The BEST Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake

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This cookie dough ice cream cake turned out to be the birthday cake of my DREAMS and I’m so excited to share this recipe with you!! It’s creamy chocolate and vanilla ice creams swirled together with chunks of cookie dough in every bite, set on a delicious Oreo cookie crust and topped with chocolate ganache. Every element here is homemade and easy to whip up. The two ice cream flavors are no-churn (meaning you won’t need an ice cream maker), and they set into the perfect sliceable texture. The Oreo crust and chocolate ganache each involve two ingredients. And the cookie dough chunks are made with a pretty standard cookie dough recipe, only you’ll heat treat the flour so it’s safe to eat. All together, this was THE BEST birthday cake yet and I can’t stop thinking about when I can make it again! 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake Components

There are four components that make up this chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake. I’ll talk about each one in detail in the next sections! 

• No-Churn Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream. The two ice cream flavors here are made from one batch of easy no-churn ice cream. If you’d rather keep it even simpler, you could keep the whole batch vanilla-flavored or use store-bought chocolate and vanilla ice creams in place of homemade.
• Cookie Dough Chunks. I used my edible chocolate chip cookie dough recipe to create the chunks of cookie dough, and one batch was the perfect amount for adding to the ice cream and decorating on top. 
• Oreo Cookie Crust. The base of the ice cream cake is a simple Oreo cookie crust that you’ll press into the bottom of a springform pan. I initially thought of maybe doing a cookie dough crust but I love the addition of the Oreo flavor here! It’s also much easier to slice than a slab of frozen cookie dough. 
• Chocolate Ganache. I topped the cake with chocolate ganache because I thought it would be visually stunning (it is!) but it actually added the perfect rich chocolatey note to this cake. It’s optional as a topping, but if you love chocolate I highly recommend it! 

The Perfect Oreo Cookie Crust 

This recipe starts with making an easy, two-ingredient Oreo cookie crust. A food processor works best for crushing the Oreo cookies into fine crumbs, but if you don’t have one on hand you could add the cookies into a large Ziploc bag and crush them into crumbs. The finer the better. The Oreo crumbs are combined with melted butter, then the mixture is pressed into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. You’ll want to firmly pack it down with a jar or by pressing it in tightly with your hands. This will guarantee that it stays perfectly together after you top it with ice cream filling, freeze it, and then slice the ice cream cake. 

No-Churn Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Cream

If you’ve never made no-churn ice cream before, this recipe might make you a little bit obsessed. I love this method so much that I can’t stop making all sorts of flavors! There are just four ingredients involved: heavy whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract. It comes together so easily and magically sets into the perfect creamy yet slice-able (and scoop-able) consistency. 

To create the two different flavors from one batch of no-churn ice cream, you’ll divide the sweetened condensed milk into two separate bowls. You’ll whisk vanilla extract into the first bowl to create the vanilla flavor and melted (cooled) chocolate chips into the second bowl to create the chocolate flavor. Then, you’ll whip the heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks and fold it together with the two different sweetened condensed milk flavors. It will look thick and creamy at this point (kind of like melted ice cream) but after refrigerating overnight it sets into the ideal texture! I folded cookie dough chunks and mini chocolate chips into both flavors before piling them on top of the Oreo cookie crust. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Chunks 

There are chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough in every bite of this ice cream cake and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I used my favorite edible cookie dough recipe and it made the perfect amount for folding into the ice cream and decorating the top. The most tedious part was rolling it into little balls – I used a teaspoon to measure out and form the balls, but I did end up halving some of them to make them even smaller. I will say, they are very hard to resist during this process! 

To make this cookie dough safe to eat, there aren’t any eggs in it + the flour is heat-treated to kill any potential bacteria. This means baking the flour at a high heat to burn off any germs while keeping the integrity of the flour intact. I heat-treat mine by spreading it onto a parchment lined baking sheet in an even layer, then baking at 350ºF (177ºC) for 5 minutes, or until the flour reaches 160ºF (71ºC) when probed with a thermometer. Other than the heat-treating, this is a really straightforward cookie dough recipe and ends up absolutely delicious! 

How to Assemble a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake 

Step 1: Make the Oreo Cookie Crust. Combine Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter, then press the mixture tightly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Freeze while you make the cookie dough chunks and ice cream.

Step 2: Make the Cookie Dough Chunks. First, heat-treat the flour by baking at 350ºF (177ºC) for 5 minutes, or until the flour reaches 160ºF (71ºC). After it cools, you’ll cream together softened butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar, add some vanilla extract, whole milk, and salt, then mix in the heat-treated flour followed by the mini chocolate chips. 

Once you have the cookie dough ready, use a teaspoon or ½ teaspoon (depending on how big you want the chunks) to measure out the dough and roll it into balls. 

Step 3: Make the No-Churn Ice Creams. Begin by melting some chocolate chips and then cooling them for 10-15 minutes. Then, divide one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk between two medium bowls. Whisk the melted chocolate into one bowl and whisk vanilla extract into the other. 

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip the heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks. Then, divide the whipped cream between the two bowls and fold each bowl together. Finally, fold in about ⅓ of the cookie dough chunks and about ¼ Cup of mini chocolate chips into each ice cream flavor. 

Step 4: Assemble and Freeze. Add both of the ice cream flavors into the springform pan on top of the Oreo cookie crust. I added a few spoonfuls of each flavor at a time to create a marbled look when you cut into the final ice cream cake.

When all of the ice cream is added, smooth the top with an angled icing spatula, cover with aluminum foil, and freeze for at least 6 hours (overnight is best).

Step 5: Top with Chocolate Ganache (Optional) and Decorate. Whip up ½ batch of chocolate ganache (if using) and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes. Remove the collar from the springform pan and pour the ganache all over the top of the ice cream cake. Smooth it with an angled spatula until it drips over the edges, then decorate with the remaining cookie dough chunks. 

At this point you’re ready to serve this delicious chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake! Or, you can keep freezing it (for up to 2 months!) until you’re ready to serve it. If you’re making it ahead, I recommend letting the ganache freeze first, then covering with a few layers of plastic wrap to keep it fresh.

I can’t believe how gorgeous this ice cream cake turned out and I can confidently say it tastes EVEN BETTER than it looks! Every bite is chocolatey cookie dough heaven. The homemade ice cream is velvety and creamy yet slice-able, and the flavors taste complex and balanced even though they’re made with just a few ingredients. The cookie dough is perfectly chewy and well-distributed so you never feel like you’re lacking. And the Oreo crust and chocolate ganache add so much dimension! I’m obsessed.  

More Ice Cream Cake Recipes You’ll Love

If you’re a fan of ice cream cakes, I have a growing collection of recipes on my blog you’ll want to add to your baking list:

• S’mores Ice Cream Cake
• Birthday Ice Cream Cake
• Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cake
• Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cake

I hope you love this chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake as much as I do! It was such a hit for my birthday and I can’t stop thinking about it. If you make it, let me know in the comments below (don’t forget to rate the recipe!) and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me!