Get ready to celebrate with this homemade birthday cake ice cream. With rainbow sprinkles and plenty of cake pieces it's sure to get the party started!
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This birthday cake flavored ice cream combines creamy vanilla ice cream with delicious cake pieces and rainbow sprinkles for a fun and colorful dessert. Perfect for a birthday celebration, or just because!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect for a Birthday party or celebration.
- Make it ahead for easy entertaining.
- A crowd-pleasing dessert loved by kids and kids at heart!
Looking for more fabulous dessert recipes to celebrate with? Why not try making my Oreo ice cream cake, homemade ice cream sundae, rainbow ice cream or cotton candy ice cream. Delicious!
Ingredients
Cake: I used a couple of slices of store-bought sponge cake in this recipe, approx 4 oz (110 gms) in total. You could use a different kind of plain-flavored cake such as vanilla cake or make your own sponge cake, such as the one used in my Lamington recipe.
Rainbow sprinkles: It's not a birthday cake without sprinkles! They add a fun pop of color to this cake. Look for sequins or Jimmies for the best colorfastness.
Granulated sugar: also known as white sugar, is best in this recipe. You could use castor sugar if you prefer.
Thickened cream: I use thickened cream which has a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping or whipping cream which is similar.
Milk: This recipe uses full-fat milk with a fat content of about 3.5%.
Vanilla extract: sometimes also called vanilla essence, depending on where you live. You can use either, or imitation vanilla essence, depending on your preference and budget
Tapioca starch: is a natural and accessible way of both thickening and stabilizing the ice cream. If you can't get tapioca starch you can use arrowroot powder or cornflour in the same volume.
Optional:
Glucose syrup: also called confectioner’s glucose. You can get in from specialty baking shops, online and some supermarkets. A small amount of glucose syrup helps lower the freezer point of ice cream and improves the texture and scoopability of the ice cream.
How to make easy birthday cake ice cream
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Chop the sponge cake for the ice cream and assembly into small pieces. Add the tapioca starch to a small bowl. Measure the milk, then remove about two table spoons to add to the tapioca starch to form a slurry.
Add the milk, cream, sugar and glucose to a small pot. Heat on medium-low, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Add the vanilla, chopped sponge cake for the cake ice cream and tapioca starch slurry. Stir for a minute to allow the sponge to soak up the liquid. Turn off the heat and very carefully blitz with a stick or immersion blender until the sponge cake is well mixed and smooth. Allow to cool, then transfer to a heat-proof container. Cover and chill in the fridge for at least four hours.
Once the ice cream mix has chilled put your ice cream storage container in the freezer to chill. If you are using a self-refrigerating ice cream machine turn it on about ten minutes before churning, otherwise take your bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
Churn the sponge cake ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done. Working quickly layer the churned ice cream to the chilled container with the rest of the chopped-up cake and handfuls of sprinkles. So ice cream, cake/sprinkles, ice cream etc. Aim for about three layers, finishing off with a layer of cake and sprinkles on top. Cover and freeze for approx. four hours, or until firm.
How to serve
To serve this birthday cake ice cream flavor, remove from the freezer, dust with some extra rainbow sprinkles and cake crumbs, dig in and enjoy!
How to store
This ice cream infused with birthday cake will store well in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two weeks. After that it may start to become a little icy, but it will still taste delicious!
Recipe tips and frequently asked questions
What is birthday cake ice cream?
Birthday cake flavored ice cream is made of vanilla ice cream with birthday cake mixed in. The birthday cake is usually a plain colored cake such as a yellow cake or sponge, with fun rainbow-colored sprinkles mixed through!
What is the blue stuff in birthday cake ice cream?
The blue stuff is usually blue frosting similar to what you would find on a birthday cake, that's been swirled through the ice cream.
What is cake batter vs. birthday cake ice cream?
Cake batter ice cream is usually made with cake mix to give that cake flavor. The mix is added dry without the eggs etc. used to make up the batter before baking it into a cake. The problem with this, as I explained in my cookie dough ice cream recipe, is that uncooked flour can make you unwell.
Birthday cake ice cream on the other hand may or make not contain cake mix, but the safest and easiest way to get that wonderful cake flavor is to add pieces of fully cooked cake pieces. All the flavor, without the potential nasties!
What sort of sprinkles should I use?
Excellent question. For the cleanest colors with the least color run I recommend using sequin sprinkles, sometimes also called confetti sprinkles. After extensive testing I found these to have the best colorfastness. But they can be quite firm and not everyone likes the texture of these.
The next best option is regular jimmies, the classic rod-shaped sprinkles. They are less colorfast but less hard and arguably nicer to eat in the ice cream.
I don't recommend using the small, spherical sprinkles, sometimes called nonpareils or hundreds and thousands. The color runs really easily and will turn your ice cream into an unpleasant muddy color!
What sort of cake should I use?
Any plain flavored and colored cake will work, such as yellow cake, sponge cake or even angel. You could experiment with other flavors but they will give a different color tint to the ice cream.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
Looking for more yummy dessert recipes?
Why not try making
- Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
- Cookie Dough Ice Cream
- Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
- Chunkey Monkey Ice Cream
- Pistachio Ice Cream
Follow me on Facebook or Pinterest for many more delicious recipes.
📋 Recipe
Birthday Cake Ice Cream
Equipment
- ice cream maker
- stick/immersion blender
Ingredients
For the cake ice cream
- 1 cup (250mls) full cream milk
- 2 teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch
- 2 cups cream
- ½ cup (110gms) white sugar
- 1 & ¼ teaspoons (10gms) glucose syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 slice (2oz /55gms) sponge cake
For assembling the ice cream
- 1 slice (2oz /55gms) sponge cake
- ½ cup (95gms) rainbow sprinkles such as confetti or sequins
Instructions
- Cut up the cake for the ice cream into pieces. Finely chop the cake for assembling the ice cream.
- Measure the milk. Measure the tapioca starch. Add two tables spoons of the measured milk and mix to form a slurry.
- Add the milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup to a small pot on the stove. Heat on medium, stirring until the sugar and glucose syrup is dissolved. Add the tapioca starch slurry and mix well. Turn off the heat.
- Add the vanilla and cake. Allow to soak for a few minutes. Very carefully blend with a stick/immersion blender until smooth.
- Transfer to a heatproof container and chill, ideally for at least four hours and upto over night.
- Put your storage container in the freezer to chill.
- If you have a self refrigerating ice cream machine turn it on about ten minutes before churning, other wise take your freezer bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
- Remove the ice cream mix from the fridge and churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done.
- Working quickly, add the churned ice cream to the chilled container, adding handfuls of sprinkles and cake crumbs as you go.
- Cover and freeze for at least four hours, or until firm.
- To serve remove from the freezer, add some extra sprinkles, dig in and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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