Ice cream and cake are my favorite desserts. I never pass up a chance to serve my cake a la mode, and I enjoy making and eating each dessert separately. But my favorite technique for mixing the two is to simply mix them: fold large pieces of cake into just-churned ice cream.
Do not worry about suggesting someone bake a cake for an ice cream subrecipe—even I would think it extravagant. Instead, I suggest freezing the tops of the layer cakes we make for holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions. Cake crumbs are a cheap and entertaining addition to ice cream, and any home cook worth their salt will have an abundance of them on hand.
You probably don’t understand “cake scraps.” Unless you use serrated knives to level cake layers. Perhaps you do and those scraps are your favorite snack. The second group doesn’t need to cut back on cake desires because only one cake dome makes enough ice cream topping.
I must pause for a brief public service announcement on behalf of those who do not even attempt to level their cake layers.
We use a serrated knife to level a chocolate cake
The word “doming” describes the little protrusion in the center of the cake that rises slowly away from the edges of the circular pan. While a little doming is typical, a large dome indicates that your formula or process is flawed. If you level off the dome with a serrated knife, the cake layers will stack neatly without buckling in the middle, as the top layer cracks due to the unevenness of the dome underneath it.
Not only do you get to feel accomplished and enjoy a neatly stacked cake, but those leftover cake tops also have a culinary purpose. You can use them to experiment with buttercream, adding or subtracting salt and aromatics as you go. You shouldn’t add buttercream to a layer cake without adjusting it, just like you wouldn’t put ragù and béchamel to lasagna bolognese without tasting them.
Additionally, removing the heavy top crust allows the light, airy cake inside to absorb more of the frosting’s moisture and taste. In the end, everyone benefits from the prospect of making ice cream from cake scraps. It doesn’t happen instantly after I bake the cake, but it happens eventually.
Throwing my cake leftovers into a freezer-safe bag is all it takes to make this ice cream a reality; they’ll gladly wait in the freezer for up to six months. Those frozen leftovers will be perfect for crumbling into a bowl of cold, just-churned ice cream when the time comes.
Chocolate cakes have frozen frosting
There is no exact science to it; rather, it is a matter of personal preference regarding the texture you desire in the final scoops. I prefer to retain some big pieces while breaking up the rest to create a ribbon of crumbs. Add more cake pieces and stir with a spatula until the ice cream reaches your desired consistency, whatever that may be.
An aerial view shows ice cream being churned, with a bag of cake remnants set aside on the side.
As I indicated before, the key is to manually fold the cake crumbs into the ice cream. The dasher will rapidly blend the ingredients into a uniform mush if added to the ice cream while it is still in the machine. The result will be less ice cream than the sugary paste you might find on a small child’s plate after a birthday party, where the cake and ice cream are mashed together using a plastic fork.
For example, you can make hazelnut ice cream with pumpkin cake tops, roasted cherry ice cream with crumbled gingerbread, or Meyer lemon ice cream with blackberry cake scraps. Folding the cake pieces into the ice cream by hand keeps the two flavors delightfully distinct. The possibilities are practically endless.
In my cookbook, you’ll find cream cheese ice cream topped with carrot cake, but right now I’m feeling the cookies-and-cream vibes from Devil’s Food Cake and fior di latte gelato.
They serve two scoops of leftover cake-based ice cream on a frosted plate
Because the cake scraps will be sweet, you may need to add a little more salt to the ice cream base in some recipes. Putting a ribbon on top of the ice cream will take this to a whole new level.
On the other hand, you might not need to make that kind of change when one component has a bitter taste, like espresso, chocolate, or foxy caramel. If you aren’t sure how much seasoning to add to the cold ice cream base, try spooning some over some frozen cake.
A bowl held a spoonful of cake ice cream
Therefore, the next time you’re baking a cake, pay close attention to the directions for leveling the tops. Follow the instructions to make the most beautiful and delicious cake ever. Save the conserved toppings for another treat, or use them as inspiration for your own unique ice cream flavor.
