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–+ servings
carrot cake covered in white frosting and cinnamon.
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5 from 6 votes

Carrot Cake Ice Cream Cake

My favorite carrot cake recipe with a cream cheese ice cream layer and topped with cream cheese whipped topping! The perfect cake for spring!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time40 minutes
Chill Time4 hours
Total Time5 hours 40 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 482kcal
Author: Dorothy Kern
Cost: 9

Ingredients

For the Ice Cream:

  • ½ (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (just over ½ cup)
  • 4 ounces (113g) cream cheese
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

For the Cake:

  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil
  • 4 ounces unsweetened applesauce (by weight; just under half cup)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 heaping cup shredded carrots from about 2 med/large carrots
  • ½ cup chopped pecans optional

For Frosting:

  • 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons (21g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Chopped pecans optional

Instructions

Ice Cream:

  • Beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
  • Beat cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth with a hand mixer. Beat in sweetened condensed milk. Switch to a wooden spoon or spatula and stir in vanilla. Fold in whipped cream.
  • Line an 8-inch round cake pan with plastic wrap, making sure some of it hangs over the sides. Place ice cream in the prepared pan. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make the Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one or two 8-inch cake pans.
  • Stir together eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Stir in sugars. Add salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and stir until they are just mixed in. Add flour and stir until smooth. Stir in pecans (if using) and carrots.
  • Pour batter evenly into pan(s).
  • Bake for 20-40 minutes (depending on number of pans and pan size) until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool completely before removing from pans.

Assemble the Cake

  • Add cold heavy cream to a large bowl and whip until stiff peaks form, adding in powdered sugar and vanilla during mixing.
  • If you used one cake pan, torte the cake by cutting it in half horizontally. Place one half on the cake plate.
  • Remove ice cream from pan and remove plastic; place it on top the cake layer. Top with second cake layer.
  • Do a thin layer of frosting all over the cake (the "crumb coat") to pick up any stray crumbs. Freeze at least one hour.
  • Do a second coat of frosting, thicker, over the first coat. Decorate as desired. Optional: add some chopped toasted pecans to the outside of the cake.
  • Serve immediately or freeze. Once the frosting is frozen you can cover the cake with plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to a month.

Video

Notes

  • Cake layers and ice cream can be frozen separately up to a month before assembling cake. Freeze cake layers well wrapped in plastic wrap.
  • If you prefer, substitute two 8-ounce containers cool whip in place of the 2 cups heavy whipping cream in the ice cream.
  • You can make the cake in one 8x3-inch round cake pan (3-inch sides; the cake gets tall) or two 8-inch round pans. You can also use one 9-inch round pan or two 6-inch round pans.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 1902IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg