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Ice Cream Cake With Circus Animal Crust {Lightened Up}
5 from 57 votes

Ice Cream Cake With Circus Animal Crust {Lightened Up}

This Ice Cream Cake features a crunchy crust made from crushed circus animal cookies bound with melted butter, layered with softened vanilla ice cream, and a white chocolate ganache mixed with cookie crumbs. The combination of creamy ice cream and a crunchy cookie crust gives textural contrast, while the lightened components make it less heavy than traditional ice cream cakes. Using a springform pan and freezing layers separately ensures even firmness and ease of serving.

Prep Time
30 mins
Additional Time
1 d 4 hrs
Total Time
1 d 4 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 10
Calories: 160 kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For The Crust:
  • 2 cups circus animal cookies about 2 heaping cups of cookies, crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons butter melted
For The Layers:
  • 1 1.75 quart vanilla ice cream about 6 cups total, low-fat
  • 8 ounces white chocolate
  • 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil or any very light-flavored oil
  • 1 cup circus animal cookies crumbs
  • 1 Cool Whip 8 ounces, light, package
  • Cool Whip for decorating, optional, additional
  • Sprinkles for decorating, optional

Instructions

For The Crust:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  2. In a large food processor, crush the circus animal cookies until they make fine crumbs.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the circus animal crumbs and the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are well coated.
  4. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the springform pan, making sure you pack them in nice and tight. Freeze for 24 hours.
Prepare The Layers:
  1. Thaw 3 1/2 cups of the ice cream until very soft, and spread over the frozen crust. Pop it back into the freezer until it's firm.
Circus Animal Layer:
  1. Process an additional 1 cup of circus animal cookies into crumbs using your food processor.
  2. In a large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate at 20-second intervals on a half power setting, stirring between each interval, until smooth.
  3. Quickly stir in the heavy whipping cream, oil, and cookie crumbs. The mixture will turn very thick, almost like a ganache.
  4. Pour over the frozen ice cream layer, spreading quickly to avoid melting the underlying ice cream. Place back in freezer until firm and set.
Final Layer:
  1. In a large bowl, thaw the rest of the ice cream until soft, then mix with the Cool Whip.
  2. Pour over the white chocolate layer, making sure the top is nice and smooth. Refrigerate until completely firm and set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Decorate with more Cool Whip and sprinkles, if desired.

Notes

  • Allow the cake to sit at room temperature a few minutes before cutting to soften slightly for easier slicing.
  • Use a very sharp knife and reheat it with hot water between slices to achieve clean cuts without cracking the ice cream layers.

Nutrition Information

Calories 160kcal (8%) Carbohydrates 13g (4%) Protein 1g (2%) Fat 11g (17%) Saturated Fat 6g (30%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g (6%) Monounsaturated Fat 4g (20%) Trans Fat 0.1g (5%) Cholesterol 12mg (4%) Sodium 39mg (2%) Potassium 67mg (1%) Fiber 0.04g (0%) Sugar 13g (26%) Vitamin A 99IU (2%) Vitamin C 0.1mg (0%) Calcium 47mg (5%) Iron 0.1mg (1%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 10 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 160

% Daily Value*

Calories 160kcal 8%
Carbohydrates 13g 4%
Protein 1g 2%
Fat 11g 17%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 4g 20%
Trans Fat 0.1g 5%
Cholesterol 12mg 4%
Sodium 39mg 2%
Potassium 67mg 1%
Fiber 0.04g 0%
Sugar 13g 26%
Vitamin A 99IU 2%
Vitamin C 0.1mg 0%
Calcium 47mg 5%
Iron 0.1mg 1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.