This surprisingly simple recipe captures the magic of Cold Stone Creamery’s beloved cake batter ice cream in your kitchen. This creamy, dreamy frozen treat delivers that nostalgic cake batter flavor that makes adults feel like kids again. With just five ingredients and an unconventional but crucial technique, you’ll create ice cream that’s indistinguishable from the premium parlor version, perfect for birthday celebrations or whenever you need a sweet escape.
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Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe So Good
There’s something irresistibly nostalgic about cake batter flavor that transports you back to childhood moments of sneaking tastes from the mixing bowl. This isn’t just any cake batter ice cream, it’s a precise recreation of Cold Stone Creamery’s iconic version that has captured hearts and taste buds across the country. The secret lies in using the exact right cake mix and an unusual but essential preparation technique that transforms ordinary ingredients into extraordinary frozen bliss.
The Duncan Hines Difference: After extensive testing, only Duncan Hines Butter Recipe cake mix delivers the authentic Cold Stone experience. This specific formulation provides the perfect balance of buttery richness and vanilla sweetness that defines the original. Other cake mixes won’t produce the same magical result, making this one ingredient substitution absolutely non-negotiable.
Making Cold Stone Creamery Cake Batter Ice Cream
Ingredients
- Heavy whipping cream – Provides the rich, luxurious base that creates the signature creamy texture
- Whole milk – Balances the richness while adding necessary liquid for proper consistency
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens the base and helps prevent ice crystal formation during freezing
- Salt – Enhances all flavors and balances the sweetness for a more complex taste
- Duncan Hines Butter Recipe cake mix – The star ingredient that provides authentic cake batter flavor
How to Make Cake Batter Ice Cream
- Spread out the cake mix in a thin layer on a sheet pan.
- Heat the cake mix in the oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes.
- Mix heavy cream, salt, and sugar in a large stockpot.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, turn off the heat.
- Add the cake mix and whisk in well.
- Add heavy cream and milk into the pot and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl.
- Cover it and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours.
- Stir the ice cream mixture again before putting it in an ice cream maker.
- Freeze according to the ice cream manufacturer’s directions.
- Serve frozen.
Recipe Notes
- It is unsafe to consume raw flour, so it’s really important to cook the cake mix for about 5 minutes before adding it to the ice cream.
- Mix everything together, and then allow the ice cream mix to chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. This will give the cake mix time to fully incorporate into the mixture.
- If you want this recipe to taste exactly like Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, you will need to use Duncan Hines Butter cake mix. It’s the only one I found that matches perfectly, so do not make any substitutions with the cake mix.
Recipe Variations
It’s easy to incorporate other flavors with mix-ins. Just add some toward the end of churning it.
- Birthday Cake Ice Cream – Rainbow sprinkles
- Chocolate Chip Cake Batter Ice Cream
- Nutty Cake Batter Ice Cream – Your favorite nuts or butter pecan.
What To Serve With Cake Batter Ice Cream
Although this cake batter ice cream is delicious by itself, it’s even better when paired with a classic pastry. For instance, you can make a hot fudge cake to serve alongside the frozen treat!
The rich, fudgy cake and fluffy ice cream are a match made in heaven. You can also serve it a la mode with an equally delicious warm cookie or brownie.
Alternatively, add toppings to the ice cream, like Oreo crumbs, sprinkles, whipped cream, caramel sauce, or assorted chopped nuts. You can also purchase different waffle cones to serve the ice cream.
Storing Homemade Ice Cream
Homemade ice cream should be kept in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to two weeks; after that, ice crystals will start to form.
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More Homemade Ice Cream Recipes
Be sure to look at more of my copycat restaurant desserts and the best ice cream recipes.
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Cold Stone Cake Batter Ice Cream – Easy Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Cake Mix
Instructions
- Spread the cake mix on a baking sheet or Silpat, and bake for about 5 minutes at 350°F. Let cool completely.
- In a heavy stockpot mix together 1 cup of heavy cream, salt, and 3/4 cup of sugar. Heat over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
- When the sugar is dissolved turn off the burner, add 1/2 cup Duncan Hines Butter Recipe cake mix, and whisk in well.
- Add 2 cups of heavy cream and 1 cup of milk into the pot and mix well. Refrigerate mixture for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Before freezing ice cream according to your ice cream freezer whisk together well, the mixture will be a little lumpy. I like to freeze the ice cream for a few hours before serving the ice cream.
Hi, so random but I have to say that I worked at several different Cold Stones in Northern California from 2002-2003, and distinctly remember the introduction of this new flavor. It was such a huge deal for the already exploding company! As Shift Leaders, we made the ice cream ourselves in the back, and this flavor was made with Gold Medal Brand White Cake Mix, poured directly into the machine straight from the box as a dry mix,with the entire bladder of sweet cream. I don’t know what their methods or ingredients are almost 20 years later, but that was how it began. https://www.generalmillscf.com/products/category/mixes/cakes/under-25-pounds/gold-medal-white-5lb-0gtfa
(Coffee was made adding free dried instant coffee to sweet cream; I can’t remember the brand).
do you only heat 1/2 cup of the dry cake mix? Save rest for later? Your video doesn’t say to refrigerate 4 hours before putting in icecream maker. Is this required? Also can my parents old, tall icecream work for this recipe. much larger than 1 quart.
Please only heat the dry cake mix. You can skip refrigerating everything for 4 hours before, it may not freeze as quickly, no real loss there. Your parents old ice cream maker should work just fine.
We made this for the first time for my daughter’s birthday. It was delicious and came out perfect! Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Hi. Can this turn out with the same consistency without an ice cream maker?
No, you need some sort of ice cream maker to whip air into it. You can absolutely freeze it, and it will taste the same though.
This was better than I thought it might be. Delicious.
My kids loved this!
Hello! Can you please help me find a copycat recipe for Cold stone Creamery coffee ice cream or gelato? Thank you very much.
I appreciate your suggestion, I will keep it in mind.
Like!! Thank you for publishing this awesome recipe.
The cake mix part is a bit confusing. Do you whip up the cake mix first according to pkg directions or leave it dry?
You leave the cake mix dry.
Your video for the ice cream doesn’t match the instructions for the ice cream. In the video you didn’t warm up the cake mix nor did you place the mixture in the fridge
You are correct. The recipe is older than the warning about raw flour. I added that step after the video was produced. I don’t understand the comment about putting the mix in the refrigerator.
I made this recipe not realizing that I needed and ice cream maker, which I don’t have. What can I do with this mixture now?
You could try to freeze it and see what happens.
Hi so you refrigerate the mixture first for 4 hours before putting in an ice cream maker to form?…just verifying
I tried this recipe with a French Vanilla DH cake mix and it was very good. I baked the remaining cake with sprinkles (of course) and froze it into cubes and poured the mix over the cake after churning it then allowed it to freeze. CHANGES I made were to substitute the milk for half&half with the whipping cream. This time I may try a suggestion by ALTON BROWN who says to add a bit of jam to get a harder consistency (PECTIN I think) and see how it turns out. It is a great tasting ice cream regardless of how close it does or does not taste like the Coldstone Creamery. Shame on those who are “throwing it out,” as there are people who have nothing and your complaining about your ice cream!
I’m loving this. I’ve had a hard time replicating the cake batter flavor, so I’ve gone up to 1 cup of the mix in the batch I just put in the freezer. What I love most about this recipe is your base. SO VERSATILE. Of course this is the only thing I’ve made with it, but I have so many ideas, it’s ridiculous. I want to master this recipe first, since this is, hands down, my favorite flavor of ice cream.
Deb, it is a very nice ice cream base, I use it often now.
I made this last night and it does not taste like Cold Stone. I am going to throw it away, it is bad!
Thanks for posting this! It was so creamy when I finished freezing it. I use a 4 qt. freezer and my stand-by vanilla recipe has me add milk to the fill line once the ingredients are in. This recipe only filled the canister maybe a third of the way – do you use one of the smaller 1.5 or 2 qt. machines?
I believe it is a 1.5 quart ice cream maker.
Is there any way to turn this into Gelato? I use a gelato base which is :
2 cups Milk
1 cup Heavy Cream
2/3 Sugar
4 eggs yolks
I cook the milk, whip the yolks with sugar till thick, then tempure the milk slowly into the yolks and return custard to heat. At what point in this process could I turn the Gelato into this flavor?? Also, could I swap the cake mix for a red velvet cake mix?? I am inlove with Ben and Jerry’s Red velvet cake ice cream but the calorie and fat content is way high. Gelato is much friendlier to my diet:)