We have been watching all the Christmas movies and baking our way through the months of November and December, so it is no surprise that I have another festive holiday dessert for you all! This Peppermint Ice Cream Cake has a delicious gluten-free brownie base with a velvety dairy-free peppermint ice cream. It is topped with fresh coconut whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate fudge, and finished with peppermint candies. It is truly a divine dessert that you won’t want to miss out on. This recipe is completely grain-free and dairy-free, but you would never know!
Ryan Approved!
One of my favorite traditions from when Ryan and I started dating was the Peppermint Ice Cream Chocolate Freezer Cake that I would make yearly for his birthday. His birthday is at the beginning of December, so I love giving him fun and festive Christmas themed desserts. I would add more whipped cream and sprinkle some crushed candy canes on top, which quickly became his favorite. After going gluten and dairy-free, I knew I’d eventually have to come up with a new version. One without the wheat, cream, and pounds of artificial sugars and flavoring.
I was so thrilled when I perfected the recipe for Peppermint Ice Cream because it meant that I could finally re-create this sweet tradition I have with Ryan! This recipe uses the same Peppermint Ice Cream recipe I shared with my new website launch, but this recipe takes it to a new level!
The Brownie
For this recipe, I decided to use Simple Mills Brownie mix. I went with this simply for the convenience, plus it has really clean ingredients. If you don’t have access to Simple Mills at your local grocery store you can always purchase on Thrive Market. You can also use one of my homemade brownie recipes instead. I have a recipe on the blog here, or my Fudgy Brownies from page 282 in my cookbook Meals Made Simple! Any of the options will work really well with this recipe!
The Ice Cream
If you have yet to make this recipe for peppermint ice cream, prepare yourself to be addicted to it! It is incredibly creamy and chewy – you’d never know it is made with cashew milk rather than heavy cream. It gets the thick and stretchy texture from a base of cashew milk mixed with full fat coconut cream. This is heated slowly with egg yolks to make a custard-like consistency. I think the base of this ice cream recipe would be a delicious base for any other flavor of ice cream. For this recipe, I added some peppermint extract along with some crushed up candy canes. I also used store-bought organic candy canes. They do contain some cane sugar, but I like them because they don’t have added artificial food coloring. One day I will come up with my own homemade candy cane recipe, and I will be sure to let you all know!
The Whipped Cream
No peppermint ice cream cake is complete without heaps of fresh whipped cream and chocolate fudge. If you don’t have one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, this professional cream whipper, it is the perfect gift to ask Santa for (and it also makes a great gift for all of you last-minute shoppers!). It makes dairy-free whipped cream incredibly quick and easy. If you don’t have this appliance, you can always stick to the old fashioned way. Whip it up with your hand mixer and carefully add it to the top of the cake with a spoon.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and this peek into one of our sweet family traditions! If you are looking for even more peppermint-flavored recipes be sure to check out my recipes for Peppermint Hot Cocoa on page 315 in my Celebrations cookbook or here on my blog, as well as my Peppermint Chocolate Macaroons or Peppermint Marshmallow Crunch Cookies!
Shop this Recipe!
Peppermint Ice Cream Cake
- Prep Time: 40 mins
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 recipe for Brownies (AAG page 254, MMS page 282, or Simple Mills Brownie Mix)
- 5 cups dairy-free peppermint ice cream
- 1 cup coconut whipped cream
- 1/4 crushed dye-free peppermint candies
- 1/3 cup melted dark chocolate
Instructions
- Bake the brownies in a 9×9 baking dish, according to the instructions.
- Cool fully on a wire rack. Allow the ice cream to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, until soft enough to spread, but not melted.
- Spread the ice cream into an even layer overtop the cooled brownies. Freeze for 1 hour, then spread the whipped cream over top. Cover and freeze for 4 to 6 hours, until set.
Sprinkle the peppermints over top and drizzle with melted chocolate. Cut into squares and serve cold.
Notes
*The cake will keep in the freezer, tightly covered, for up to 6 months.
12/29/20
Peppermint Ice Cream Cake
The ice cream is very yellow after I made it, how did you get yours to be so white?
I used Nada Moo’s peppermint bark ice cream because I didn’t have an ice cream maker. The cake was delicious
So glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sharing what ice cream you used! It’ll be helpful to other readers.
Hi Danielle! Thanks for the great idea of combining brownies and ice cream!! How soon in advance can I make this? Ice cream is in the freezer but our get together isn’t for 4 more days…I’d like to get it made and out of the way if possible. Just wondering what’s the soonest you made it before serving?
★★★★★
You can assemble the entire thing and keep it frozen until your get together.