Fried Ice Cream Cake
Layers of delicious buttery cinnamon sugar corn flakes snuggle a thick slab of creamy vanilla ice cream topped off with a healthy drizzle caramel and chocolate topping! Finish it off with whipped cream and a cherry, and you have a superb Fried Ice Cream Cake dessert!

We celebrated our son Landon’s birthday last weekend. When I texted him to ask what he wanted for “dessert” …his reply was “I think you know what I want?” (Panic… I do?! Yikes!) Total Mom Senior moment… (I’m a grandma… I’m allowed Senior moments now. It’s in the handbook!)
I honestly couldn’t remember for a few minutes and then… Wham… It hit me! Fried Ice Cream Cake! Landon loves Fried Ice Cream!
Years ago I made traditional fried ice cream. Last year I got to thinking that there just HAD to be an easier way to make this dessert. THERE. HAD. TO. BE!
One that didn’t require frost bite or major burns from splattered grease! I searched and found this amazing…let me say this again…AMAZING…super EASY fried Ice Cream Dessert! It’s the Bombdiggity! You gotta try this …
How To Make Fried Ice Cream Cake

You want to make the crispy golden cinnamon crust first to give it time to cool.
Toast the crushed corn flakes…”Here’s to you Corn Flakes!” (Not that kind of toast! Sorry it’s late, long day, long day…) and cinnamon sugar. In a large skillet add 1/2 cup, or one stick of butter, over medium heat! Yes! An entire stick of butter.
Add the corn flakes, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir the corn flakes, with a wooden spoon, until they begin to get crispy, the sugar crystallizes, and it smells slightly toasty!
You’ll want to jump in that pan and suck up every last morsel! (It’s like corn flake crack! Not that I’m familiar with crack but…you get the gist!)
Once the crumbs are nice toasted, and slightly more golden, remove them from the pan. Set them aside to cool.
TIP: They need to cool completely, or the crumbs will melt into the ice cream and disappear forever.
How to make Vanilla Ice Cream Filling
Remove vanilla ice cream from the freezer, about 30 minutes beforehand, and let it soften. The softened Ice Cream makes this frozen dessert a breeze to make.

Mix one quart of softened vanilla ice cream with one package of cool whip. Throw some muscle behind it…come on…you can do it! Mix, mix, mix!
Once the ice cream and cool whip are blended together, place half of the cooled corn flake mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread it from edge to edge and pat down with your hands. It will not “stick” together like a typical crumb crust, but it will help to even it out.
Carefully spread your ice cream mixture on top of the crumb crust. Just like the picture. (Why do I suddenly want a spoon?)

See…easy-peasy!
Place the remaining corn flakes evenly over the top of the Ice Cream. Lightly press them into the ice cream and then drizzle with honey. (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of that last step… Cut a girl some slack… I was dealing with melting Ice Cream and Corn Flake Crack!)
Cover with foil and place in the freezer! Freeze for 4–5 hours. Tick-tock…tick-tock…don’t do it…ya gotta wait!
How To Serve Fried Ice Cream Dessert
Before serving, let cake set out for about 20 minutes.
With a sharp knife cut the cake into squares. Place a serving of cake on a dessert plate.
Finish with a drizzle of caramel and chocolate ice cream syrup! Add a hefty squirt of my fluffy friend “whip cream”! If you’ve gone this far… I say go ALL THE WAY and finish with a cherry on top!
Ta-DA! Fried Ice Cream Cake!

Say it with me….Mmmmmmmm! Both my son and son-in-law declared it better than original fried ice cream! WOWZA! (I happen to agree with them and… they are the experts!)
The big bonus of this Frozen Treat is how easy it is to make. No more dealing with hot oil and atomic ice bombs!
As the host you can serve everyone, including #1… Yo-self! Also, you are not stuck in the kitchen trying to juggle frying 8 ice cream balls all at once. (It never works…trust me!)
There it is. Fried Ice Cream Cake! It’s great any time, but during the blazing hot summer… it’s the best!
Maybe someone at your nest would like this for their birthday?
Great Summer Dessert Recipes
- Easy Homemade Cream Puffs
- Easy Orange Creamsicle Frozen Dessert
- Frozen Chocolate Covered Banana’s with Roasted Almonds
- Peaches and Cream Funnel Cakes
- Homemade Snow Cones
- No-Bake Lemon Cream Pie
- Mile High Mud Pie from The Fresh Cooky
I hope you like this recipe. If you do… remember to share it with a friend! Thanks for stopping by my Nest Today! Have a great week and stop again soon.
Happy Nesting My Friends!


Fried Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups crushed Corn Flakes cereal
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter
- 1 1.75 quart container Vanilla Ice Cream
- 1 8 ounce container Cool Whip
- 1/4 cup honey
- Chocolate syrup
- Caramel sauce
Instructions
- Take the vanilla ice cream out of your freezer and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so, to soften.
- Melt butter in a medium skillet, over medium heat. Add the crushed corn flakes, sugar and cinnamon.(I mix my sugar and cinnamon before hand) Stir to combine. Fry mixture for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until cereal is golden-brown. *Be careful not to burn. It may take less than 5 minutes. Allow corn flake mixture to cool completely.
- Take a 9 x 13 baking dish and spread 1/2 the corn flakes mixture into the bottom of pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the softened vanilla ice cream and cool whip. Using a spatula or large spoon, stir and mix well to combine. Spread ice cream mixture over the top of the corn flake mixture in the bottom of the pan.
- Spread the remaining corn flake mixture evenly over the ice cream. Drizzle the honey over the top. Cover pan, and place in freezer. Freeze ice cream for at least 5 hours, or overnight.
- Cut into squares and serve with drizzles of chocolate syrup and caramel sauce. Remember your fluffy friend whip cream and the cherry on top! Enjoy!
This has Cinco De Mayo written all over it! Absolutely delicious, I can’t wait to make it.
Hi Chellie!
You are the BEST! I know how busy you are girl so I really appreciate you stopping by and visiting with me. Your Instagram has me drooling today! AMAZING recipes! Thanks for taking the time to visit with me.
Hugs!
Norine
@[email protected],
Do you crush the cereal before measuring?
Hi Angela!
Yes I do. Sorry for the delayed response. I took a little time off during the Holidays. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you have a very happy New Year.
Norine
This is going on my To-Make list! In fact, I know one soon-to-be 20-year old who will be thrilled to have this as his birthday cake, too. Thanks Norine!
Hi Lynn!
I can promise your 20 year old will love it as much as my 26 and 30 year old do! (I suddenly feel so old! lol) Thanks so much for stopping by Lynn! You made my day!
~Norine
so-so-so-so delicious, it’s become a new family fave!
Love that word, gonna use it for this from now on! Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
I make mine in individual plastic 9 oz cups then plastic wrap and into the freezer easier to serve and ready to go at any time one at a time or all at once!!! A keeper recipe!!! Thanks
Hi Chris!
That is Genius!!! I’m going to do that next time I make this recipe. My guys will love the fact that they can just grab one individual serving instead of the entire pan! Brilliant! Thank you for sharing with us! Have a Great week!
Happy Nesting!
~Norine
My daughter loves fried ice cream and her 16th birthday is Tuesday. Since she doesn’t like cake I am trying to think up so ways to price this up into a sweet 16 cake. Any ideas?
Hi Andrea!
I’m so sorry it has taken me a few days to respond. I’ve been down with the flu! First…Happy 16th Birthday to your daughter! This is the perfect birthday cake! My two sons request this every year for their birthday’s. They love it. There are several ways you could spice this cake up for her birthday! You could add chocolate covered strawberries to the top! Pip whipped cream frosting around the edges and add sprinkles…there are so many awesome sprinkle combo’s out there now. You could make the cake in a spring form pan rather than a 9 x 13 and actually cut the slices like regular round cake. Those are just a few of the idea’s that come off the top of my head.
I hope she has a wonderful birthday! 16 is such a great birthday! Again I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to get right back to you. Hope this helps in some small way.
Happy Nesting and Thanks for Stopping by!
~Norine
This looks so good! How far advance can I make this? I am juggling a lot of dishes for a party and hoping to make this in advance.
Will the crust get mushy? Hoping to make this 2 days in advance
Hi Farah!
Good News! The crust will not get mushy in two days or even a week. About two weeks out…the crust get’s a little soft! Be sure to toast those corn flakes really well. You don’t want to burn them…but you do want to get them nice and toasted! One of the things that makes my recipes different from the others is that I add the sugar and cinnamon to the corn flakes during the toasting which makes them nice and crunchy! Other recipes add the sugar after you’ve toasted the corn flakes! Be sure to cover it really good and you’ll be good to go for your party! We’re having this same cake this week for a party we are having. You’re guests will LOVE this dessert.
Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by and have fun!!!
Happy Nesting!
Norine