Lemon Cake Ice Cream
This creamy Lemon Cake Ice Cream is the perfect summer dessert for hot days and summer months when you want something cold, creamy, and packed with bright lemon flavor. Made with fluffy whipped heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and chunks of lemon cake, this easy no-churn dessert tastes a little like a lemon ice cream cake in bowl form. The best part? You don’t need an ice cream maker. Just mix, freeze, and scoop!
Lemon Cake Ice Cream
Lemon desserts are some of my favorites – especially Lemon Icebox Pie, Lemon Cookies, Lemon Lush Dessert, and Candied Lemon Slices… and there’s no better way to beat the summer heat than a cold, refreshing bowl of no-churn ice cream. Specifically – Lemon Ice Cream!!
This lemon ice cream with chunks of lemon cake is creamy and light and a new perfect way to use up any leftover lemon cake. Enjoy it on a homemade waffle cone and you’re all set!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- No ice cream maker required
- Easy no-churn recipe
- Packed with fresh lemon flavor
- Perfect way to use leftover lemon cake or pound cake
- Creamy texture with soft cake pieces throughout
- Great make-ahead dessert for summer gatherings
Equipment Needed
- Electric hand mixer or stand mixer
- Large bowl
- Rubber spatula or large spoon
- 9×5-inch loaf pan
- Plastic wrap
Ingredients
You only need 4 simple ingredients to make this delicious no-churn ice cream!
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla extract – homemade or store-bought
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Lemon cake, diced – this can be leftover lemon cake, lemon pound cake, lemon bundt cake, or store-bought lemon cake
Optional:
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Find the complete recipe with ingredient measurements in the recipe card below.
How to Make Lemon Cake Ice Cream
It only takes about 15 minutes to pull this ice cream recipe together, then all you have to do is freeze and enjoy!
- Beat the cream and vanilla in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer for about 3 minutes, or until the cream begins to form stiff peaks.
- Add the condensed milk and lemon cake pieces. Set your hand mixer to the lowest speed and mix the added ingredients into the ice cream mixture until the condensed milk is fully incorporated.
- Transfer your ice cream to a 9×5 inch loaf pan and cover it with plastic wrap.
- Place the pan in the freezer and let your ice cream freeze for at least 5 hours, or overnight if you have extra time.
- Scoop, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Keep the ice cream tightly covered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn.
- Properly stored, the ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Depending on how cold your freezer gets, you may need additional freeze time.
- Store-bought lemon cake from the grocery store works perfectly for this recipe, but homemade cake or boxed lemon cake mix will also work.
- The lemon cake pieces naturally break apart while mixing, which helps distribute cake flavor throughout the ice cream.
- For extra lemony goodness, add fresh lemon zest or a swirl of lemon curd before freezing.
- Top with fresh berries, whipped cream, or even a drizzle of lemon glaze before serving.
Pro Tips
- Keep the mixer on low speed after adding the sweetened condensed milk so the whipped cream stays fluffy.
- If you love lemon desserts, try layering the ice cream mixture with extra cake pieces for a lemon-ice-cream-cake feel.
- Let the ice cream soften for a few minutes at room temperature before scooping for the creamiest texture.
More Ice Cream Recipes
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Kitchenaid Vanilla Ice Cream
- No Churn Banana Pudding Ice Cream
- Little Debbie Honey Bun Ice Cream Recipe
- 5 Ingredient Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream
Lemon Cake Ice Cream
Description
This creamy Lemon Cake Ice Cream is the perfect summer dessert for hot days and summer months when you want something cold, creamy, and packed with bright lemon flavor. Made with fluffy whipped heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and soft bites of lemon cake, this easy no-churn dessert tastes a little like a lemon ice cream cake in bowl form.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups diced lemon cake
- Optional: zest of 2 lemons, 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Beat the cream and vanilla in a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer for about 3 minutes, or until the cream begins to form stiff peaks.
- Add the condensed milk and lemon cake pieces. Set your hand mixer to the lowest speed and mix the added ingredients into the ice cream mixture until the condensed milk is fully incorporated.
- Transfer your ice cream to a 9×5 inch loaf pan and cover it with plastic wrap. Place the pan in the freezer and let your ice cream freeze for at least 5 hours, or overnight if you have extra time.
- Scoop, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure your ice cream is covered with plastic wrap. Alternatively, you can store the ice cream in an airtight Rubbermaid container. As long as you keep the ice cream sealed, you can store it for up to two months.
- Depending on how cold your freezer gets, you may need to add an extra hour or two to the freeze time. If your freezer runs particularly cold, then you may need to let the ice cream soften a little bit before it is ready to scoop.
- We have one freezer inside and one in the garage, so we like to keep the one in the garage a tad bit warmer. This allows us to store ice cream that is perfect for scooping right as it comes out of the freezer.
- We used sliced lemon cake from Walmart for this recipe, but any lemon cake will work. You can buy premade cake, a box of cake mix, or use your own homemade recipe.
- As you work the condensed milk and lemon cake into the ice cream, the cake will break up quite a bit. This is what we want. It will give every bite of ice cream a little bit of cake.
- For some extra lemony goodness, you can add the zest of 2 lemons to your ice cream.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3/4 cup
- Calories: 243
- Sugar: 3.6 g
- Sodium: 14.9 mg
- Fat: 11.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.2 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 35.5 mg
