an ice cream cake with a crunchy pretzel crust, swirls of cheesecake and strawberry jam in the vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Scale
Ingredients
Pretzel Crust:
- 4 oz pretzels ((3 cups))
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 8 Tablespoons butter
Ice Cream Cake:
- 4 oz cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (softened)
- 3/4 – 1 cup strawberry jam
- toppings: fresh strawberries
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped with a few Tablespoons of powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan with melted butter. Line the edges of the springform pan with parchment paper.
- 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 10 minutes. Cool completely.
- You can technically skip this part and just chill the pretzel crust instead of baking. However, I think the flavor of the crust tastes so much better after the pretzels and butter bake together. It’s absolutely delicious. I highly recommend baking the crust.
- Mix the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth, using a standing mixer or a handheld mixer.
- 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. Otherwise, ice crystals could form when you freeze the finished cake.
- Transfer the ice cream to the cake pan, spreading it out over the 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 cream cheese and jam.
- Dollop spoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture and the jam over the top of the ice cream. Use a butter knife to swirl the cream cheese and the jam throughout the ice cream. Place the ice cream cake into the freezer until completely frozen, about 6 hours.
- 1When 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.
- 1Take 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.
- 1Pipe 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.
Vitaliya
This sounds like heaven! Making this soon!! I mean ice cream and cheeecake in one sentence is already heaven! Lol!!! Thanks Olga!!!
olgak7
I hope you will enjoy it:).
vera
Beautiful, looks yummy!!!!
Carol
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!
olgak7
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.
Evelyn
Mmm sounds delicious and looks beautiful! Wanna try making it soon.. Thanks olga:)
olgak7
I hope you enjoy it, Evelyn!
Yelena
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!
olgak7
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.
Oksana
Hi Olga
Can I double the portion for this cake?
olgak7
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:).
Carina Z.
This sounds so delicious! Planning to make it this weekend 🙂 Will let you know how it turns out.
★★★★★
Abby
Can I use a store bought graham cracker crust instead if the pretzel?
olgak7
I haven’t tried it myself, but it would probably work.
Mackenzie
Used this recipe for a school project. Turned out beautifully!! Would totally recommend!
★★★★★