Pumpkin caramel ice cream cake – with a no-churn pumpkin spice & vanilla bean ice cream, homemade salted caramel sauce and a cream puff as the cake.
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strawberry peach cream puff ice cream cake
Hello hello! I looove ice cream cakes and feel like they should be enjoyed year-round because they’re simply too delicious to give up in the colder months – and if you’re here right now I feel like you might agree with me. This is my fall ice cream cake, the cake part is actually just a giant cream puff (which is super delish, trust) – and it’s filled with a no-churn pumpkin spice ice cream, vanilla bean ice cream aaand a homemade salted caramel sauce
The only thing special you’ll need is a 7″ springform pan – you can find the one I used here. But other than that, this cake is super easy to make. So let’s get into it! 🙂
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
LINE THE CAKE PAN WITH PLASTIC WRAP WHEN ASSEMBLING:
When it’s time to assemble the ice cream cake, I *strongly* recommend lining the pan with plastic wrap so that it’s much easier to get your cake out when it’s time to eat it.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for pumpkin caramel ice cream cake:
Choux pastry:
- Whole milk: adds some richness and softness to the dough.
- Water: for moisture
- Unsalted butter: for richness, tenderness, and flavor. You can use salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the dough. You’ll also need a little bit to brush on top of the choux pastry before baking it.
- Granulated sugar: just a tiny bit for a touch of sweetness.
- Salt: to balance and bring out the flavor of the dough.
- All purpose flour: for structure.
- Egg: for binding the dough together and for richness.
no churn ice cream:
- Heavy whipping cream: for fat, richness, and creaminess. Heavy whipping cream also helps to incorporate air into the ice cream like churning does, creating a lighter texture.
- Sweetened condensed milk: the base of the ice cream, and for sweetening the ice cream.
- Salt: for flavor. Salt also helps lower the freezing point of ice cream.
- Vanilla: extract or bean paste, for flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: for pumpkin flavor – make sure you are using 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling here.
- Pumpkin pie spice: for flavor – in a pinch you can use ground cinnamon in its place.
- Salted caramel sauce: here is my homemade 5-ingredient salted caramel sauce that I used, but you could also use a store-bought caramel here.
whipped cream:
- Heavy whipping cream: the base of the whipped cream.
- Granulated sugar: to slightly sweeten up the whipped cream.
- Salt: to balance and bring out the sweetness of the whipped cream.
- Vanilla bean paste: for flavor – vanilla extract would work perfectly here as well.
how to make pumpkin caramel ice cream cake:
Below are some images of what the cake looks like at various points of the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
pumpkin caramel ice cream cake
recipe q&a
Can I bake this cake in a different sized pan?
I would not recommend baking this in a pan bigger than 7″ as the choux pastry is already spread pretty thin in the 7″ springform.
how to store ice cream cake
The cake will need to be stored in an airtight container in the freezer.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Pumpkin Caramel Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice and Vanilla Ice Cream
- 480 g heavy whipping cream (16 oz.)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 400 g sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)
- 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste
- 120 g pumpkin puree (½ c.)
- 1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 batch homemade salted caramel sauce
Choux Pastry
- 60 g whole milk (2 oz.)
- 100 g water (3 ⅓ oz.)
- 85 g unsalted butter sliced (6 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 90 g all purpose flour (¾ c.)
- 150 g egg room temperature (~3 large eggs)
- 14 g unsalted butter (1 tbsp.)
Whipped Cream
- 170 g heavy whipping cream (5 ⅔ oz.)
- 40 g salted caramel sauce (2 tbsp.)
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice and Vanilla Ice Cream
- Add the heavy whipping cream and salt to a large mixing bowl. Beat with a hand mixer or with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.
- Add in the sweetened condensed milk and gently fold the milk into the whipped cream until the mixture is cohesive.
- Pour half of the mixture into a separate mixing bowl. To one of the bowls, fold in the vanilla bean paste. To the other bowl, fold in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
- Cover both bowls and place them in the freezer to set up while you make the choux pastry.
Choux Pastry
- Preheat the oven to 425℉ / 220℃. Line the bottom and sides of two 7” springform pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Add the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt to a medium-sized saucepan. Set the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to boil.
- Once boiling, vigorously mix in the flour until the mixture thickens and clumps up into one cohesive dough. Continue to cook the mixture, continuously mixing, for one more minute.
- Remove the dough from the heat and transfer it into a medium sized mixing bowl. Set the dough aside to cool down for 5-10 minutes, until the dough temperature is around 120℉ / 50℃ (or just not too hot to touch.)
- While the dough is cooling down, whisk your eggs together in a small bowl.
- Once the dough has slightly cooled, slowly beat the whisked eggs into the dough. Have a stand mixer or hand mixer running, and slowly stream in 1/4 of the egg mixture. Beat for ~30 seconds, then beat in another 1/4 of the mixture. Continue until you’ve used up all of the egg, then beat the dough for another minute.
- Split the dough between the two lined springform pans. Spread the dough into an even layer. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to form little swoops to make the top of the dough uneven.
- Melt 1 tbsp. of butter and brush it over the pastry.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce the heat to 375℉ / 190℃. Bake for another 18-20 minutes, until the top of the pastry is golden brown. Turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Leave the pastry in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove it and let it cool to room temperature before assembling the cake.
Filling / Assembly
- Take both pastries out of their springform pans, and line one of the springform pans with plastic wrap.
- Choose the pastry that has the least amount of peaks on top to be the bottom pastry. Put it right side up into the springform pan and press down on it to flatten it.
- Remove the two ice creams from the freezer. Alternate scooping in ½ of the vanilla and ½ of the pumpkin ice creams, then smooth them into an even layer.
- Drizzle 120g of salted caramel sauce over the ice cream, then top it off with the rest of both ice creams, smoothing the top into an even layer.
- Place the other pastry on top of the ice cream, then cover the whole thing with plastic wrap. Place the cake in the freezer to firm up for at least 4 hours.
Whipped Cream
- Hold off on this part until you're ready to serve the cake.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and salted caramel sauce to a medium sized mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment to beat the cream until soft peaks form.
- Remove the cake from the springform pan, top it with the whipped cream and more salted caramel sauce – then slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.