No-Churn Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream

5 from 2 votes
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Enjoy a scoop of No-Churn Birthday Cake Ice Cream that tastes like funfetti cake batter. This recipe is super easy and fun for kids of all ages with its rich, buttery vanilla flavor and tons of rainbow sprinkles. It has only six ingredients, but it’s made without a box cake mix, so it is naturally gluten free!

Love sprinkles? Then this Gluten Free Funfetti Cake is sure to make you smile!

Easy Birthday Cake Ice Cream – Tastes Like Funfetti Cake Batter!

Whether you call it birthday cake ice cream or cake batter ice cream, this dreamy frozen treat tastes just like you are licking the bowl after mixing up a Funfetti cake mix. It is creamy and buttery with rich vanilla flavor. There is a pinch of salt that simply enhances the other flavors. And let’s not forget the rainbow sprinkles!

Only this recipe doesn’t actually have cake mix, like many of the birthday cake ice cream recipes you’ll find. So it’s naturally gluten free.

Besides only having six ingredients, it’s also super simple to make this Birthday Cake Batter Ice Cream recipe. Let’s get into it…

Overhead of scoop in a container of Gluten Free Birthday Cake Ice Cream with Rainbow Sprinkles.

What makes ice cream taste like cake batter?

Heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk are the basis of any no-churn ice cream, whether it’s something as simple as Cheesecake Ice Cream or chockfull of stuff like Butter Pecan Fudge Swirl Ice Cream. Heavy cream is whipped to stiff peaks and sweetened condensed milk is folded in to give you an ice cream base that doesn’t require any cooking or churning in an ice cream maker.

But it’s the extra ingredients that make it taste like funfetti cake batter without cake mix – unsalted butter, vanilla extract, salt, and, of course, rainbow sprinkles!

Cake Batter Ice Cream in a green polka dot bowl with a pink spoon next to it and more colorful bowls and spoons in the background.

Ingredients

Even without using cake mix, you only need six simple ingredients to make this luscious ice cream! Here is a quick overview of what you’ll need, but scroll down to the recipe card for the full amounts.

  • Heavy cream: Make sure it is well-chilled.
  • Sweetened condensed milk: NOT evaporated milk. You need the sugar in the sweetened condensed milk.
  • Unsalted butter: Melted and cooled to give it that rich, buttery flavor just like cake batter.
  • Vanilla extract: A key component of the birthday cake ice cream flavor. Therefore, I highly recommend a good quality vanilla extract like Neilsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract.
  • Salt: Just a pinch enhances the sweetness and buttery goodness while making the vanilla stand out.
  • Rainbow sprinkles: What more can you say? They add color, texture, and, of course, fun! Make sure yours are gluten free, if needed!
measuring cup of heavy cream, can of sweetened condensed milk, jar of vanilla extract, cube of butter, and a bowl of rainbow sprinkles on a wooden platter

How to make cake batter ice cream

Read this brief overview so you can see just how easy it is to make. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full quantities and details. But don’t skip my PRO TIPS below!

Whip the cream: Combine the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt in a chilled bowl. Using a hand mixer with beaters or a whisk attachment or a stand mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks.

Finish the ice cream base: Pour the sweetened condensed milk and cooled melted butter into the whipped cream and gently fold in with a spatula.

Add the sprinkles: Pour the rainbow sprinkles over the top of the mixture and gently mix in.

Freeze: Spread the ice cream into a loaf pan or another freezer-safe container and cover with a lid or wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

A batch of homemade Ice Cream with rainbow sprinkles scattered over the top in a pan with polka dot bowls in the background.

Tips for Success

Keep it cold. Heavy cream whips more easily when it is nice and cold. I also recommend that you use a metal or even glass bowl, and chill it in the freezer or refrigerator before whipping the cream. Try to avoid plastic.

Don’t overbeat. This will cause the cream to curdle a bit and start to separate, starting to form butter. It’s actually fine to have soft peaks.

Cool the butter. Make sure the butter is cooled completely to room temperature but has not solidified so that it doesn’t “melt” the cream, but still distributes evenly.

Fold carefully. Use a large spatula and fold the ingredients in gently. Pull the spatula vertically through the middle of the bowl to the bottom, then fold the mixture over on itself. Stir the sprinkles in very briefly so that the color does not start to dissolve and smear through the ice cream.

Seal it well. If well-sealed, it will keep for about a month. But if you don’t create an air tight cover, it will start to get freezer burn very quickly.

A scoop in a container of Cake Batter Ice Cream topped with rainbow sprinkles.

Is Cake Batter Ice Cream Gluten Free?

Most cake batter or birthday cake ice cream you can buy at a store or ice cream shop is not gluten free, and neither are most recipes. They often contain cake mix or actual pieces of cake.

However, this recipe is gluten free, so it is a great option for those with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance. Most of the ingredients are naturally gluten free, such as heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and butter.

Many brands of vanilla extract and rainbow sprinkles are gluten free, but a few contain additives or are made on shared equipment, so be sure to read labels carefully.

The great thing about no-churn ice cream is that it is also egg-free, making it perfect for those with egg allergies too!

Funfetti Cake Batter Ice Cream in a green polka dot bowl with a pink plastic spoon next to it.

What to serve with Cake Batter Ice Cream

While you can’t go wrong just enjoying a scoop or two, or turning it into a sundae hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry, you can complete any celebration by serving funfetti ice cream with any of these gluten free birthday cakes:

You can also add some Funfetti White Chocolate Strawberries!

Ice Cream filled with rainbow sprinkles in a green polka dot bowl with the ice cream container and more bowls and spoons in the background.

Things You’ll Need

Brianne Recommends
  • Hand Mixer with a Whisk Attachment: you can whip the cream by hand with a whisk, but I like using a hand mixer. The beaters are fine, but a whisk attachment works better. A stand mixer can be used, but it is quite powerful so you do risk overbeating it.
  • Spatula: I like to use a nice, wide silicone spatula to fold everything together.
  • Good-Quality Vanilla Extract: as I mentioned, because the vanilla is so key to make it taste like birthday cake, you want an extract that has the best, pure flavor of vanilla. Definitely avoid imitation vanilla extract.
  • Rainbow Sprinkles: If you are gluten free, make sure your sprinkles are gluten free! Sometimes they aren’t.
No-Churn Birthday Cake Ice Cream in a green polka dot bowl on top of a colorful striped cloth napkin.
5 from 2 votes

No-Churn Cake Batter Ice Cream

You don't need a box of cake mix or an ice cream maker to enjoy a frozen treat that tastes like cake batter. No-Churn Birthday Cake Ice Cream is cool and creamy, buttery and rich, with vanilla flavor and plenty of rainbow sprinkles.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
chill time 8 hours
Total: 8 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream, well chilled
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

Instructions

  • Place a large bowl and beaters or whisk attachment into the freezer to chill for about 10 minutes.
  • Combine the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt in the chilled bowl, and using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks.
  • Carefully pour the sweetened condensed milk and melted butter into the bowl, then gently fold into the whipped cream. Then quickly and gently fold in the sprinkles.
  • Transfer the ice cream into a container you can freeze. Cover tightly and freeze for several hours, or until firm.
Nutrition Facts
No-Churn Cake Batter Ice Cream
Amount Per Serving (1 serving (about 1/2 cup))
Calories 217 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Fat 15g23%
Saturated Fat 9g45%
Cholesterol 53mg18%
Sodium 79mg3%
Potassium 114mg3%
Carbohydrates 19g6%
Sugar 18g20%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 545IU11%
Vitamin C 0.8mg1%
Calcium 90mg9%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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4 Comments
  1. Karen

    I am happy to see that this is gluten free. I have a question about your “Brianne Recommends”. In the box you say you need butter extract, but it is not listed in the recipe. Am I missing it?

  2. Phil

    Pro tip: Mexican vanilla extract blends taste like cake batter! That’s our secret ingredient in cake batter ice cream

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