Carrot Ice Cream Cake Recipe

This Carrot Ice Cream Cake recipe is a complex and show-stopping recipe, which uses carrot ice cream and cheese ice cream. It’s a restaurant-quality dish, ready in about 3 days.

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Carrot Ice Cream Cake Ingredients

A complex list for a true showstopper dessert.

For the Carrot Cake:

• 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) vegetable oil
• 1 7/8 cups (15 oz) granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 cups grated organic carrots (from about 3 large carrots)
• 1 cup (8.5 oz) finely diced fresh pineapple
• 1 cup hickory nuts, chopped

For the Cheese Ice Cream:

• 4 1/4 cups (1 liter) whole milk
• 2 1/4 cups (17-18 oz) heavy cream
• 1 3/4 cups (14 oz) granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup (5 oz) glucose syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4-5 oz cream cheese (or Brillat-Savarin cheese)
• 30 egg yolks

For the Carrot Ice Cream:

• 2 1/4 cups (17-18 oz) carrot juice reduction (from approx. 30 large carrots)
• 1/2 cup (3.5 oz) pineapple juice reduction (from 1 large pineapple)
• 2 1/4 cups (17-18 oz) whole milk
• 1 cup (8 oz) heavy cream
• 1 1/8 cups (8.5 oz) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (3.5 oz) dry milk powder
• 1/2 cup (4.5 oz) dry glucose powder
• 1 tsp (0.25 oz) ice cream stabilizer

For the Pineapple Sauce & Garnish:

• 4 cups (2.2 lbs) fresh pineapple puree (from 2 large pineapples)
• 1 1/8 cups (8.5 oz) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp (0.25 oz) Pectin NH
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Leftover pineapple pulp (for pineapple chips)

For the White Chocolate Shell & Decorations:

• 2 cups (17-18 oz) cocoa butter
• 3 1/2 cups (22 oz) white chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup (3.5 oz) glucose
• 1 cup (7 oz) fondant icing
• 1 cup whole hickory nuts, toasted

How To Make Carrot Ice Cream Cake

A multi-day project for a spectacular result. Plan ahead!

1. Make the Carrot Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a full-sized sheet pan with a silicone mat. In a mixer, combine oil and sugar. Add eggs one by one. Sift and add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon), mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the carrots, pineapple, and nuts. Spread the batter onto the prepared pan and bake for about 10 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, then freeze the cake on the pan.
2. Prepare the Ice Cream Bases (Day 1):
   • For the Cheese Ice Cream: In a saucepan, bring milk, cream, half the sugar, glucose, and salt to a simmer. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the other half of the sugar. Temper the hot milk into the yolks, then return the entire mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens to a custard (coats the back of a spoon). Place the cheese in a bowl set over an ice bath. Strain the hot custard over the cheese and stir until melted. Cool completely, then churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s directions. Freeze.
   • For the Carrot Ice Cream: First, make the reductions. Juice about 30 carrots and reduce the juice in a saucepan until you have about 2 1/4 cups. Do the same with 1 large pineapple until you have 1/2 cup of reduction. In a saucepan, combine milk and cream. Whisk the sugar, dry milk, dry glucose, and stabilizer together, then whisk into the milk. Heat to 185°F. In a bowl over an ice bath, combine the carrot and pineapple reductions. Pour the hot milk mixture over the juices and cool completely. Strain, then churn in an ice cream machine. Freeze.
3. Prepare Garnishes (Day 1 or 2):
   • For the Pineapple Sauce: Blend fresh pineapple to a puree and strain. Combine sugar, pectin, and salt. Whisk this into the puree in a saucepan with vanilla. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick, about 3 minutes. Cool completely.
   • For the Hickory Nut Spears: Gently heat glucose and fondant in a pan until pale golden. Pour into a bowl to cool slightly. Pierce toasted hickory nuts with toothpicks, dip them into the warm sugar, and hang them from a taped edge to allow a spear of sugar to drip and harden.
4. Assemble the Cake (Day 2):
   • Use a 6-inch cake ring to cut one circle from the frozen carrot cake. Use a 4-inch cutter to cut two more circles.
   • Line the 6-inch ring with an acetate sheet on a cardboard base. Place the 6-inch cake layer in the bottom.
   • Slightly soften the cheese ice cream and pipe a layer up the sides of the ring. Freeze for 5 minutes.
   • Slightly soften the carrot ice cream and pipe a layer over the cake. Freeze for 10 minutes. Place one 4-inch cake layer on top. Repeat the ice cream layer. Freeze for 10 minutes.
   • Pipe a thin layer of pineapple sauce. Freeze for 10 minutes. Pipe a layer of cheese ice cream. Freeze for 10 minutes.
   • Place the final 4-inch cake layer on top and finish with a smooth, level layer of cheese ice cream. Freeze for at least 1 hour until solid.
5. Decorate and Serve (Day 3):
   • For the White Chocolate Spray: Melt cocoa butter and white chocolate separately, then blend them. For a professional finish, use a food-safe paint sprayer to apply a thin coating to the frozen, unmolded cake. Immediately return to the freezer.
   • Final Touches: Decorate the cake with tempered chocolate pieces, garnish with the hickory nut sugar spears, and serve with the prepared pineapple sauce.

Recipe Tips

• What is “tempering”? Tempering is a process of heating and cooling chocolate to specific temperatures. For the egg yolks, it means slowly whisking in a small amount of the hot milk mixture to gently raise their temperature before adding them all back into the pot. This prevents them from scrambling.
• Can I simplify this recipe? Yes. This is a professional, restaurant-level dessert. To simplify, you can skip the homemade ice creams and use store-bought vanilla (for the “cheese”) and store-bought mango or orange sorbet (for the “carrot”). You can also skip the complex garnishes.
• What is a carrot juice reduction? It means to simmer a large amount of fresh carrot juice in a saucepan until most of the water has evaporated, leaving a smaller, more intensely-flavored, syrupy “reduction.” This is key to getting a strong carrot flavor in the ice cream.
• What are glucose and stabilizers? These are professional ice cream ingredients. Glucose (syrup and powder) helps control the sweetness and prevents ice crystals, making the ice cream smoother. A “stabilizer” (like a blend of locust bean gum, guar gum, and carrageenan) does the same thing. You can omit them, but your ice cream may be icier.

What To Serve With Carrot Ice Cream Cake

This dessert is an all-inclusive show-stopper. It already includes the cake, ice cream, sauce, and garnishes.

• A hot, strong espresso or black coffee to cut the richness
• A glass of sweet dessert wine, like a Sauternes

How To Store Carrot Ice Cream Cake

• Freeze: This cake must be stored in the freezer, as it is primarily ice cream. Keep it in a covered, airtight cake carrier in the freezer. It is best eaten within 1-2 weeks.

Carrot Ice Cream Cake Nutrition Facts

Nutrition information is highly variable and depends on the specific, complex ingredients used. This is a very advanced, high-calorie, restaurant-level dessert.

Nutrition information is estimated and may vary based on ingredients and cooking methods used.

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