Easy celebration ice-cream cake 5 ways

What I am about to show you will rock your world.

For reals.

This is the easiest dessert in the history of mankind. It tastes incredible. It also looks ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS and is guaranteed to draw “oohs” and “aahs” from your guests, making it the perfect centrepiece for any special occasion, from Christmas to New Year’s to birthdays.

And yet – get this – it requires ZERO cake-decorating ability.

Once you know the secret of this life-altering dessert, YOU can add whatever you like to the mix. It’s dead easy to change, and I’m going to give you five ideas for how to do so.

But first… the three-step method for making your lazy-girl’s ice-cream cake.

3-STEP ICE-CREAM CAKE METHOD:

1. Allow 2L ice-cream to soften slightly.

2. Add ingredients of choice and mix well.

3. Freeze in a spring-form pan lined with cling wrap.

… Aaaaaaand that’s it. Told you it was easy! In a minute I’ll give you a list of ideas for ingredients to add at step 2 – but really, you’re only limited by your imagination.

The topping is what makes this dessert a real show-stopper. To make the decoration pictured, turn out your ice-cream cake on a cake stand. Take some ready-made mini meringue nests and place them on top of the cake to roughly cover the centre, leaving some room at the edges. Pile halved strawberries, blueberries and raspberries over the meringues. Drizzle the whole thing with ice magic (or melted chocolate if you don’t want to cheat), and let the chocolate dribble down the sides of the cake.

The meringues give a great sense of height with zero effort or skill required. Literally just plonk them on and pile the fruit messily over the top. That’s all there is to it.

So what ingredients do you add in at step 2? Here are 5 ideas, as well as ideas for how to decorate the top to match the cake.

The first has the most ingredients – but it’s also completely delicious. Keep this in your recipe file for next Christmas!

1. Christmas ice-cream cake

Step 2: Melt 125g dark chocolate. Add 40g glace cherries (halved), 40g mixed peel (finely chopped), 50g sultanas, 50g raisins (chopped), 50g dates (chopped), 30g currants, 1 tbs brandy or rum, 2 tsp mixed spice and 100g toasted slivered almonds. Fold this chocolate fruit/nut mixture into the ice-cream and mix well.

Decorate as pictured.

2. Cherry coconut ice-cream cake

Step 2: Add 2x 50g cherry-ripe bars (chopped), half a cup of dessicated coconut, 60g glace cherries (halved), and 1 tbs brandy if desired.

Topping: Top with meringues, ice magic (or melted chocolate) and whole fresh cherries with stems.

3. Honeycomb ice-cream cake

Step 2: Add 2x 50g Violet Crumble bars (or any other chocolate-coated honeycomb), chopped. Set a bit aside for a garnish.

Topping: Pile with choc-coated honeycomb chunks and strawberries. Drizzle with ice magic (or melted chocolate) and sprinkle with reserved chopped honeycomb pieces.

4. Oreo ice-cream cake

Step 2: Add a packet of crushed Oreos.

Topping: Pile with whole Oreos, whole strawberries, ice magic or melted chocolate, and white chocolate shavings.

5. Baileys ice-cream cake

Step 2: Add 3 tbs Baileys (or to taste), and about 2 cups of roughly chopped maltesers or Flake chocolate bars.

Topping: Top with mini meringues, whole maltesers, strawberries and raspberries.

So… what would YOU add? Share in the comments – I’d love to hear your ideas!