Easy peanut butter and brownie ice cream cake slice

Peanut Butter & Brownie Ice Cream Cake: Easy & Yummy!

ByGale
slice of ice cream cake with brownie and peanut butter icing

My son, Mr. Ice Cream, is also a Reese’s peanut butter fiend! I wanted to make a cake for his birthday that combined the things he’d loved throughout his childhood. Ice cream cakes were part of my repertoire, but it was time for Connor, my ice cream lover, to have one that combined the trifecta of his favorite ice cream, favorite candy, and his love of ice cream. It was obvious that we were overdue for another ice cream cake, which is how I came up with the Easiest Peanut Butter & Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Cake. This is my original recipe, not someone else’s that I tweaked. The focus on simplicity was a tribute to my complete lack of time or energy or motivation . . . or all of the above, which is frequently the case. Click here to skip down to the recipe.

Reese's peanut butter cup brownie and ice cream cake

Maybe I’d worn out all my cake making energy in their childhood years with the dalmatian, Pikachu, under the sea, skateboard, and other birthday cakes that my kids remember as my greatest hits. These were in the Pre-Pinterest era when we browsed magazines instead of the internet and fondant was for wedding cakes. There were no video tutorials, and my folders of ideas were kept in a real metal file cabinet. They might not be impressive compared to the imaginative cakes online, but my kids still talk about them like they were. I think I’ve earned a free pass for some lazy birthday cake shortcuts, especially when they’re as yummy as this one!

My Need For Speed

The unglamorous truth is we had a house full of sick people, and I was one of them. That’s why I’m confident anyone can conquer this naked cake which can be made over a few days or in one. There are prettier cakes on the internet (OK, most of them are prettier.), but I’ll put my easy peanut butter and brownie ice cream cake against any of them in a taste test.

peanut butter brownie ice cream cake on vintage plate

The Taste Test Reviews

My gang swooped down on this and declared it my best ever, which is saying something, because I make a mean from-scratch chocolate cake and a pretty fabulous turtle cake. This was such a hit with the birthday boy that he asked his girlfriend to make it this year for his birthday. That’s the best review I could ask for.

Like an Ice Cream Cake in July

Looking at the pictures, I have to add the disclaimer that ice cream cakes in Florida in late May leave little window of opportunity for photography. Even with the central air cranked, it is ice cream. Consequently, it melts. Add a birthday crowd ready to pounce, and I’m lucky I got these paltry photo offerings. There was no time for smoothing edges and staging, and as it was, there were plenty of outcries about taking pictures. As a result of the time crunch, you can see the imperfection of crinkles on the ice cream from plastic wrap. However, I have a couple of ideas to fix this as well as another original ice cream cake recipe to try.

brownie ice cream cake with peanut butter frosting and Reese's mini peanut butter cups

Tools Needed

  • cake pan *HOT TIP* It’s easiest if you have 2 identical pans. (I will be testing a spring form pan soon.)
  • plastic wrap
  • wax paper
  • parchment paper
  • cake frosting spatula

INGREDIENTS

  1. Box of fudge brownie mix
  2. 2 eggs
  3. vegetable or coconut oil
  4. 1/2 gallon ice cream

FROSTING

  • Small container whipped topping
  • PB Fit Powdered Peanut Butter
  • mini peanut butter cups

That’s it for the shopping list – short and sweet! I don’t know about you, but my eyes glaze over when a recipe has a long list of ingredients.

The Secret Ingredient

Other than the secret and crucial ingredient, PB Fit Powdered Peanut Butter, and the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (which you can buy unwrapped to cut out a step), it’s pretty flexible. (But why would you buy generic peanut butter cups?) There is no substitute for PB Fit, though, because of temperature and texture. It can be used in smoothies or baking and has 1/3 of the calories of regular PB. Bonus! Regular peanut butter would need heated and thinned to mix it, and that would melt the whipped topping. PB Fit was the secret to the success of the icing which was one of the best ideas I’ve had in the kitchen.

Additionally, I used Duncan Hines brownie mix and Aldi cookie dough ice cream. They tasted good and were easy on the budget, but use whatever brands are on sale you prefer. Brownie mix can always be enhanced as they are in this recipe. I strongly recommend a vanilla based ice cream, because the brownies and frosting are rich enough. French Vanilla would be my pick for the best companion to the PB frosting and fudge brownie layers.

Reese's peanut butter cups in peanut butter frosting on a brownie ice cream cake

Instructions for the Easiest Peanut Butter and Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Time needed: 8 hours

Easiest Peanut Butter and Brownie Ice Cream Cake

  1. Freeze Ice Cream in Pan

    The ice cream has to soften and set up again, so allow sufficient time. This can be done a week ahead. Set the ice cream out to let it soften while you get prep your pan. If you have a spring form pan, that would be ideal. (I have one and forgot. Oops!) Otherwise, use a regular round cake pan.

  2. Prep the Cake Pan

    Line with plastic wrap. Using the pan as a pattern, I traced and cut a round of wax paper and put one down next. Ice cream will stick to plastic wrap but not to wax paper. (One of my untested ideas is to apply non-stick spray to the pan, insert the wax paper circle, and make a band of wax paper to wrap around the inside edge, forgoing plastic wrap altogether. You’ll need a pan with sides that are at a 90 degree angle to the pan bottom, maybe a spring-form pan.)

  3. Spoon Ice Cream Into the Pan

    Fill the pan with slightly softened ice cream. The softer it is, the longer it needs to freeze, the longer before you can serve the cake. Fill in the corners. Smooth and level it, but it doesn’t need to be perfect. The only thing that will show is the edges and wrinkles in the plastic. You can see mine had crinkles, but I promise no one cared. You can get all perfectionistic about it if that’s your thang. Please post and tell me how you resolved that. (Maybe non-stick spray the pan and use a circle and a strip of wax paper around the edge instead of plastic wrap?)

  4. Bake the Brownies

    Gather 2 eggs, oil, and brownie mix and make the brownies according to the box. Always take the fudgy option. Bake in greased cake pan identical to ice cream pan with parchment paper circle in bottom. (or remove ice cream, carefully replacing in freezer on solid flat surface, and use that pan)

  5. While They Bake Prep PB Cups and Frosting

    Unwrap 20 mini peanut butter cups, quarter 5. The whole ones are for inserting into the cooked brownie, and the quarters are for topping.

  6. Make PB Frosting

    Follow instructions on PB Fit to make 3T, thin consistency (just add a little more water). Then fold PG into the tub of whipped topping. Refrigerate until needed.

    NOTE: The powdered PB is a different consistency than regular PB, and thinner is better for folding into whipped topping. To get regular PB to mix, you’d have to add oil or heat it, which would cause texture and taste problems.

  7. When Brownies Come Out of Oven

    Push mini peanut butter cups into them so the tops are level with the top of the brownie while it’s still hot. Let cool COMPLETELY before assembly, because hot brownie + ice cream = soup.

    Tip: Store brownie in freezer so it helps keep ice cream cold.

    Note: This cake must be stored in freezer after serving.

ice cream and brownie cake with peanut butter whipped topping frosting and peanut butter cups

Assembly Tips

  • Remove ice cream from freezer and unwrap, removing wax paper.
  • Put cake plate on top of ice cream and invert so it falls out of pan onto serving plate.
  • Use cake frosting knife, spatula, or your freshly washed hand (use flour or powdered sugar to keep from sticking) to stabilize the brownie when you turn the pan over, and layer brownie on top of ice cream. (Don’t use something with too much surface that will stick not slide.)
  • Pour peanut butter frosting over the cake and spread with frosting knife if necessary.
  • Sprinkle with quartered peanut butter cups.
whipped peanut butter frosting over brownie and ice cream cake

Alternatively, you could leave the ice cream in the pan until the last step, but I thought flipping both layers was cumbersome. YMMV. Additionally, the more times you flip layers, the more opportunity there is for dropping. Here are the steps for that process:

  • open the plastic wrap around the ice cream
  • flip the brownie out onto ice cream layer
  • put a plate under the brownies
  • flip it over so the ice cream is on top
  • frost and add peanut butter cups
slice of easiest ice cream and brownie cake with peanut butter frosting

Let me know how you like this ice cream cake in the comments. I’d love to hear how it turned out and what you did to make a prettier version!