Summertime means warm weather and lots of sun. And the best dessert to eat in the summer weather? Ice cream. But, of course, we didn’t want to keep it too simple and wanted to put our Danish spin on it, so today’s recipe is for islagkage! This is the ice cream version of a classic Danish birthday cake (non-ice cream version can be found here). The main flavors are vanilla custard and raspberry. We are super excited to share it with you!
The recipe itself (if you want to make homemade ice cream) is actually quite complex, unfortunately. We wish it were easier, but ice cream can be a bit difficult to deal with! We have an ice cream maker, which we would highly recommend, particularly if you eat ice cream constantly like we do. We use the Cuisinart ice cream machine* (this is an affiliate link). Our recipe assumes that you have an ice cream maker. But, of course, you can use store-bought ice cream instead! Nothing wrong with that. Or, you can find a recipe that does not use an ice cream maker, such as this no churn recipe from the Food Network.
Ice cream maker:
*the above link is an affiliate link. (Note: disable any ad blockers to view the link above!)
This recipe requires a lot of patience and waiting around for things to freeze. We definitely recommend baking your cakes and making at least one of the ice cream layers the day before you plan to assemble the cake. The end product is super delicious and highly impressive! Check out the recipe below and let us know if you try it out!
Islagkage (Raspberry-Vanilla Ice Cream Cake)
Ingredients
VANILLA CUSTARD ICE CREAM
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg
- 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) heavy cream
- 240 ml (1 cup) milk
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
RASPBERRY ICE CREAM
- 120 grams (1 cup) frozen raspberries (if using fresh, use 180g or one small package of raspberries!)
- 360 ml (1 1/2 cups) heavy cream
- 240 ml (1 cup) milk
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) sugar
- Pinch of salt
CAKE
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 130 grams (2/3 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 130 grams (a little under 1 cup) flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
ADDITIONAL FILLING
- Raspberry jam
DECORATION
- 240 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
ICING
- 75 grams (3/4 cup) powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (taste the icing after adding two tablespoons, and adjust as needed!)
- A splash of water
Instructions
CAKE
- We like to bake the cake the day before we assemble the whole cake.
- Preheat your oven to 390 F (200 C).
- Add your eggs and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy and tripled in size (about 5 minutes). Add your vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- Meanwhile, measure out your flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine.
- Sift your dry ingredients into your egg mixture in two parts, folding gently to combine.
- Prepare two round tins by cutting out a round circle with parchment paper and lining the bottom, making sure to also butter the bottom and sides. You can also crumple parchment paper and line the tins with a larger piece of parchment paper (the cake will be a little irregular in shape, but it’s much faster!) Divide the batter evenly between the two tins.
- Bake the cakes for around 8 minutes, checking for doneness by poking with a knife and if it comes out clean, they are done! Give it an extra minute at a time if needed.
- Let your cakes cool completely.
- Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and put in the fridge or the freezer overnight until ready to assemble.
CUSTARD ICE CREAM
- If using an ice cream machine, make sure you are following the machine instructions and freezing the cooling bowl for at least 12 hours before preparing your ice cream! The bowl has to be completely frozen for the ice cream to properly churn. Keep in mind if you are making both ice creams from scratch, it's best to make one ice cream the day before assembly of the cake to ensure that the ice cream maker stays frozen for both ice creams.
- Start by making a custard. Mix cream, milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in a separate heatproof bowl.
- Heat up the milk mixture until just below boiling.
- Slowly stream half of the mixture into the eggs to temper the eggs, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture into the saucepan, still whisking. Heat over medium to low heat until it boils for a few minutes, whisking the whole time to avoid scrambling the eggs. Once the mixture coats the back of a spoon and you can run a finger across the spoon and it leaves a trail, the custard is ready.
- Strain your custard into a bowl and let cool. Once cool, cover with plastic wrap that touches the surface of the custard to avoid creating a skin, and refrigerate until cold.
- When the custard is totally cool, start your ice cream machine and add the mixture to the cooling bowl (follow your machine instructions!). Ours took about 30 minutes to churn.
- Once the ice cream is ready, line a cake tin (the same size as you baked the cake in) with plastic wrap and add all the ice cream to the tin, smoothing to create a disk. Place in the freezer until ready to assemble. (If using storebought ice cream, simply let your two ice cream flavors soften until it is easy to spread into the cake tin. Make two disks by lining the tin with plastic wrap, covering the ice cream, and freezing until ready to use.)
RASPBERRY ICE CREAM
- If using the same ice cream machine as the custard ice cream, make sure the bowl is completely frozen!
- Heat up the raspberries in a small saucepan over medium heat, just until your raspberries are broken down slightly. Let this mixture cool completely to room temperature in the fridge.
- Mix together the cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Add the milk mixture to your ice cream machine and follow the instructions to churn. After 10 minutes, pour in the raspberries and churn another 15-20 minutes. Ours was ready after about 30 minutes total!
- Once the ice cream is ready, line a tin (the same size as the cake) with plastic wrap and smooth your ice cream into a disk. Place in the freezer to firm up slightly until ready to assemble.
CAKE ASSEMBLY
- When you are ready to assemble, place one of the cakes at the bottom, then a layer of ice cream.
- Spread jam over the top of the ice cream (we used raspberry, but you can use what you have on hand!) and place the second layer of ice cream on top of the jam.
- Add the second cake.
- If you need to or want to, you can use a knife to smooth out the edges of the ice cream.
- Mix together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and a splash of water to make a chocolate icing. Pour over the top of the cake.
- Whip up heavy cream and sugar to decorate the sides. We piped in a star pattern around the entire edge, but it’s up to you how you want to decorate! We also added some frozen raspberries around the top edge.
- Serve immediately or place in the freezer until you are ready to serve. The best way to store this is to cut into slices and freeze in freezer bags – that way you can take out a slice whenever you want a piece! Enjoy!
