Everyone needs a homemade Drumstick Ice Cream Cake when nostalgia hits in the heat of summer. This recipe deconstructs all the components of my favorite frozen dairy dessert and prepares it as a multi-serving sliceable snack.
No bake Drumstick Cake Recipe
Our easy Drumstick Ice Cream Cake recipe requires no cooking! It’s perfect for beginners (or little helping hands) because it’s literally made with spreadable layers that come from a package or a container.
This simple summer dessert recipe starts with a sugar cone crust covered with chocolate and is piled high with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. It’s topped with more chocolate magic shell and chopped peanuts so that it tastes just like the original Drumstick dessert.
What Is a Drumstick Ice Cream Cone?
The iconic Drumstick cone is a frozen ice cream treat that typically consists of a sugar cone filled with vanilla ice cream, topped with a chocolate covering and nuts. The bottom of the cone is often coated with chocolate to prevent leaks and add extra flavor. These can usually be found in your grocery stores ice cream aisle.
Ingredients Notes
- Sugar cones: For this recipe, the larger waffle cones will work just as well as the small sugar cones. No matter which one you use, you will need a total of 3 cups of coarse crumbs.
- Unsalted butter: Used to coat the cone crumbs when making the crust.
- Chocolate fudge magic shell: I used store-bought Smucker’s brand, but feel free to use your favorite or make your own magic shell chocolate syrup from scratch.
- Vanilla ice cream: I made my cake with containers of Edy’s ice cream. Use your favorite brand of plain vanilla ice cream for this recipe. I would not use French vanilla as it tends to have more of an off-white or pale yellow color, and the flavor is not as close to the original drumstick ice cream cones.
- Salted caramel sauce: I find that using a store-bought brand of salted caramel sauce with a thick consistency tends to freeze and hold its place better in this frozen drumstick dessert recipe. I used Mrs. Richardson’s brand, but you can use your favorite or make your own salted caramel sauce from scratch.
- Dry roasted peanuts
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Drumstick Ice Cream Cake
- Crush and Coat The Cones: Pulse the sugar cones just until coarse crumbs are formed. Drizzle in the melted butter and continue to pulse just until all the crumbs are coated.
- Create The Crust: Press the coated cone crumbs into the bottom of a baking dish. Spread the chocolate magic shell over the sugar cone layer. Place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
- Soften and Spread the Ice Cream: Spread the softened ice cream over the hardened chocolate layer and return to the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Spread The Sauce: Spread the caramel sauce over the ice cream layer and return to the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Add The Last Ice Cream Layer: Spread the 2nd layer of ice cream over the hardened chocolate layer and return to the freezer for 30 minutes.
- Cover The Cake: Spread the chocolate magic shell over the second layer of ice cream and top chopped peanuts.
- Serve: Freeze for a minimum of 8 hours or up to overnight before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
This drumstick ice cream cake is best served frozen. Remove the 9×13 dish from the freezer for 3-5 minutes to allow the ice cream to thaw just enough to slice and serve easily. Once sliced, serve the pieces immediately to prevent the ice cream from melting too much.
I love no-bake desserts during the spring and summer seasons when it’s too hot to heat up the house with an oven. Perfect for warm-weather gatherings, potlucks, and parties.
Tips & Variations
- Crush Your Cones: If you do not have a food processor, you can add the sugar cones to a large heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag and crush them using a rolling pin or meat mallet. You do not want large pieces; however, you still want the sugar cone crumbs to have some texture. You can then add the coarse crumbs to a large bowl and stir in the melted unsalted butter until the crumbs are completely coated with the melted butter.
- Soften To Spread: While the sugar cone crumbs are freezing, I recommend removing your container of ice cream from the freezer and setting it on the counter at room temperature to thaw and soften to a spreadable texture. You can transfer the softened vanilla ice cream to a large bowl and use a rubber spatula to stir the thawing ice cream to create a uniform consistency that can be easily spread.
- Cover Quickly: For the final chocolate layer, make sure to work very quickly once you remove the ice cream cake from the freezer, as the chocolate fudge magic shell will harden fast once it hits the frozen ice cream.
- Tasty Toppings: To mimic the classic drumstick toppings, crushed peanuts, more cone pieces, a drizzle of melted peanut butter, or more caramel can be added to the top of your cake.
- Prepare A Drumstick Pie: Feel free to assemble your cake in a springform pan and freeze until firm. You can then slice and serve it like a piece of ice cream pie.
Proper Storage
- To Store: This drumstick ice cream cake can be stored in the freezer, covered with aluminum foil, for up to one week.
If you love this one, do not miss my full collection of copycat dessert recipes.
Other Easy Ice Cream Treats
If you tried this Drumstick Ice Cream Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!!!
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