Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake
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Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake is the ice cream cake version of the Strawberry Cheesecake, made with buttery graham cracker crumbs, soft cream cheese ice cream, and tangy strawberry jam.
There is nothing that can compare to a scoop of ice cream when you are either happy or sad. It is no secret that I love making my own ice cream. Yup, that is one of the advantages of having an ice cream maker
at home. I simply enjoy the process of making my own custom ice cream, playing around with endless flavor possibilities.
This time, I am going to make ice cream to the next level, which is ice cream cake. With strawberries in season and cream cheese on sale, I decided to make Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake. Pretty classic and simple because this was actually my first attempt at making ice cream cake.
I have to tell you this Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake is absolutely scrumptious. It tastes just like strawberry cheesecake in ice cream cake form. The ice cream is soft and creamy with a subtle cream cheese flavor and lemon. The graham cracker crust is crunchy and compliments well with the cream cheese ice cream. Most importantly, the strawberry jam plays the most important role in Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake by stimulating your tongue with the surprising tang.
Tips on Making Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake
1. When you do not have the right size springform pan
This recipe calls for an 8 inch/20 cm springform pan. What to do if you have a smaller or larger pan? You need to know if you can use one of the pans you already have instead of the pan the recipe calls for. You can adjust the original recipe to fit your cake pan size of choice. This formula only changes the cake’s diameter, not its height.
The answer to his question involves simple math to calculate the area of the bottom of the pan. After you know the area of any pan, you can compare it to the area of another pan. Divide the area of your pan with the original recipe’s to figure out how many times a recipe to fill your pan with the same height of batter.
For example, the area of an 8-inch springform pan is 50 square inches. I have a-9 inch springform pan, which means its area is 64 square inches. To figure out how many times to multiply the recipe for 9-inch springform pan, I divide 64 square inches with 50 square inches which result in 1.28. Thus, I need to make about 125% of the original recipe.
2. Add egg yolks
Adding 8 egg yolks into this ice cream cake may sound too much. However, egg yolks play several roles in homemade ice cream. Ice cream made with eggs develops a creamier, smoother, softer than ice cream made without. It also creates a full body that is neither too airy nor too dense. Most importantly, adding egg yolks improve the stability of ice cream, which means it will melt less quickly.
Using egg yolks to make ice cream requires some caution. You don’t want egg scrambles (curdles from cooked eggs) in your ice cream. Here are some steps on adding egg yolks to your cream base.
- While the cream and milk mixture is heating up, whisk sugar and egg yolks together in a medium mixing bowl. Watch the cream mixture carefully so it does not boil over because when cream boils, milk fat separates from the milk. Turn off the heat after the cream mixture is barely simmering.
- The extreme heat would cook the eggs, leaving scrambled eggs in your ice cream base. Temper the egg yolks by adding one or two ladles of cream mixture into the egg yolks. The goal here is to slowly bring up the temperature of the eggs without scrambling them. It is important to whisk constantly the egg yolks when you temper them. Keep adding a ladle of the cream mixture until it is completely incorporated.
- Pour the egg yolks mixture back into the saucepan, and cook until it thickens up with low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom and sides of the pot with a wooden spoon until it is thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. Do not heat the mixture until boils.
- Just in case your eggs did start to curdle a little, strain the base before churning the ice cream.
3. Add liquor
I love adding a little bit of alcohol into my ice cream cake so that I can cut the cake more easily. Adding liquor to an ice cream mixture will make ice cream softer because alcohol lowers the freezing point of a liquid. Adding alcohol is optional, it is used to prevent the ice cream from freezing too solid. I used the neutral-flavored vodka for Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake so that the liquor does not impart any flavor to the ice cream.
4. How to cut ice cream cake
Cutting a solid rock ice cream cake may sound like a big challenge. The key to cutting ice cream cake perfectly lies in how to keep the knife warm.
- Thaw ice cream cake at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
- Dip a metal knife into hot water. Wipe clean the knife before slicing.
- Slice into the cake with a warm and dry knife. Repeat the dipping, wiping, and slicing until you get your desired number of portions.
More Cheesecake Recipes
While you are here, don’t forget to check out these cheesecake recipes.
- Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake
- No-Bake Blackberry Cheesecake
- No-Bake Thai Tea Cheesecake
- Basque Burnt Cheesecake
- No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 2 cups (170 gr) graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup (113 gr) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup (65 gr) granulated sugar
Cream Cheese Ice Cream
- 4 cups (1000 ml) heavy cream
- 2 cups (500 ml) milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 1/3 cups (265 gr) granulated sugar
- 8 oz (250 gr) cream cheese, softened
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Lemon zest, from 1 lemon
- 4 tbsp vodka, optional
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Jam
- 2 cups (300 gr) strawberries
- 3/4 cup (150 gr) granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Topping
- 2 cups (300 gr) strawberries
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Grease an 8-inch.20 cm springform pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir in crushed graham cracker, granulated sugar, and melted butter with spatula until incorporated.
- Press the crumb mixture into the pan, spreading it about 2 inches up the side. Press flat. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (The crust can be made ahead)
Cream Cheese Ice Cream
- In a large saucepan, heat heavy cream, milk, and salt over medium-low heat until it begins to simmer. Turn off the heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks with granulated sugar until well combined and light in color. Add one or two ladles of cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly.
- Pour the egg yolks mixture back into the saucepan, and cook until it thickens up with low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom and sides of the pot with a wooden spoon until it is thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon. (Do not boil or the egg yolks will curdle)
- Let the mixture cool slightly. Stir in cream cheese over a strainer into the cream mixture until it dissolves. Let it cool completely.
- Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, vodka, and vanilla extract until incorporated.
- Cover the mixture and chill for 6 hours or overnight.
- Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Pour the freshly-churn ice cream over the crust. Tap the pan on the counter to get air bubbles out. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours to firm it up.
Strawberry Jam
- Wash strawberries, remove the stems, and chop strawberries into smaller chunks. Put it into a medium saucepan.
- Stir in lemon juice and sugar. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes until the water comes out from the strawberries.
- Cook strawberry mixture over medium heat until it boils and the strawberry chunks get soft, stirring often.
- Let the mixture cool down in the saucepan for 15-20 minutes.
- Loosen and remove sides of springform pan. Pour strawberry jam over the ice cream cake. Arrange strawberries on top with pointed ends up.
Glad you post this recipe because this tastes amazing! One of the best ice cream cake I have ever tasted.