Tropical Ice Cream Cake

Ice Cream Cake from Gorgeous Cakes (credit: Chris Alack )

Okay. It's pretty tough not to be inspired by the picture above...

As soon as I laid eyes on this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try (with my own little twist of course)! And even though ice cream cakes bring out the kid in all of us, I like that you can easily give this treat a grown up touch with the addition of a little flavored liqueur... it fits all occasions!


Since there's still some time before summer is technically over, I figured I'd try and sneak in some more warm weather recipes while I can! So, I finally got around to making it...



In this version I left out the alcohol, but added some fresh chopped kiwi for visual and textural interest. The bright mango and raspberry sherbets bring a colorful, tropical edge.



Ladyfinger biscuits soaked in juice lend some structure, and legitimize the "cake" status, lol.

By the way, if you're someone who wants to get into making homemade desserts, but are still a little scared of baking... a few packs of ladyfingers are great to have around! They're perfect for trifles, or as I call them, throw-together-and-chill desserts like: tiramisu, banana pudding, strawberry shortcake...and of course, easy ice cream cakes!


Strawberry pudding cake - no baking involved!
All thanks to a package of ladyfingers...


There are so many ways to play around with this cake by switching out various ice cream flavors, soaking liquids, you name it. It has great payoff with minimal effort...


Tropical Ice Cream Cake

adapted from Gorgeous Cakes by Annie Bell

1 pint mango sorbet

1 1/2 cups raspberry ice cream or sherbet

1 cup mango juice

3 tablespoons rum or flavored liqueur (optional)

7 ounce package of ladyfingers

2 kiwis, diced



Let the ice cream sit out for about 10-15 minutes, so the texture becomes soft and spreadable, not soupy though.

Line an 8.5" (1.5 quart) loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving enough to hang over the edges.



Using a shallow dish, dip the cookies in the juice mixture for several seconds. They should soften up, but still feel kind of crunchy in the middle, not soggy.

Line the bottom and long edges of the loaf pan with the soaked ladyfingers, sugary side down, then saw off the tops for an even level.

Mix the chopped fruit into the softened mango sorbet...

Then spread the mango/kiwi mixture followed by the raspberry...


Cover with the flaps of plastic wrap and place in the freezer, the setting should be nice and high.


The original recipe said to freeze the cake for about 1 1/2 hours...but just to let you know from experience ...that could be a disaster, lol! I took the cake out after 2 hours and it was a runny mess, luckily some quick thinking saved it...but I would suggest at least 4 hours of freeze time to be safe.

Turn the cake out onto a large plate...


...and cut into slices with a serrated knife to serve. That's it!

Enjoy!