This Confetti Ice Cream Cake was inspired by pastry chef Christina Tosi’s sprinkle-laden Birthday Cake served at New York City’s Momofuku Milk Bar. We flavor our ice cream with Maraschino cherries because a cake this vibrant needs an ice cream that can keep up. Use your leftover Confetti Cake scraps for birthday cake milkshakes, or use your hands to shape into little balls for a streusel-like garnish to pile on top of the cake.
Confetti Ice Cream Cake
Makes 1 (9-inch) cake
Ingredients
- Confetti Cake (recipe follows)
- Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream (recipe follows)
- Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipe follows)
- Garnish: colored sprinkles
Instructions
- Line a tall-sided 9-inch round springform pan with plastic wrap.
- Gently place half-circle Confetti Cake layers in prepared pan. Remove Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream layer from freezer, and place on top of cake layer. Top with remaining Confetti Cake layer, and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze overnight.
- Remove cake from pan, and remove plastic wrap. Top with Sweetened Whipped Cream. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired. Serve immediately, or wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. (If you plan on freezing, wait to top with Sweetened Whipped Cream until ready to serve.) Remove from freezer 5 minutes before serving. Use a long chef’s knife dipped in warm water to cut into wedges.
Confetti Cake
Makes 2 (9-inch) cake layers
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, softened
- 2¼ cups (450 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) almond extract
- 3½ cups (437 grams) cake flour
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (240 grams) whole buttermilk
- ½ cup (83 grams) colored sprinkles*
- 8 large egg whites (240 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and flour a 16¼×11¼-inch half sheet pan**; line pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Beat in extracts.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Add sprinkles, beating just until combined. Transfer batter to a large bowl; set aside.
- Clean bowl of stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter in thirds. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cool completely in pan.
- Using a 9-inch parchment round as a guide, cut one cake layer from far right side of pan, avoiding edges of cake. Fold parchment circle in half, and cut two half-circle layers from far left side of pan. (The two half-circle layers will fit as the bottom layer in springform pan during assembly.)
Notes
*We used Betty Crocker Rainbow Sprinkles. These sprinkles’ colors don’t bleed when stirred into the cake batter.
**We used Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet Pan, available at nordicware.com.
**We used Nordic Ware Baker’s Half Sheet Pan, available at nordicware.com.
Maraschino Cherry Ice Cream
Makes 5 cups
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups (420 grams) heavy whipping cream
- 1¼ cups (300 grams) whole milk
- ½ cup (170 grams) light corn syrup
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tablespoon (18 grams) vanilla bean paste
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (204 grams) chopped drained maraschino cherries
- 2 tablespoons (26 grams) maraschino cherry juice
- 6 large egg yolks (112 grams)
Instructions
- Line a 9-inch round metal cake pan with plastic wrap; place in freezer.
- In a medium saucepan, combine cream, milk, corn syrup, ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer registers 170°F (77°C). Remove from heat. Stir in maraschino cherries and juice.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and remaining ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar. Add 1 cup hot cream mixture to egg mixture, whisking constantly. Add egg mixture to remaining hot cream mixture in pan, whisking to combine. Cook over medium-low heat until mixture is thickened and a candy thermometer registers 180°F (82°C), 7 to 10 minutes. Immediately pour custard into a large bowl, and let cool until no longer steaming, 10 to 20 minutes.
- Transfer 1 cup mixture to a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Place remaining mixture in a large jar with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate large jar and freeze small jar for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Remove frozen base from freezer, and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Scrape frozen base into a large bowl; add refrigerated base, and stir occasionally until frozen base is dissolved. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker, and churn until soft serve consistency, about 20 minutes.
- Transfer ice cream to prepared pan, and press plastic wrap directly onto surface. Freeze overnight. Remove from freezer, and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften.
Notes
Note: You can substitute high-quality ice cream for homemade ice cream. Leftover ice cream will keep in freezer for up to 4 months in an airtight plastic container.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
Makes about 3 cups
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (360 grams) heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup (60 grams) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat cream and confectioners’ sugar at medium speed until stiff peaks form. Use immediately.
