This no-churn vegan birthday cake batter ice cream is a rich and decadent dessert perfect for a plant-based birthday celebration! No bananas or coconut milk in this recipe. The ice cream has a true cake batter flavor.
My no-churn ice cream recipes are one of my favorite series of recipes I've done on this blog. It is ah-maz-ing how a few whole food ingredients transform to an ultra smooth and creamy vegan ice cream. All without an ice cream maker!
For my birthday this year, I decided to make a birthday cake version.
Birthday cake + ice cream = the ultimate sweet, colorful, decadent, rich birthday dessert.
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Why this recipe works
For an ultra creamy, rich, and decadent ice cream, you need sugar and fat.
The ratio of fat and sugar is what makes an ice cream that has a creamy texture and is super flavorful.
In this vegan ice cream, the fat source is nut butter, which is naturally creamy and high in fat. The sugar source is maple syrup.
Obviously, maple syrup and nut butter alone don't create ice cream. So non-dairy milk and applesauce help to lighten up the texture to the right consistency.
And the remaining ingredients create the flavor.
It's that simple!
Why I love this Vegan Birthday Cake Batter Ice Cream
- Dietary needs - this ice cream is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, sugar free
- No coconut - lots of vegan ice cream recipes use coconut milk. I avoided it in this recipe for two reasons: 1) to give an option for people with coconut allergies and 2) so the vanilla ice cream doesn't get a coconut flavor
- No bananas - I LOVE me some banana nice cream, but ice cream from bananas usually has a slight hint of banana flavor, even when you make it chocolate or peanut butter flavored. This vegan birthday cake ice cream is totally banana-free. Just sweet, decadent birthday cake flavor
- No-churn - If you have an ice cream maker, great, use it. But this recipe is intended to be no-churn, so you aren't missing out if you don't own one
- Whole food ingredients - the ingredients are simple, real foods.
- Epic color - this ice cream has that beautiful blue swirl, just like "regular" birthday cake ice cream
Ingredient Notes
- Non-Dairy Milk: I recommend using almond, oat, or cashew milk to avoid any strong flavors. I used homemade oat milk.
- Nut Butter: I recommend cashew butter or almond butter, since they have the most neutral flavor compared to other nut butters.If you are allergic to nuts or would prefer to have a nut-free ice cream, use full-fat coconut milk instead.
- Maple Syrup: This recipe gets sweetness from the maple syrup. If you prefer a fruit-sweetened version, sub the maple syrup with 6 pitted medjool dates and use a blender to combine all the ingredients.
- Unsweetened Applesauce: I use applesauce in this recipe for texture. Applesauce isn't as liquid as milk and it's also not as solid as nut butter. If there's too much non-dairy milk in a recipe that isn't churned, the texture can become icy instead of smooth. But if there's too much nut butter, the ice cream will be really dense. The density isn't necessarily a problem, except it's a lot denser than regular ice cream (when I first tested this recipe, I was using it to make ice cream floats and the ice cream didn't float!!). So, applesauce helps lighten the texture, and you can't taste it at all. But if you don't want to use applesauce you can use an additional ¼ cup of non-dairy milk and ¼ cup of nut butter.
- Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract: I used vanilla bean paste because it really packs a punch of vanilla flavor, even compared to vanilla extract. But vanilla extract works just fine.
- Almond Extract: this is optional, but highly recommended. Almond extract helps to create that cake batter flavor, and differentiate the flavor from a regular vanilla
- Salt
- Blue Spirulina: Spirulina is a blue-green algae. It's considered a health food because of its high nutrient content. But in this recipe we're just using it because it's blue! It's a natural way to dye part of the ice cream blue to create the cake batter vibe. Don't worry, you can't taste it! If you want to leave out the spirulina, that's totally fine - you can have a completely white ice cream that will still taste the same!
- Vegan Sprinkles: most sprinkles are NOT vegan because of the food dyes. Make sure your sprinkles are vegan by purchasing naturally colored sprinkles. I used sprinkles from Sweetapolita. I also recommend Sweet Eva's, which we used at the vegan bakery I worked at. And Whole Foods also sells vegan sprinkles.
How to make Vegan Cake Batter Ice Cream
Step 1. Add the non-dairy milk, nut butter, maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla seeds/extract, and salt to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
Step 2. If using the spirulina, divide the mixture into two freezer safe containers. Mix the spirulina into one of the bowls. Freeze for 30 minutes or until the mixture is semi-solid. If skipping the spirulina, move to step 3.
Step 3. Mix the sprinkles into each container. (Or, if skipping the spirulina, just mix in the sprinkles.) Then swirl the ingredients together in a larger container. Avoid over mixing so you don't blend the colors completely. Then freeze for an additional 2-3 hours, or overnight.
Step 4. When ready to eat, let the ice cream thaw 5-10 minutes before scooping. Serve with extra sprinkles. Enjoy!
FAQ & Expert Tips
No. I recommend using a blender because it will result in a smoother ice cream.
But if you don't have a blender or food processor you can use a whisk to combine all the ingredients. Whisk well to ensure all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Yes! My no-churn vegan vanilla ice cream is totally date sweetened and it's one of my most popular recipes!
You will need a blender if you choose the date-sweetened option. Simply replace the maple syrup with 6 pitted medjool dates. Bend until smooth - this may take a bit longer than the maple syrup version. And the proceed with the recipe as written.
You can sub the nut butter for 1 cup of coconut cream. Or you can use a seed butter like sunflower seed butter.
Both of these subs may change the flavor slightly so I don't recommend subbing unless you have a nut allergy.
This ice cream IS scoopable, just like regular ice cream. But it will be pretty solid if you take it out of the freezer and try to scoop immediately.
To get the perfect consistency, thaw for 5-10 minutes at room temperature. You'll know it's the perfect consistency when the edges of the container start to get melty.
Store this ice cream in the freezer.
You can store it in the container you made it in. Be sure to add some type of lid or plastic wrap to avoid the ice cream picking up any other flavors in your freezer.
I typically transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe zip top bag, which keeps it sealed and saves space.
Recipe Prayer
Thank you God for this birthday ice cream. We praise you for the celebration of birthdays. Amen.
Related Recipes
Love this no-churn ice cream? Check out my other vegan & no-churn ice cream recipes:
Tried this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Birthday Cake Batter Ice Cream (No-Churn)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- 1 Cup Cashew or Almond Butter
- ½ Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- ¼ Cup Maple Syrup
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste or Vanilla Extract
- ½ Teaspoon Almond Extract optional
- Pinch Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Blue Spirulina optional
- ¼ Cup Vegan Sprinkles
Instructions
- Add the non-dairy milk, nut butter, maple syrup, applesauce, vanilla bean paste/extract, and salt to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. (Alternatively, whisk thoroughly in a large bowl.)
- If using the spirulina, divide the mixture into two freezer safe containers. Mix the spirulina into one of the bowls. Freeze for 30 minutes or until the mixture is semi-solid. If skipping the spirulina, move to step 3.
- Mix the sprinkles into each container. (Or, if skipping the spirulina, just mix in the sprinkles.) Then swirl the ingredients together in a larger container. Avoid over mixing so you don't blend the colors completely. Then freeze for an additional 2-3 hours, or overnight.
- When ready to eat, let the ice cream thaw 5-10 minutes before scooping. Serve with extra sprinkles. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Addison
Hi Elizabeth! I was wondering if I could you beetroot powder to dye the ice cream instead of the spirulina? If so how much should I add? Thank you!
Elizabeth
Hi Addison! Yes you can definitely use beetroot powder. Beetroot creates less strong of a color than spirulina, so I'd recommend one teaspoon for a lighter pink or two teaspoons for a deeper pink.