Vegan Ice Cream Cake

• cool and refreshing with a lemony twist.
• easy to make with a few basic ingredients.
• a hit for summer picnics and birthday parties!

• Vegan Ice Cream - You can use your favorite brand of vegan ice cream. I like to use Trader Joe's brand vanilla ice cream for this cake since it's rich and creamy, reasonably priced, and comes in a large 32 oz. container.
• Lemons - You will need two medium-sized fresh lemons, you will need both the juice and the zest. You could swap this out with limes if you want or see flavor variations below.
• Graham Crackers or Sandwich Cookies - You will need about 15 graham crackers or about 20 sandwich cookies like Oreos for the crumb bottom of the cake. You can use the cookie crumb crust from my vegan Oreo cheesecake if you want.
• Vegan Butter - Use any vegan margarine that you like or use my vegan butter recipe. I don't recommend swapping this with coconut oil since it will become too hard when frozen.
• Fruit - Any fruit or berries that you wish to decorate on the top of the ice cream cake.

Additional options

• Vegan Frosting
• Aquafaba Whipped Cream
• Vegan Whipped Cream Frosting - this is a cross between frosting and whipped cream.
• Vegan Sprinkles - be sure to look for sprinkles that do not contain confectioners glaze.

• A Mixer - For mixing the ice cream and lemon. This is not absolutely necessary, but it does make it quicker and easier.
• A 9" X 13" baking dish - to form the cake in. You can also use a springform pan and make the cake round.
• Zester - for zesting the lemons

• Let the ice cream sit out on the countertop at room temperature for about 1/2 hour until it becomes soft, but not runny. (Time will vary depending on the temperature of your house and the size of the ice cream containers).
• While the ice cream is softening, make the crumb crust.

• Crush the graham crackers (or cookies) by putting them in a zip lock bag and hitting them with a wooden spoon until they are crumb size. You can also put them in a food processor and pulse them a few times until they are ground up.
• Pour the graham crackers into the bottom of the baking dish. Then drizzle them with 1/2 cup of melted butter.
• Mix the graham crackers, and butter well, then press it firmly to the bottom of the dish and place in the fridge.

• Scoop the softened ice cream into a mixing bowl and add the zest and juice of 2 fresh lemons and then use a mixer to blend the lemon juice with the ice cream.

• Spread the blended ice cream over the crumb crust and smooth it out until it is even.

• Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 4-5 hours until the ice cream is firm again. (I like to make it a day ahead and freeze it overnight.)

• Top it with sliced berries or fruit or decorate it with vegan whipped cream, frosting, or sprinkles just before serving.
• Allow it to warm up for 5-15 minutes before serving so that the ice cream becomes soft enough to cut into pieces.

• Just allow the ice cream to soften to the point where it can be blended, not so much that it is melted.
• Place the fruit on top just before serving. If you freeze it with the ice cream, it will become too hard.
• Cut with a large sharp knife and push down firmly. If it is too frozen to cut, wait a few minutes and try again.

If you need a gluten-free vegan ice cream cake, be sure to use gluten-free cookies for the crumb crust or you can use my gluten-free vegan graham cracker crust recipe.

This recipe is for a refreshing lemony ice cream cake, but if you want other flavors, you can change it up by omitting the lemon juice and zest and using any flavor of ice cream that you want.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake - use the crust from my vegan Oreo cheesecake and sprinkle in about 10 crushed Oreos into the softened ice cream.

Funfetti Ice Cream Cake - Use vanilla or Funfetti Oreos for the crumb crust layer, and mix 1/3 cup of rainbow sprinkles into the softened ice cream.

You can also swirl in vegan salted caramel, vegan butterscotch sauce, peanut butter caramel, or chocolate syrup.

Keep the vegan ice cream cake in the freezer until about 15 minutes until you want to serve it. If you cover it well in plastic wrap so that no air is getting to it, it should keep well for up to a month.

You can refreeze leftover cake for up to 1 month if kept air-tight.

• Vegan Grasshopper Pie
• Aquafaba Icecream
• Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana Bites
• Vegan Rice Krispie Treats
• Vegan Freezer Fudge
• Vegan S'mores Pie

📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!

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