The Best Ice Cream Cakes to Order Right Now, Based on Meticulous Taste-Testing

Carvel is an East Coast darling known for its soft serve, but its frozen confections are just as iconic. (Cookie Puss and Fudgie the Whale, anyone?) PureWow editor Abby Hepworth tried the small circle ice cream cake rather than a character, and her husband called it “the greatest press gift we’ve ever gotten.”

With vanilla and chocolate ice creams, chocolate crunchies and pink icing (you can choose from blue, white or pink edges), it was as tasty as it was attractive. “The cake looked gorgeous with neatly piped trim and a smattering of round, colorful sprinkles,” Hepworth says. “Even when cut, the cake didn’t fall apart, and the chocolate and vanilla ice creams didn’t melt together, so it looked just as delicious with every slice. Although the brand describes the ice cream in the cake as ‘soft serve,’ it’s definitely harder than what you’d receive if you were just getting a cone from Carvel. But it’s still deliciously smooth and the perfect complement to the chocolate crunchies separating the two flavors. The icing is also incredibly smooth and truly melts in your mouth.”

Most notably, she praised Carvel for nailing the ratio of crunchies to ice cream to frosting. “Every time I took a bite, I could easily discern the different elements, which blended seamlessly both in terms of flavor and texture. Oftentimes I feel icing or frosting on top of an ice cream cake is kind of unnecessary, but this was just the right touch—not too sweet and not too much.”

The one con? It took a long time to thaw to the point of being edible, but that didn’t stop her from digging in. “Being an impatient woman, I muscled my way through it just fine, but for a larger cake like for a party, I’d highly recommend letting it sit for some time before serving.”

PureWow editor-in-chief Jillian Quint tasted the Cookie Crave Cake in a Box—and it didn’t disappoint. “I love that it came in a box that folded and unfolded, so you could put it back in your freezer,” she raves. “Once unboxed, it almost looked like a giant brownie with cookie dough bites and a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top. When sliced, it looked more like a traditional ice cream cake with layers of chocolate cake, Oreo ice cream and frosting.”

Quint swears by its durability, which will help it stay fresh and appetizing for days, even once it’s been opened. “It tasted just as good three days later, and I appreciated that it stayed intact when sliced,” she adds. “At $30 for a box (which yields about 12 modest slices), this isn’t the cheapest ice cream cake on the block, but I think it’s worth it for the quality and ease of storage and use.”

As for this specific cake—which comes layered with cookies and cream ice cream, chocolate cake, cookie dough, Oreo pieces, whipped frosting and fudge—Quint says it’s an easy win. “It may be because I’m used to a certain brand that shall go unnamed, but I loved that this ice cream cake had a softer, more creamy [texture]. The proportion of cake to ice cream to toppings was just right, though I wouldn’t have turned down more cookie dough bites.”

PureWow VP of editorial Candace Davison had the pleasure of tasting two Dairy Queen cakes, the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard Cake (vanilla soft serve, fudge, crunchy chocolate cookie bits, a layer of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Blizzard treat, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups candy pieces and chocolatey drizzle) and a classic ice cream cake (chocolate and vanilla soft serves, fudge and crunchy chocolate cookie bits).

“Both were flawlessly decorated, which was impressive, considering it was August and the nearest DQ is a 30-minute drive away from me,” Davison says. “The classic cake is great for parties, since there’s ample room to write a message, but Reese’s was the ‘omg, what is THAT?’ showstopper that really got people’s attention.”

Both cakes had their high notes in terms of texture and taste. “The ice cream was dense yet surprisingly creamy,” she says. “I loved the whipped lightness of the frosting and found myself savoring that part first—it was a great, not-too-sweet foil for the decadent ganache core. My perfect bite? The frosting and ganache together, then a scoop of the ice cream.”

If you’re all about chocolate, you may want more on that front from the Reese’s number. “As a chocoholic, I wished the Reese’s cake had a chocolate ice cream layer, because it was a bit too vanilla for me,” Davison admits. “The topping, however, was ample, providing a nice, peanut butter-y contrast. The cookie crumbs and fudge layer really made both cakes, though. Just the richness and the textural variety added so much to each slice.”

If you’re seeking an elevated ice cream cake (read: not for a kid’s birthday party) that’s one of a kind, look no further than this jammy delight. It stars Salt & Straw’s Birthday Cake & Blackberries ice cream, along with seven hand-packed layers of yellow cake, dappled with sprinkles, vanilla ice cream, blackberry jam, cream cheese frosting and even more sprinkles.

I tried the original cake when it first launched, which had a coconut cake base, marionberry jam, rum-spiked bananas foster ice cream and hunks of rich peanut butter chocolate ganache. Since I adored it, I was psyched to try this take, especially since I adore fruit. The blackberry came through strong with a generous sour swirl, while the ice cream curbed its acidity with fresh, aromatic sweetness. The cake on the bottom was buttery and nostalgic with just the right doses of tang and salt to keep things balanced.

The one thing that gave me pause were the nuggets of cream cheese frosting, which offered plenty of cheesecake-inspired tang, but had an unconventional texture, sort of like a soft gummy bear crossed with a marshmallow. It’s different from standard ice cream cake, but that’s kind of the point of this gem, if you ask me.

The brand says it serves eight, but I’d say it could be six if the pieces are large. This is just right for a special dinner party or a grown-up soirée that calls for an unexpected splurge.