This ice cream sandwich cake is different from others because of its special middle layer of smooth fudge and crunchy Oreos (similar to the Dairy Queen ice cream cake that we all love so much)! Note: Make sure to allow enough time for the cake to chill before serving! See more below. If you’re in a time crunch, you may prefer this peanut buster parfait!
If you saw my son’s Nautical Birthday party, then you probably noticed the ice cream bar that I incorporated. Ice cream is the perfect summer treat for a party or just as an easy dessert idea; not to mention an ice cream birthday party!
Post originally published in June 2015, and updated May 2023.
No-bake desserts are a popular treat during the summer so you’re not heating up the kitchen. This ice cream sandwich cake is one that can be made easily (with enough time in advance) that everyone seems to love. If you don’t want to work with ice cream though, this no-bake strawberry icebox cake is a great option!
If you’re craving Oreo ice cream desserts but don’t have enough time to make a cake, you’ll also love this cookies and cream milkshake which uses similar ingredients.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Similar to Dairy Queen’s Ice Cream Cake: If you love the popular ice cream cake, but don’t want to try to make that extensive cake, this recipe is similar, using ice cream sandwiches to make it so much easier!
- Crunchy cookie layer: An ice cream sandwich cake is delicious anyway but when you add the buttery, crispy Oreo cookie crumbs layer in the fudge layer, it takes it to a whole new level.
- Kid-friendly recipe: If you love the kids helping you in the kitchen, this is the perfect recipe to have them get involved with. They’ll be so excited to see the progress of the steps, and of course, eat the finished result.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
The ingredients for this recipe are basic, and you should be able to find them at your local grocery store.
- Ice cream – I had never been a fan of ice cream until I had a “good” ice cream. I would usually buy the off-brands until I had Tillamook, and now I’m hooked. But any good brand of chocolate ice cream will do!
- Corn Syrup – The corn syrup is used to give that ganache/chocolate layer a shine and to help the crushed Oreo cookies stick to one another.
- Butter – the butter helps toast the cookie crumbs in the oven, so they don’t get soggy in the ice cream cake, so they maintain their crunch.
📖 Substitutions
If you find that you need to substitute any ingredients because you don’t have them, or need to for dietary reasons, here are some suggestions that can help:
- Butter – you can use salted or unsalted
- Vanilla extract – this isn’t mandatory and you can leave this out if needed but if you have it, I highly recommend adding it to the ganache.
- Toppings – we love crushing more Oreos (in larger pieces) to sprinkle on top but feel free to use other toppings such as sprinkles, chocolate syrup (or more ganache), chocolate chips, etc.
- Chocolate ice cream – if you prefer vanilla or a different flavor of ice cream, you can substitute this for chocolate.
- Cool Whip – you can make your own whipped cream if you prefer that over Cool Whip.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make an Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
There is a process to making this ice cream cake but it’s an easy process!
This is broken into 3 components:
- make Oreo crunchies
- prepare ganache
- build ice cream cake
I suggest making the cookie crumbs and the ganache first, so they both have time to cool before adding to the ice cream cake layers. Then, set any extra Oreos aside for the topping if you’d like, or to even save them to make Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Pancakes tomorrow morning!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Before starting: Preheat your oven to 350° F. and remove chocolate ice cream and Cool Whip from the freezer so it begins to soften slightly to make spreading easier.
STEP 1. Crush Oreos and add to butter. Crush about 10 Oreos, to get about 1 cup of crushed crumbs. In a small bowl, mix with melted butter (Image 1).
STEP 2. Bake cookie crumbs. Spread buttery Oreo crumbs on a baking sheet that’s covered with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for 6-7 minutes (Image 2).
STEP 3. Make ganache. In a small, microwavable bowl, add chocolate chips, corn syrup, and vanilla (Image 3).
STEP 4. Heat heavy cream. Next, warm your heavy cream until just boiling, and then pour over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes and then whisk until smooth, chocolate ganache forms (Image 4).
Tip: Allow the ganache to sit and cool while making the first layer of ice cream sandwiches and chocolate ice cream. If your ganache hardens, you can microwave it for about 30 seconds to smooth it out again.
STEP 5. First layer. In a loaf pan, add parchment paper to completely cover the pan. (You want to do this so when the entire cake is frozen, it’s easy to pull up out of the pan, to slice.) Make sure the entire loaf pan is covered with paper before filling. Add 5 ice cream sandwiches on top of parchment paper (Image 5).
NOTE: Depending on the size of your loaf pan, you may want to trim your sandwiches to fit in the pan better, or you can scrunch them down to fit (this is what I do).
STEP 6. Add chocolate ice cream layer. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir chocolate ice cream until it is smooth enough to spread on top of the ice cream sandwiches, and then freeze loaf pan of ice cream for 20 minutes (Image 6).
STEP 7. Add ganache. Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and pour on cooled ganache on top of the chocolate ice cream, and then freeze for about 10 minutes. (Image 7).
STEP 8. Add crunchies. Sprinkle on the crushed, baked Oreo cookie crumbs on top of the fudgy layer and then freeze for 2 hours (Image 8).
STEP 9. Add 2nd ice cream sandwich layer. Next, add 5 more ice cream sandwiches on top of the crunchy cookie layer (Image 9).
STEP 10. Top with Cool Whip. Spread Cool Whip layer on top of the ice cream sandwiches (Image 10).
STEP 11. Garnish with Oreos. If desired, crush (in to small pieces) about 4-5 Oreo cookies and sprinkle on top of ice cream sandwich cake. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3-4 hours (or overnight to be safe) until cake is fully frozen and thick enough to slice (Image 11).
STEP 12. Slice and serve. Remove the cake from the loaf pan by grabbing parchment paper and lifting it out. Peel the parchment paper from the sides of the cake and slice.
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Warm knife. When the ice cream cake is so frozen, it helps to warm your knife under hot water before slicing. This makes slicing a lot easier.
- Slice only at serving. Slice as needed, rather than slicing the entire cake at once. This will help keep the cake from thawing out too quickly and makes storing leftover cake easier.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Do not slice the cake until serving. This makes it easier to store. You can place the ice cream cake back in the parchment paper and back in to the loaf pan if desired. Or, you can wrap the cake in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. (Make sure it’s fully wrapped so if it does thaw a bit, it will not leak.)
Yes absolutely. Feel free to use your favorite flavors to mix things up in this recipe.
🍰 More Summer Recipes You’ll Love
If you love no bake desserts like this one for the summer months, you’ll also love these reader favorites:
Recipe
Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
Equipment
- loaf pan
- parchment paper
- mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 10 ice cream sandwiches
- 24 ounces chocolate ice cream
Oreo Crunchy Layer
- 10 Oreo cookies
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
Chocolate Ganache Layer
- 3 Tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup heavy cream
Topping
- 8 ounces Cool Whip
- 5 Oreo cookies
- cherries if desired
Instructions
Prep:
- Before starting: Preheat your oven to 350° F. and remove chocolate ice cream and Cool Whip from the freezer so it begins to soften slightly to make spreading easier.
Crunchy Cookie Layer:
- Crush Oreos and add to butter. Crush about 10 Oreos, to get about 1 cup of crushed crumbs. In a small bowl, mix with melted butter.
- Bake cookie crumbs. Spread buttery Oreo crumbs on a baking sheet that's covered with parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for 6-7 minutes.
Make Ganache:
- Make ganache. In a small, microwavable bowl, add chocolate chips, corn syrup, and vanilla.
- Heat heavy cream. Next, warm your heavy cream until just boiling, and then pour over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes and then whisk until smooth, chocolate ganache forms.
Build Ice Cream Cake:
- First layer. In a loaf pan, add parchment paper to completely cover the pan. (You want to do this so when the entire cake is frozen, it's easy to pull up out of the pan, to slice.) Make sure the entire loaf pan is covered with paper before filling. Add 5 ice cream sandwiches on top of parchment paper.
- Add chocolate ice cream layer. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir chocolate ice cream until it is smooth enough to spread on top of the ice cream sandwiches, and then freeze loaf pan of ice cream for 20 minutes.
- Add ganache. Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and pour on cooled ganache on top of the chocolate ice cream, and then freeze for about 10 minutes.
- Add crunchies. Sprinkle on the crushed, baked Oreo cookie crumbs on top of the fudgy layer and then freeze for 2 hours.
- Add 2nd ice cream sandwich layer. Next, add 5 more ice cream sandwiches on top of the crunchy cookie layer.
- Top with Cool Whip. Spread Cool Whip layer on top of the ice cream sandwiches.
- Garnish with Oreos. If desired, crush (in to small pieces) about 4-5 Oreo cookies and sprinkle on top of ice cream sandwich cake. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3-4 hours (or overnight to be safe) until cake is fully frozen and thick enough to slice.
- Slice and serve. Remove the cake from the loaf pan by grabbing parchment paper and lifting it out. Peel the parchment paper from the sides of the cake and slice.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Carolyn West says
I can almost taste it from the photos. What a fun idea to get the kids involved in making something for themselves this summer. It’s already steaming hot hear in California so this sounds perfect. #client
Jessica says
Oh man! Steaming hot! I need to come visit! I love some sunshine without the Missouri humidity! LOL! Thanks for dropping a note Carolyn!