This Blackberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake is a showstopper, but it's easy to make! A rich filling of vanilla ice cream, cream cheese and homemade blackberry sauce tops a gluten-free crust made with almond and oat flour. Make ahead and freeze for a special occasion, (or simply to perk up a Wednesday night!)
My inspiration for this Blackberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake came from my friend, Katherine at Love in My Oven. She recently shared her spectacular Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake with a graham cracker crust. It sounded so delicious and looked so beautiful that I decided that I simply had to make a gluten-free version of it.
And with a big bowl of freshly-picked blackberries, it was easy to decide on the flavour!
This ice cream cake can be made well ahead of time and stored in the freezer, ready for impromptu get-togethers.
Ready to make an ice cream cake? Here's what you'll need.
🛒 Ingredients
- blackberries: I used freshly picked blackberries, but you can find them almost year-round in stores now. You can use frozen blackberries too.
- ice cream: Check to see that the brand is gluten-free..
- cream cheese: there's no point in going low-fat here, as this is not a low-cal dessert! You might as well get all the flavour from full fat cream cheese. You'll need two bricks (16 oz in total.)
- crust: keep it gluten-free by using a combination of blanched almond flour and oat flour.
- fresh berries: for decoration. I used garden berries: blackberries, blueberries and pink blueberries. Raspberries would be pretty on this ice cream cheesecake, too.
🔪Instructions
This summer dessert recipe is not complicated.
- Start by letting the cream cheese and ice cream soften at room temperature.
- Next, make the crust with almond and oat flour, melted coconut oil (or butter) and sugar.
- While the crust is baking, make a simple blackberry sauce on the stovetop. Strain it through a sieve to remove the seeds.
- Once the blackberry sauce has cooled, use a food processor or an electric mixer to combine it with the ice cream and cream cheese.
- And finally, pour the filling onto the crust and freeze. That's it!
👍🏼 Helpful Tips to make Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake
- It's important to use softened cream cheese. If it's too firm, it will be lumpy and will freeze when you combine it with the ice cream.
- The ice cream must be softened as well. There's a fine line between being so soft and runny that it separates and being too firm to mix evenly with the cream cheese. You should be able to stir it with a spoon, but it shouldn't be liquid.
- Blackberries have seeds which can be annoying in a dessert. Crush and simmer the berries in a saucepan with water, lemon juice and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer until slightly thickened, then press through a fine sieve to remove seeds. This sauce will last up to a week in the refrigerator if you want to make this part of the recipe well ahead of time.
- Use either a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan. A 10-inch pan will make a cake that is slightly broader and shorter than a 9-inch.
- Have fun decorating this frozen cheesecake! Wait until it's completely frozen (at least four hours or overnight) then add fresh berries and a few mint leaves to the top in whatever arrangement you'd like.
🍽 Serving Tips
Remove this blackberry cheesecake ice cream cake from the freezer about half an hour before serving to allow the cake to soften a little to make slicing and serving easier.
Run a knife dipped in hot water around the edge of the springform pan, then release the spring closure and remove the band. Carefully slide a wide metal spatula between the crust and the base of the pan. Transfer the cake to a serving plate and slide the parchment paper out.
Decorate with fresh berries or pipe whipped cream around the edge, slice and serve!
Storage Instructions
After serving, return any leftovers to the freezer right away to keep it frozen. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and overwrap in foil.
This delicious homemade cheesecake ice cream cake will last up to a month in the freezer if stored in an airtight container.
🔁 Possible variations
Try different types of fruit or berries with this recipe, like peaches, nectarines, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries. If you choose raspberries, you may wish to press them through a sieve to remove the seeds, just as this recipe suggests for blackberries.
🗒 More gluten-free cheesecake recipes
Blackberry Cheesecake Ice Cream Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- ½ cup oat flour
- ¼ cup coconut oil or butter, melted
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
Blackberry Sauce
- 2 cups blackberries, fresh, or frozen and thawed
- ¼ cup sugar, or Monkfruit sweetener with erythritol
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Filling
- 16 oz (450 gm) cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup sugar, or Monfruit sweetener with erythritol
- 1 quart (liter) vanilla ice cream
Garnish
- 2 cups fresh assorted berries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit in the base of your springform pan.
- Begin by preparing the crust. Combine the almond flour, oat flour and coconut sugar with melted coconut oil or butter until crumbly. Press firmly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Bake at 350°F. for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and let cool completely.
- In a medium saucepan, combine blackberries, sugar, water and lemon juice. Stir until sugar dissolves. Mash the berries with a spoon or spatula. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 8 - 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Press through a fine sieve to remove seeds, using the back of a spoon or a spatula to release the juice. Allow the juice to cool. This sauce can be made up to a week in advance and stored covered in the fridge.
- Using a food processor or and electric mixer, combine the fully softened cream cheese with the sugar until fluffy. Add the softened ice cream and pulse or beat until combined. Add the cooled blackberry sauce and pulse or beat.
- Pour the filling over the cooled crust and transfer to the freezer. Freeze for 4 hours or overnight before decorating with fresh berries.
Ann
This ice cream pie was incredible! I made it with raspberries instead of blackberries and it was a pretty pink color. My family loved this dessert. Will definitely make it again.
Flavour & Savour
Oh that sounds so pretty! Thanks for taking the time to comment, Ann!