How to Make: Spring Fling Ice Cream Cake!

This time of year, everyone in the Test Kitchen is super excited about welcoming springtime. Spring means it’s getting warm enough for us to enjoy one of our favorite things: ice cream! Today, we’re showing you how to make spring’s most stunning dessert recipe, our Spring Fling Ice Cream Cake. All you need are a few shortcut ingredients from your local dairy and freezer aisle. Ready, set, go!

Ingredients: Let’s Head to the Freezer and Dairy Aisle!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 (16-ounce) frozen pound cake
• 4 cups chocolate ice cream, slightly softened
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 2 to 3 drops green food color
• Assorted medium sugar-coated candy gumdrops
• 8 lollipop sticks

Step One: Get Your Pan Ready

To start out, let’s line a 9- x 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, allowing a 1-inch overhang. (This will make the cake super easy to remove from the loaf pan once it freezes.)

Step Two: Prepare the Pound Cake

First, cut about 1/2-inch off top of your frozen pound cake and place it on the bottom of your pan. Easy!

Next, slice the remaining cake into 14 equal slices. (I had to resist the urge to sneak a taste! You can do it.) Once you’ve done that, lay the slices down and cut each slice in half lengthwise.

You should end up with 28 pieces. Trim the tops of each so that it has a point (Now you can eat the scraps! Thank goodness!). The end result should look like the top of a picket fence.

Now you line the inside of the pan with the cake pieces, pointed side up. Just like that, you’ve got a cute little flower bed, complete with a frozen pound cake fence!

Step Three: Ice Cream Time

Let’s get scooping! Spoon the ice cream into the pan, packing it as you go; cover and freeze for 6 hours or until firm. This is going to be the delicious “dirt” in your flower bed!

Step Four: Green, Green Grass

While our cake is in the freezer, we’re going to get to work on our cake decorations! This part is super easy. Just put your coconut flakes and food color into a resealable plastic bag; seal and knead bag until the coconut is evenly colored green. Once you’re done, just set it aside until a little bit later.

Step Five: Spring Flowers

To make these stunning spring flowers, use a rolling pin to roll out your gumdrops and, using a small flower-shaped cookie cutter or a knife, cut out flowers. Once you’re done, just attach your gumdrop flowers to your lollipop sticks.

Step Six: Garden to Table

Just before serving, lift the cake out of the pan, remove the plastic wrap, and place on a serving platter. Sprinkle your coconut grass over the chocolate ice cream “soil” and then pop in your gumdrop flowers.

There you have it! The most fantastic and flower-filled way to welcome spring ever, all thanks to a few delicious ingredients from your dairy and freezer aisle. When you’re welcoming spring this March, we hope you’re doing it with our Spring Fling Ice Cream Garden!

Tell us how your ice cream garden turned out in the comments below!

For more great family recipes visit EasyHomeMeals.com

This conversation is sponsored by National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association. The opinions and text are all my own.