Between the weather getting hotter and my pregnancy cravings, I am on a full-blown ice cream kick. And since discovering how easy the no-churn ice cream method is, I can’t stop experimenting with different flavors! When you open my freezer these days, you’ll always see at least one loaf pan full of my latest ice cream concoction. My most recent flavor success is probably my favorite of all my ice cream recipes thus far: strawberry shortcake!
One Reader, Ashley, says: “I’ve been putting off trying an ice cream recipe just because it’s unfamiliar to me but this recipe was easy and delicious! My whole family loved it, to include my dad that doesn’t even particularly like strawberries, and one guest even said ‘I’m not trying to blow smoke, but this is the best ice cream I’ve ever had’” ★★★★★
This easy strawberry shortcake ice cream features delicious fresh strawberries that have been sweetened and reduced to amplify flavor, plus baked shortcake crumbs to give it extra texture and beautiful bursts of shortcake flavor. These toppings get incorporated into the base ice cream recipe, which is vanilla ice cream spiked with a little cream cheese to give it a rich and creamy cheesecake-like flavor. So, so good. Like, irresistibly good!
Like most great recipes, this one will require a little more involvement than the average no-churn ice cream recipe. It’s still easier than a churned ice cream recipe, there are just a couple elements that require cooking (the strawberries) and baking (the shortcake crumbles).
You’ll start by chopping up some fresh strawberries and adding them into a saucepan along with some granulated sugar and a pinch of salt. These strawberries will cook for about 20-25 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated and you’re left with more of a jam-like consistency with big strawberry chunks in it. Eliminating the majority of the liquid not only amplifies the strawberry flavor, it will make the overall consistency of the ice cream perfect. Too much liquid will result in chunks of strawberry flavored ice in your ice cream, which isn’t the most pleasant. So be sure not to skip the reduction! And when it’s finished, just pop it into the refrigerator to cool completely.
The next element is the shortcake crumbles, which involve mixing up a few dry ingredients and binding them together with melted butter and vanilla extract until the mixture is crumbly. Then you’ll throw them on a lined cookie sheet and bake them. You could even toss this part of the recipe together and bake the crumbles while you’re reducing the strawberries to make things even more efficient.
Once your toppings are both completely cool, you’re ready to make the ice cream base and mix it with the toppings in a chilled loaf pan. To make sure there are strawberries and shortcake crumbles throughout, I like to do the assembly process in layers: add one layer of ice cream, top it with strawberries and shortcake crumbles, swirl everything together with a skewer, repeat twice more. After a 6 hour stay in the freezer, your strawberry shortcake ice cream is ready to enjoy!
I could not stop eating this ice cream during the photo session. It’s so delicious in a cone or simply by the spoonful, so saturated with strawberries and shortcake crumbles that you get the best bite every time. If you love strawberry shortcake and ice cream, this is a dessert made in heaven just for you – a true must try!
Now all I want to do it turn this flavor combo into an ice cream cake. Stay tuned for that!
No-Churn Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream
Ingredients
Strawberry Reduction
- 2 Cups (300g) fresh strawberries*, halved
- 1/3 Cup (70g) granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
Baked Shortcake Crumbles
- 3/4 Cups (90g) cake flour
- 2 1/2 Tbsp (32g) granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp (42g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Ice Cream
- 4 Oz (120g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Cups (12 Oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 Cups (480ml) heavy whipping cream
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Reduction
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the strawberries, sugar, and salt. The strawberries will begin to release their juices. Bring the mixture to a simmer and mash up the strawberries as you cook them down.
- Simmer over medium-low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture should become somewhat of a jam-like consistency after the reduction. Place into an airtight container and refrigerate until cold.
Bake the Shortcake Crumbles
- Preheat the oven to 250°F/121ºC and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the melted butter and vanilla extract. Mix with a rubber spatula until the mixture begins to form small clusters, then press the ingredients together with your hands to form even more clusters. Spread the clusters onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Cool the crumbs completely before using in the cake assembly.
Make the Ice Cream
- Place a large metal bowl into the refrigerator and a loaf pan into the freezer to chill for at least 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla into a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Remove the large chilled metal bowl from the refrigerator and add the cream cheese into it. Beat with a hand mixer (or using the whisk attachment on your stand mixer) until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the heavy whipping cream and beat the two ingredients together on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold one half of the sweetened condensed milk mixture into the heavy whipping cream mixture. When combined, gently fold in the rest of the sweetened condensed milk mixture in.
- Remove the chilled loaf pan from the freezer and add 1/3 of the ice cream mixture into it. Smooth it down with a rubber spatula and add 1/3 of the strawberries and a few Tablespoons of the shortcake crumbles on top. Use a skewer to marble the toppings into the ice cream. Repeat twice more.
- Cover the loaf pan with a piece of aluminum foil and freeze for at least 6 hours, after which the ice cream should be semi-firm and ready to enjoy!
Notes
Did you make this no-churn strawberry shortcake ice cream? I want to know how it went! Let me know in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
Hi Whitney
Thank you for your recipe, it looks so yummy. I would like to use it as an 8 inch birthday cake layer between strawberry and vanilla cakes. Does this ice cream have an ‘icy’ texture to it and can you suggest how to avoid that happening? Thanks for reply.
Hi Jean! This would make an amazing ice cream layer in a cake! It doesn’t have an icy texture (trust me, I ate a LOT of it haha).
I have been making your cakes and cupcakes for years and have loved it all! I’ve been putting off trying an ice cream recipe just because it’s unfamiliar to me but this recipe was easy and delicious! My whole family loved it, to include my dad that doesn’t even particularly like strawberries, and one guest even said “I’m not trying to blow smoke, but this is the best ice cream I’ve ever had”. Thank you for sharing and can’t wait to try more flavors!
Oh my gosh! That’s amazing, Ashley! I’m so happy it was such a hit 🙂
I feel like I shouldn’t rate this yet but I can’t help myself. I tasted it just before it went into the freezer and it’s AMAZING! It is the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. It’s so creamy and the strawberry is so bright tasting and the crumbles…. I made the jam a day in advance and had a really hard time staying out of it. I even put a spoonful on a piece of chocolate and ate it! Excellent recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Yay, Tracy! I’m so happy you loved this recipe!!
I was reading the instructions and noticed you don’t mention which size pan to bake the shortcake in. 8×8? Also, in reading you don’t mention when to fold in I assume crumbles of the cake. You only mention adding a few tablespoons of the shortcake crumbles on top.
Can you please clarify as I plan on having this for a father’s day dessert. It’s my husband’s favorite flavor ice cream.
Thank you so much.
Hi Gigi,
I made this recipe and used a basic cookie sheet, since the crumbles are indeterminate size, it doesn’t matter what size pan you use as long as it is enough to hold the shortcake crumbles (you could even use more if you have small cookie sheets or pans. You fold in the crumbles at each layering stage (3X), with the last layer having the strawberry reduction and crumbles on top. I hope this helps!
Hi Giggi! You’ll bake the shortcake crumbles on a cookie sheet. And you won’t be folding them into the cake batter – they’re just for adding between layers. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to this message in time for Father’s Day!
Got it! My family and my picky small grandkids absolutely loved this and the next day came over to my side of the house for seconds. Now that is saying how great this flavor ice cream is. As we are scooping the last of it, my husband looked at me, and said, um, was it hard to make? That is his way of saying, can you make it again? Thank you for this incredible recipe, served with an angel food cake and my strawberry sauce. ❤️
That is the best, Giggi! I’m so happy this recipe was such a hit with the whole family! It’s my favorite ice cream recipe to date 🙂