We can’t stop thinking about nostalgic summer treats — like those strawberry shortcake bars — and we wanted to give the idea a celebratory twist. Meet the birthday cake ice cream bar: cake-batter ice cream coated in rainbow cake crumbs. It’s playful, colorful, and exactly what a birthday popsicle should be.
Birthday Cake Ice Cream Bars
Servings:
12
to 16 Ice Cream Bars, depending on mold size
12
to 16 Ice Cream Bars, depending on mold size
Ingredients
- Store-bought cake batter ice cream or homemade (recipe below)
- For homemade cake batter ice cream:
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup white or yellow boxed cake mix
- 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles
- For the rainbow cake crumbles:
- 1 box white cake mix (plus ingredients listed on the box)
- Food coloring (assorted colors)
Instructions
- For the ice cream: Whisk together the milk, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, heavy cream, and cake mix (do not add sprinkles yet) in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture reaches 160°F. Let cool, then chill in the refrigerator until very cold (about an hour).
- Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions. Gently fold in the sprinkles after churning.
- Fill popsicle molds with the cake batter ice cream, insert wooden sticks, and freeze overnight or until very firm.
- For the cake crumbles: Butter and flour a 13×9-inch baking dish. Prepare the white cake batter according to the boxed directions.
- Divide the batter evenly into six small bowls and tint each with a different food coloring (for example: hot pink, purple, blue, lime green, yellow, and orange).
- Spoon the colored batters into the baking dish in a rough ROYGBIV order. It doesn’t need to be perfect; aim to place similar colors next to each other so they blend nicely.
- Bake according to the box directions. Once cooled, gently crumble the cake into rainbow crumbs. Take care not to overmix the crumbs to preserve the distinct color pockets.
- To assemble: Place the cake crumbs in a shallow dish. Remove one ice cream bar from the mold at a time — running the bottom of the mold under warm water and sliding a knife along the inner edge can help release them. Small imperfections are fine; the crumbs will cover them.
- Immediately press each ice cream bar into the cake crumbs, coating completely. Place coated bars on a parchment-lined baking sheet and return to the freezer. Repeat until all bars are coated.
Photos by Jeff Mindell | Recipe by Theresa Rountree
Stick a candle in one of these and you’ve got the perfect birthday treat.