These delicious Ice Cream Cake Pops have ice cream in the center, coated with cake crumbs, and topped with a chocolate shell and sprinkles!
Surprise your family with these fun treats! Ice cream cake pops are easy to make, but they are time-consuming due to the chilling time required between steps. Once you take a bite, you’ll know that they are totally worth it!
Tonia’s Notes
My family loves ice cream cake, and we have had many DQ cakes for birthday parties. So I decided to try combining cake pops and ice cream! I tested different recipes and methods to get them just the way I wanted them. And we got to enjoy all of the versions!
At first, I wanted them to be similar to DQ ice cream cakes. So, I combined chocolate fudge ice cream topping and crushed Oreos and added a dollop to the ice cream. However, I found that the added time and ingredients didn’t make that big of a difference. It’s easier to buy an ice cream that has chocolate, caramel, or candy in it.
I also found that the cake pop part of these treats doesn’t require frosting since the ice cream has enough moisture to hold the crumbs together. The crumbs next to the ice cream turn into a delicious fudgy consistency!
How To Make Ice Cream Cake Pops
Cake Crumbs
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Beat the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs for two minutes. Pour into a greased 9×13-inch pan. Bake the cake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely, and then crumble the cooled cake in a large bowl. One cake made about 8 cups of crumbs, which is enough for 50 pops. If you want to make less, you can use the remaining crumbs for another purpose.
Ice Cream
Use a small #100 (2 teaspoons) dough scoop to scoop the ice cream. Coat the ice cream scoop with cake crumbs, gently press/squeeze them onto the ice cream, and immediately place them in a chilled pan in the freezer as you make them. Allow the ice cream cake balls to harden. The amount of time it will take for them to harden will depend on how cold your freezer is. You can even cover the pan and leave them in the freezer overnight. If you try dipping one and it starts to fall apart, they need more time in the freezer.
Make The Coating
Prepare the coating by placing the semi-sweet or white chocolate chips (plus bright pink candy melts if making the pink coating) and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute, stir, and continue microwaving in 15-second intervals, stirring each time, until smooth.
Add The Toppings
Remove an ice cream cake ball from the freezer, roll/press it between your hands to smooth out the cake crumbs, and insert a lollipop stick. Or for a faster option, skip the sticks and just make the ice cream cake balls. Then, dip it in the prepared coating, allow the excess to drip off, immediately sprinkle with your chosen garnish, and return it to the freezer.
Chocolate Ice Cream Cake Pops
Chocolate ice cream cake pops have creamy chocolate ice cream in the center, coated with tender chocolate cake crumbs, and topped with a chocolate shell and colorful sprinkles!
This is my favorite flavor! They would be so much fun for birthday parties and celebrations. Wrap each one with plastic wrap or put them in cellophane bags and add a colorful ribbon.
Oreo Ice Cream Cake Pops
These Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Cake Pops include Oreo ice cream in the middle, covered with white cake crumbs, and coated in a white chocolate shell and Oreo crumbs.
This version is for the Oreo fans like my husband, Brian! There are Oreos in the ice cream and sprinkled on top. You can also mix crushed Oreo cookies into the cake crumbs for added Oreo flavor.
Strawberry Ice Cream Cake Pops
Our Strawberry Ice Cream Cake Pops feature strawberry ice cream in the middle, covered with strawberry cake crumbs, topped with a pink shell and white sprinkles.
This version is perfect for girls’ birthday parties and bridal showers. Wrapping each one individually makes it easy to store them until the celebration. You could also create a blue version for boys’ birthday parties, using blue ice cream and a blue-tinted vanilla cake with blue candy melts for the coating.
Recipe Tips
- Make Ahead: Since these take several steps to prepare, you’ll need to plan ahead to make them for a party or celebration.
- Freezer: Once the ice cream cake pops have hardened, you can transfer them to a freezer bag or an airtight container and store them in the freezer. If you make multiple flavors, store them in separate bags to keep the flavors and colors separate. You can also wrap each one individually before storing it.
- Additional Flavor Combos: Try using Funfetti cake and cake batter ice cream, marshmallow ice cream with chocolate cake and graham cracker crumbs on top, caramel ice cream with vanilla cake and chopped nuts on top.
- Outer Shell: For the best results, use a dark coating for dark cakes; otherwise, the cake might show through the shell.
- Sprinkles: Adding sprinkles or another topping, such as cookie crumbs or chopped nuts, helps hide any imperfections in the coating.
More Ice Cream Treats
Summer is here, and we want to enjoy all of the cool ice cream treats! Here are a few of our favorite homemade versions to try.
Ice Cream Cake Pops
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz cake mix chocolate, white, or strawberry
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 quart ice cream chocolate, cookies 'n cream, or strawberry
- 4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or white chocolate chips (add ½ cup bright pink candy melts for pink version)
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup nonpareils sprinkles or crushed Oreos
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Beat the cake mix, water, oil, and eggs for two minutes. Pour into a greased 9×13-inch pan. Bake the cake at 350˚F for 30-35 minutes. Cool completely and then crumble the cooled cake in a large bowl.
- Use a small #100 (2 teaspoons) dough scoop to scoop the ice cream. Coat the ice cream scoop with cake crumbs, gently press/squeeze them onto the ice cream, and immediately place them in a chilled pan in the freezer as you make them. Allow the ice cream cake balls to harden in the freezer for 3-4 hours, or overnight, depending on your freezer.
- Prepare the coating by putting the chocolate chips (add bright pink candy melts if making the pink coating) in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the coconut oil and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir and continue microwaving in 15-second intervals, stirring each time, until smooth.
- Remove an ice cream cake ball from the freezer, roll it between your hands to smooth out the cake crumbs, and insert a lollipop stick. Then, dip it in the prepared coating, allow the excess to drip off, immediately sprinkle with your chosen garnish, and return it to the freezer.
- Once the ice cream cake pops have hardened, you can transfer them to a freezer bag or an airtight container and store them in the freezer. If you make multiple flavors, store them in separate bags to keep the colors and flavors separate. You can also wrap each one individually before storing it.
