This post may contain affiliate sales links. Please read my disclosure policy.
So I’m on a bit of an ice cream cake kick. Summer is just the perfect time for them!
And this ice cream cake isn’t difficult to make – you don’t even need an ice cream maker. It takes a little time, but less time than it would take to bake all the different layers as actual cake and then layer and ice everything.
And more importantly it’s skinny! Yes, SKINNY! Plus, it’s full of fresh fruit! So much goodness I could die!
Besides, who can resist the beautiful colors? It’s just so pretty!
I have been wanting to post a rainbow ice cream for a while now actually. This one is my second attempt. The first didn’t quite turn out like I wanted. I was so bummed.
The first time around I thought it’d be cool to color and flavor the ice cream with jello mix. That way I could avoid using icing color.
Unfortunately, I had to use a fair amount of the jello mix to to get the color I wanted. The end result was grainy and didn’t really freeze very well. It just never quite got firm enough.
Now that I have this version though, I’m actually kind of glad that one bombed. Fresh fruit is the way to go! Way better than jello flavor – even if I had to use icing color!
The fruity flavor is just perfect and the fact that it’s fruit makes this delectable ice cream cake that much less guilt-inducing.
I even forwent the real icing for Cool Whip.
Can we just talk about Cool Whip for a sec? I frickin’ love that stuff. My mom gives me crap because “it’s not real whipped cream” but I’m ok with that. I literally run my finger right through the stuff and go to town. Before I know it, half the carton is gone and I’m trying to find someone to blame it on. 🙂 We’re actually lucky it made it into the cake. And it was such a breeze to ice a cake with. So light and easy to spread. Dreamy!
And no, Cool Whip has not paid me to rave about them. I wish. This was entirely for free. I just love the stuff and use it all the time. You’re welcome Cool Whip. 😉
Moving onto the fruity layers. These are the fruits I used, but you can easily substitute other fruits if you prefer.
1. Purple = Grape
2. Blue = Blueberry
3. Green = Kiwi, but I think I’d like to try lime next time. I think the seeds from the kiwi mess up the flavor a bit, so if you use the kiwi, make sure you remove the little black seeds.
4. Yellow = Pineapple
5. Orange = Peach
6. Red = Strawberry
Between each fruity layer is a layer of Cool Whip, which is actually great in place of icing because it isn’t as rich. It doesn’t take away from the taste of the fruit and keeps it light.
So if I haven’t sold you on the awesomeness of this cake and why you should make it yet, here’s one more reason: because I said so. 🙂
One more thing: please don’t be intimidated by the instructions. They seem long, but it’s mostly a lot of layering and freezing. I tried to provide plenty of detail in the instructions so you don’t get confused.
Print{Skinny} Rainbow Ice Cream Cake with Fresh Fruit
- Prep Time: 1 hr 30 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hrs
- Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Rainbow Ice Cream Cake is made with no churn ice cream and fresh fruit for a fun and tasty ice cream cake!
Ingredients
ICE CREAM LAYERS
- 20 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup + 1/8 cup milk
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 20 oz Cool Whip (OR 2 1/2 recipes of homemade whipped cream)
- 1 cup grapes
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup chopped kiwi (about 2 kiwis), OR juice from 2 limes
- 1 cup chopped pineapple
- 1 cup chopped peaches (about 2 peaches)
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
- Purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red Gel Icing Color
- 12 oz Cool Whip
ICING
- 8 oz Cool Whip
Instructions
MAKING THE ICE CREAM:
LAYERING THE ICE CREAM:
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:
Notes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 507
- Sugar: 45.8 g
- Sodium: 153.3 mg
- Fat: 34.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 48.7 g
- Protein: 4.5 g
- Cholesterol: 41.2 mg
Filed Under:
Enjoy!
This post linked to TidyMom, Shaken Together, Inside BruCrew Life, Mandy’s Recipe Box, Chef in Training, Sugar Bee Crafts, Not Just a Housewife, Naptime Creations, Pint Sized Baker and Love Bakes Good Cakes.
Loving ice cream cake as much as I am? Here are some other ice cream treats:
Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream Cake
Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream Pie
I’ve made this a few times now, once rainbow, once red white & blue, this time I’m doing pink, purple & dark indigo as an ombre for my daughter’s 5th birthday. I love the ability to make it dairy free using dairy free whipping cream, coconut milk & dairy free cream cheese.
Can this be made ahead of time.. my daughter’s birthday is this weekend, i was thinking if i could make and freeze it on one of the weeknights.
Definitely!
I made this cake and it was delicious and looked amazing. Thank you so much for this recipe.
[…] Is it weird that I’ve never tried ice cream cake? It’s always seemed to be a very American thing. This recipe uses a ton of fresh fruit so it’s practically a healthy desert! {Image 1} […]
Hello, I am interested in making the cake and I would like to ask if we can substitute cool whip with whipping cream? Will it be able to hold the cake? Or could we even substitute the white layer with something else all together? Thanks!
Yes, you can. I’ve linked to the recipe I use for homemade whipped cream in the recipe. You can add up to 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to it though, so that it’s a thicker whipped cream.
This cake looks AWESOME! My son is turning 12 and picked it for his birthday cake. He doesn’t care for pineapples and I was wondering if there was a different fruit for that layer that you would recommend. Thanks!
Awesome, I’m so glad you are going to try it! Some other yellow options that might be good – maybe lemon? or mango?
this is so cool! I love it!
Wow! This has to be one of the prettiest cakes ever! New follower on FB and through RSS ….. thanks so much for linking up to All My Bloggy Friends 🙂
Wow! This has to be one of the prettiest cakes ever! New follower on FB and through RSS ….. thanks so much for linking up to All My Bloggy Friends 🙂
Thanks Jamie!! And thanks for hosting! 🙂
Wow! This has to be one of the prettiest cakes ever! New follower on FB and through RSS ….. thanks so much for linking up to All My Bloggy Friends 🙂
Thanks Jamie!! And thanks for hosting! 🙂
Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Crafts – you were featured today!
–Mandy, http://www.SugarBeeCrafts.com
Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Crafts – you were featured today!
–Mandy, http://www.SugarBeeCrafts.com
Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Crafts – you were featured today!
–Mandy, http://www.SugarBeeCrafts.com
Awesome Mandy! Thank you! And thank you for hosting! 🙂
Wow~ Beautiful! I bet this is scrumptious too:) Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
Wow~ Beautiful! I bet this is scrumptious too:) Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
Wow~ Beautiful! I bet this is scrumptious too:) Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
Thanks Lynn! The fresh fruit is great for summer!
Thanks Justin! The ice cream is a little lighter than a cake and the fresh fruit flavor is great!
how cool, I thought this was a rainbow cake when I saw the photo. Love that you used cool whip and cream cheese. Bet it’s good!
how cool, I thought this was a rainbow cake when I saw the photo. Love that you used cool whip and cream cheese. Bet it’s good!
Thanks Justin! The ice cream is a little lighter than a cake and the fresh fruit flavor is great!
can you tell me what cool whip is or where you can buy it
Cool Whip is an imitation whipped cream. You can get it at most every grocery store (in the U.S.), including Super Target and Walmart.
Could springform pans be used for this ice cream cake?
Yes, the recipe mentions using a springform pan or regular pan. It just needs to be 8 inches.
This looks great! I live in Australia and we don’t have cool whip. Can I just beat up some cream? Will it freeze ok? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! I’m actually not sure how whipping cream will do, but I’ve gotten that question a few times this week in reference to my Snickers Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake. I’d love to know the answer myself, so I got some whipping cream and plan on testing it out myself today. I’ll let you know what I discover!
This looks great! I live in Australia and we don’t have cool whip. Can I just beat up some cream? Will it freeze ok? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! I’m actually not sure how whipping cream will do, but I’ve gotten that question a few times this week in reference to my Snickers Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake. I’d love to know the answer myself, so I got some whipping cream and plan on testing it out myself today. I’ll let you know what I discover!
So I tested it out this weekend and whipping cream works great! I used a cup of heavy whipping cream, 2 tbsp of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla.
This looks great! I live in Australia and we don’t have cool whip. Can I just beat up some cream? Will it freeze ok? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! I’m actually not sure how whipping cream will do, but I’ve gotten that question a few times this week in reference to my Snickers Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake. I’d love to know the answer myself, so I got some whipping cream and plan on testing it out myself today. I’ll let you know what I discover!
So I tested it out this weekend and whipping cream works great! I used a cup of heavy whipping cream, 2 tbsp of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla.
Did you whip the cream & powdered sugar first? If so, do you add the pwdrd sug. before whipping, and to what degree (soft/stiff) do you whip it?
I used to whip the cream a little before adding the powdered sugar, but you can really just add them both at the same time. Whip it until it’s nice and stiff.
This has to be the prettiest cake EVER! Simply gorgeous with all those colors. 🙂 Perfect for summertime!
Thank you Sally! I love all the colors too. 🙂
This has to be the prettiest cake EVER! Simply gorgeous with all those colors. 🙂 Perfect for summertime!
Thank you Sally! I love all the colors too. 🙂
Thanks Julie! You definitely should! 🙂
Thanks! Wish you were here to give it a taste! 🙂
Simply gorgeous!! I’m definitely inspired to try this sometime 🙂
Thanks Julie! You definitely should! 🙂
MMmm! This is a creative work of art! And, looks so perfect for summer picnics/ parties! Love it!
Thanks! Wish you were here to give it a taste! 🙂
This is AMAZING. OMG I’m blown away! Pinned!
Thanks Dorothy!
What a gorgeous cake!!! And it’s made of ice cream?!? AND SKINNY?!
I think I just fell off my seat. 😉
Haha, thanks Jess! 🙂
This is genius! and so gorgeous. and real fruit! totally incredible. pinning now!
Thanks Carrie! 🙂