Ice cream cakes make amazing desserts that can satisfy many sweets lovers. Rather than deciding on the texture and slices of a cake, or the chill of ice cream you can have a bit of both.
Ice cream cakes do present a small dilemma. They look really good, and you want to dig in right away. They also require that you literally cut through ice cream and sometimes layers of fudge.
The best way to cut an ice cream cake that doesn’t burn all your elbow grease is to thaw it first. Just leave it on the counter. Assuming your ice cream cake was kept in the freezer where it should be, you should thaw it for at least 10 to 20 minutes.
Is there a difference in time between homemade ice cream cake and commercially purchased?
The answer is probably a yes. While we were unable to find any specific details about just how cold their freezers can get, your average Cold Stone or Dairy Queen can get cold. The two major chains that offer ice cream cakes will also likely keep the cakes in freezers a bit longer than you will with a homemade cake, making them thoroughly frozen.
A homemade ice cream cake placed in the average home freezer will probably take a less less time to thaw.
How can I tell if it’s thawed, and what else can I do?
Part of the challenge here is knowing how far to go. Sure, you can have really easy to cut ice cream cake. The problem is that thawing too much makes it difficult to go back.
You won’t retain the same textures or decoration details once you let it melt a little. One method to counter this is a hot knife. You can let the ice cream thaw for the recommended time and use a sharp knife straight out of the dishwasher or run it under hot water for a minute.
We would suggest against using a microwave to thaw your ice cream cake. Once it gets warm enough, it will start to melt rapidly, and you don’t want that either.
Should I thaw it in the fridge?
The fridge is an option, but not recommended. An ice cream cake will thaw slow enough in the fridge that it might accidentally melt if you forget about it.
Conclusions about thawing an ice cream cake
Making an ice cream cake easier to cut by thawing is simple. Leaving the ice cream cake on the counter for a little while will help soften the cake just a bit to cut it. You’ll still get the same firm cake too.
Did you know that ice cream cake usually contains buttercream frosting? That’s because it’s designed to freeze.
