I've been going through all my Cake Mix Doctor books lately and admiring the genius of Anne Byrn. As much fun as it is to bake from scratch, the number of things that can be done with a simple box of cake mix is pretty impressive. So this week, in my ongoing attempt to avoid the grocery store, I decided to make the Cake Mix Doctor's very simple "Incredible Melted Ice Cream Cake". I had been wondering about this one for years. What kind of texture would the cake have? Would it be dense like a pound cake or light like birthday cake? Would the ice cream make it extra moist?
Melted Ice Cream Cake Texture
Turns out Melted Ice Cream Cake is light textured like a grocery store bakery cake. It definitely not moistest and richest of doctored cake mix cakes (though it improved after it sat around iced and covered), but it was tasty and easy to put together. Because I like to make small batch recipes, I weighed out a third of a box of cake mix in grams, used ⅔ cup of melted ice cream and 1 large egg to make 3 mini Bundts. Most people will probably want to make a full Bundt, so I've posted that recipe along with my favorite cream cheese frosting. The original recipe recommends marshmallow frosting, but I had some leftover homemade cream cheese icing in a bag in the refrigerator, so I used that.
I probably wouldn't make this cake again now that I've tried it, but that doesn't mean you won't like it. The reviews on Epicurious range from 4 star fabulosity to "waste of ice cream", while talk on the Cake Mix Doctor forum mentioned adding pudding mix, putting water in the oven so that the steam will moisten the cake (a good trick!) and the best flavor ice cream to use (they recommend Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. Fun reading, but you'll have to try the recipe to really know. As for the cream cheese icing, I can assure you that it is delicious.
Recipe
Melted Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 18.25 oz cake mix (haven't tested it with smaller sizes yet)
- 2 cups melted premium ice cream
- 3 large eggs
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 oz butter softened
- 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12 cup Bundt pan with Baker's Joy (after making a ton of Bundt cakes, I've had 100% success with Baker's Joy, so I'm mentioning the brand).
- Place the cake mix, melted ice cream, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, then beat until smooth. Pour into the Bundt pan.
- Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 38 to 42 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a small rack, then invert it again onto a second rack so that the cake is right side up to complete cooling, 30 minutes more.
- To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add the sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla. Put it all in a heavy zipper bag (or an icing bag fitted with a round tip if you have one), snip off the bottom corner of the bag, and pipe it up and down the sides of the cake.
Anna says
Nicole, that's a good question. I can see how Strawberry Cheesecake would be good, but how the flavor would be subtle. The best bet might be to just stick with vanilla for texture and add flavorings (boring) or maybe try something like strawberry and add strawberries. I'm guessing Cookie Dough would be weird. Cookies & Cream might be a good one. I wish I could test this one over and over. It's such a fun recipe to play with.
Nicole says
I made something similar to this off of the Ben and Jerry's website using Strawberry Cheesecake flavor it was okay. It was good i feel like a different flavor would be better. I was wondering what other flavors might work? Like ones in the market currently?
Martha says
Haven't tried this one yet, but am a huge fan of Anne Byrn, the Cake Mix Doctor! While I try to do most of my baking from scratch, her cakes are always a huge hit when I make them.
Sue says
OMG! My apologies upfront. I'm totally being an opinionated snob, but I cannot imagine putting Ben and Jerry's IN cake. I'm sure it's fabulous, but I totally LOVE Ben and Jerry's and would prefer it alongside my cake not in it.
My goodness I can't believe how strong my feelings are about that.
I'm glad you tried the cake so you know you can move on to different recipes. You're such a maverick about trying new things.
Cookie Sleuth says
Thanks for testing this!
Holiday Baker Man says
Yum!
Jennifer says
I have a couple cake mix doctor cookbooks, too. Oddly enough, my favorite part of them is the frosting recipes. I really like her chocolate sour cream frosting.
Anna says
Mary, I haven't seen ice cream bread, but a local grocery store sells cream cakes which are dense, rich cakes made with regular cream.
Melody, thanks for the review!! The ice cream I used was super premium and about as rich as you can get. However, I don't know the make-up of the ice cream in terms of sugar/cream/eggs etc. I think you are right and that brand does play a role. Lots of people (including Cake Mix Doctor) recommend Ben & Jerry's for this.
If anyone tries it with Ben & Jerry's, let me know. :).
Melody says
I have made this cake recipe many o'times with great response. My favorite brand to use is Ben & Jerry's (fav flavors: Chunky monkey, peach cobbler, Cinna buns, I Have even used strawberry frozen yogurt and ice cream with brownie bits or cookie bits). You may not want to dismiss it, it might be the type of ice cream used that makes it better. Thanks for the website.
Chewthefat says
I remember seeking melted ice cream bread awhile back...I guess you can use melted ice cream as the 'liquid' in a variety of recipes as a a substitute for milk...