This Copycat DQ Ice Cream Cake layers chocolate and vanilla ice cream with that classic fudge and crunchy cookie center. And yes, it tastes just like the real thing. Best part? It’s surprisingly easy to make at home.
I’ve eaten a lot of cake over the years—cheesecakes, layer cakes, sheet cakes—and while I never picked the same one twice, there was one I always looked forward to: Dairy Queen’s. That thick, fudgey center with the chocolate crunchies? Absolute magic. I used to scoop that layer out and eat it straight. So when I started making my own ice cream cakes, recreating that iconic middle became the challenge. After a lot of testing (and more than a few spoonfuls), I finally cracked it—and this copycat recipe is the result.
Is It Hard to Make an Ice Cream Cake?
Nope! You don’t need an ice cream maker or fancy equipment. Just a springform pan, some store-bought ice cream, and a little time. The layers are simple to assemble, and you can make it ahead, which means zero stress on the day you serve it. It’s the kind of recipe that looks impressive but comes together with basic steps. That’s the best kind, right?
The rich fudge and crunchy cookie center is just like the classic DQ version (maybe even better), and honestly, it’s worth making the whole cake just for that.
What You’ll Need
You won’t believe how simple these ingredients are. I bet you were expecting super fancy and overly complicated ones, right? Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need. Don’t forget to scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list.
- Oreo cookies – You’ll crush these (filling and all) to make that classic chocolate cookie crunch layer.
- Butter – Just a little melted butter helps bind the cookie crumbs together.
- Vanilla and chocolate ice cream – Grab your favorite store-bought brands. Let them soften slightly before layering.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips, heavy cream, light corn syrup, and vanilla – These come together to make the rich, fudgy center layer that tastes just like the original.
- Cold heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract – For the fluffy homemade whipped cream topping.
- Sprinkles – Optional, but highly encouraged for that classic birthday cake look!
How to Make An Ice Cream Cake
Start with an 8×3-inch cake pan for a nice tall cake, or use a 9-inch pan or springform if you prefer. Line the inside with plastic wrap so it’s easy to lift out later.
Make the Oreo Layer
- Prep your tools: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Make Oreo mixture: Combine the Oreo crumbs and melted butter. Stir well then spread onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes: Cool. Break any big clumps into smaller ones. Set aside.
Now we are going to assemble the layers:
- Chocolate ice cream: About 20 minutes before you need it, set the chocolate ice cream out to soften. Stir it until smooth and creamy. Add to the prepared cake pan and spread into an even layer. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Fudge layer: Make the fudge as directed in the recipe card below. Remove the cake pan with the chocolate ice cream from the freezer, then pour the chocolate fudge over the ice cream and spread into an even layer. Freeze for about 10 minutes.
- Oreo cookie layer: Add the cookie crumbles to the top of the fudge layer, then freeze for about 2 hours, until mostly firm.
- Vanilla ice cream layer: About 20 minutes before you need it, set the vanilla ice cream out to soften. Once softened, stir it up until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla ice cream to the top of the cake, then freeze until firm, 2-3 hours.
- Remove from cake pan: Use the clear wrap to lift the frozen cake out of the pan. Place it on a cardboard cake circle or a serving plate. Set it back in the freezer.
- Whipped cream layer: When it’s done, frost it with my homemade whipped cream. It uses some powdered sugar to keep it from wilting. It stays stable for days and days making it ideal for an ice cream cake.
- Add decorations and freeze until ready to serve: Decorate the ice cream cake as you like for your occasion and you’re ready to go!
This is seriously the BEST Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake! You will love it. And just like when I was a kid, you will want to eat the chocolate fudge and chocolate crunchy layer right out of the center.
How to Store
This is a great make-ahead dessert! You can build the whole cake in the pan, cover it, and freeze it for up to a week before serving. Just wait to frost and decorate until the day before (or day of) so it looks fresh. Once decorated, keep it in the freezer. If you have a cake box or cake carrier, that’s ideal—but if not, it’ll still be fine uncovered (in the freezer) for a couple of days.
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Watch How To Make It
Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake
- Prep Time: 5 hours 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: 12–14 slices 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Freezer
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Copycat Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake has layers of chocolate and vanilla ice cream around the iconic layer of chocolate crunchies and chocolate fudge. It is so easy to make and tastes just like the real thing!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Crunchies
- 3/4 cup (100g) Oreo crumbs (about 9 Oreos)
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
Ice Cream Layers
- 1.5 quart container vanilla ice cream
- 1.5 quart container chocolate ice cream
Chocolate Fudge
- 6 oz | 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips*
- 3 tbsp light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream
Whipped Cream
- 2 cups (480ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 1 cup (115g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Combine the Oreo crumbs and melted butter and stir until well combined. Spread the crumbs evenly onto the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, then allow to cool. Use your fingers to break any big clumps into smaller ones. Set aside.
- Line an 8×3 inch cake pan* with clear wrap that covers the bottom and goes above the sides of the cake pan. I used two pieces.
- About 20 minutes before you need it, set the chocolate ice cream out to soften. Once softened, stir it up until smooth and creamy. Add the softened chocolate ice cream to the prepared cake pan and spread into an even layer. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- To make the fudge layer, add the chocolate chips, corn syrup and vanilla extract to a medium sized bowl.
- Heat the heavy whipping cream just until it begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate chips. Allow to sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Remove the cake pan with the chocolate ice cream from the freezer, then pour the chocolate fudge over the ice cream and spread into an even layer. Freeze for about 10 minutes.
- Add the cookie crumbles to the top of the fudge layer, then freeze for about 2 hours, until mostly firm.
- About 20 minutes before you need it, set the vanilla ice cream out to soften. Once softened, stir it up until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla ice cream to the top of the cake, then freeze until firm, 2-3 hours.
- Use the clear wrap to lift the frozen cake out of the pan, then place it on a cardboard cake circle or a serving plate. Set it back in the freezer.
- To make the whipped cream, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Frost the cake with the whipped cream and decorate as desired. I used Ateco tip 844 for piping the borders.
- Freeze the cake until ready to serve. Cake is best when stored well covered and eaten within 4-5 days.
Notes
- I like using the 8×3 inch cake pan and having a taller cake, but if you don’t have one of those pans on hand and don’t want to purchase it, you could also use a 9 inch pan (including a springform pan). The cake just won’t be as tall.
- Semi-sweet chocolate must be used, not milk chocolate or another, for the fudge layer to set properly
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 661
- Sugar: 50 g
- Sodium: 118.6 mg
- Fat: 46.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Protein: 8.4 g
- Cholesterol: 173.7 mg
I made this ice cream cake for my husband’s birthday. My family didn’t believe I made it. It was very good. Loved the ganache fudge layer. It was time consuming because of the freeze times but I started two days ahead of time to make sure the ice cream was solid before adding the layers.
Do you let the cake set out any before serving? Or serve directly from the freezer?
You could let it sit out for a short bit, but it’s ice cream so it’ll melt fairly quickly.
Can you use store bought hot fudge for filling instead of making the ganache?
You can, but it won’t set up as well.
Is regular not light/white corn syrup fine to use? As I already have it. Thanks a bunch
As in dark corn syrup? That should be fine.
Thank you so much for sharing. I was looking for inspiration for my daughter’s birthday cake and just found it!
Quick question regarding the oreo crumbs: do you keep the oreo filling or do you scrape that off before make it into crumbs/ bake it?
Thank you!
You can leave the Oreo filling in the cookies.
Can I use this recipe to make a sheet cake? Will I need to add more to the ingredients?
If doing a 9×13, I’d think you’d need 1 1/2 recipes worth.
I cannot wait to try this recipe. My husband’s family is coming for a week at Easter, I am going to surprise everyone with an ice cream cake the kid’s are going to flip!!!
I really don’t know what happened here. I wish I could attach a photo of the disaster I ended up with. I am now headed to my nephew’s birthday without a cake. Followed all the steps and times. When I got to the final step I wish I had just left it in the pan. I had my concerns the minute I took it out of the plastic wrap. The ganache started oozing out the middle and the layers weren’t holding together well. I used two large spatulas to move the cake to a cake board and I could already see the bottom layer melting which made no sense. It had been frozen overnight, only coming out of the freezer for the other steps that took a couple of minutes at most. And the icing recipe became a wet mess almost instantly. I’ve never made a whipped cream icing where you don’t whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks first then add the powdered sugar. I questioned this but went ahead. It was stiff for about 5 minutes and then just started a melting cascade. Between that and the bottom layer melting and the cookie and ganache oozing out, I had an actual pond forming around the cake and had to just give up. I am an accomplished cake baker and decorator but wanted to give an ice cream cake a try. But this simply didn’t work. I don’t know if all those of you who pulled this off used some sort of special ice cream that was more solid/hard freezeabe or have a super chilled freezer, but my upright deep freezer tried it’s best but no luck.
Thank you for the advice. This is the best recipe I’ve found and I cannot wait to try it
can this be made in a 9 x 13” pan?
I’m sure it could be, I just haven’t tried it. I’d guess you’d need about 1 1/2 recipes worth.
Have you ever made this recipe but even taller? Like maybe three ice cream cake layers two Oreo layers? Was wondering if you could stack them after they were frozen.
I haven’t, but I did try stacking the layers after freezing them once and the problem was that they didn’t stick together super well. You could certainly try it though.
Made this for a birthday celebration this weekend. It was amazing! We made homemade ice cream for it. If you do this, you may want to have the cake in the freezer longer than a couple of hours after icing, as it was a bit on the soft side. When we had more later, it was firmer. The fudge was a bit rich, but good. The only issue we had was that when we went to serve it, the top layer didn’t stick to the cookie crumble layer, but that didn’t make a difference to us. My niece says that we have to do this for all birthdays now and my nephew thought we had bought it!
Made this twice now really good but the frosting was thin and was difficult to hold to sides .I used less whipping crean the second time but didn’t seem to help also whipped the cream for a good five minutes. Any thoughts maybe more icing sugar?
I’d make sure you’re using HEAVY whipping cream and not just whipping cream. The heavy whipping cream will give you a more solid whipped cream. Beyond that, yes, you could try more powdered sugar. But it should be plenty as is.
I was wondering if you have ever tried making the frosting chocolate? Maybe adding some cocoa to it?
Not on this cake, but on others. Just swap out about half a cup of powdered sugar for cocoa powder.
Can I use a sheet cake pan for a double recipe? Or should I just use 2 8in pans?
For a 9×13 pan, you’d probably want to do 1 1/2 recipes worth.
Could I use store bought chocolate syrup instead of making chocolate fudge?
Store bought syrup probably won’t stay in place when you slice the cake. Plus, if you really do like a DQ ice cream cake, there’s a certain texture to their fudge layer, which I did my best to replicate. A store bought sauce won’t be like that.