Dairy Free Cake Batter Ice Cream | No Churn or Ice Cream Machine

Creamy dairy free cake batter ice cream made without an ice cream machine so that everyone can enjoy it. There is a vegan cake batter ice cream recipe version too. 

No Churn Dairy Free Cake Batter Ice Cream

For years, one of my favorite gluten free no churn ice cream recipe has been my gluten free cake batter ice cream. With real birthday cake batter flavor (thanks to some toasted gluten free flour, or cake mix, a blue buttercream frosting swirl and a ton of sprinkles, it is always a hit.

Earlier this summer when I shared a picture of my gluten free birthday cake ice cream, I asked on Instagram if there was interest in a dairy free version. The answer was a resounding YES!

 If you like fun, bright colored ice cream you'll also love this recipe for cotton candy ice cream. It is perfect for a party!

It has taken me awhile to get the dairy free cake batter ice cream to you, because nailing a no churn ice cream is no easy feat. I ran into a few issues at firsts, and my dairy free no churn ice cream looked like cottage cheese.

I figured it out, and am breaking it all down so that you don’t have a curdled mess on your hands.

If you do have an ice cream machine, I'm including directions for making this recipe with an ice cream machine too. Honestly, using an ice cream machine is a TON easier than making it no churn. I love my Bosch Ice Cream Attachment for my Nutrimill Artiste Mixer.

(Use  "flippinbake&icecream" to buy a Nutrimill Artiste and get the ice cream attachments for free. )

Please note, this ice cream is coconut milk based and so it does taste like coconut to some degree. It will taste less like coconut the colder your ice cream is. It if softens or gets melty, it will taste more like coconut. 

How to make no churn dairy free ice cream:

The secret to creamy no-churn dairy free ice cream is to use coconut cream. Most recipes for no churn coconut ice cream say to chill the coconut cream, scrape off the solid part, and then whip it. (That is the process I used when I made my Honey No churn dairy free ice cream.)

The problem that can happen with the chill and whip process, is that if your fridge is very cold (like mine) is can get the coconut cream too hard, and it won’t whip. You’ll still have chunks of hardened coconut cream.

To avoid this from happening, I took a different approach using room temperature coconut cream. This process also uses gelatin. The gelatin helps it too not separate, it stabilizes the coconut cream, and helps you to whip a little air into your ice cream so it isn’t too hard.

You'll also need some sweetened condensed coconut milk. You can try making your own, but it uses another can of coconut milk, and takes a long time to boil it down with sugar and cool it down, so I always buy mine. The high sugar content in the coconut sweetened condensed milk helps to keep your no churn dairy free ice cream from forming too many ice crystals.

Even with the gelatin, this dairy free ice cream freezes a bit hard. You’ll need to let it sit on your counter for 5-10 minutes to soften before you scoop it.

How to make no churn dairy cream ice cream using room temperature canned coconut cream:

1. In a microwave safe bowl, or a saucepan, combine 2 entire cans of canned coconut cream with one can of sweetened condensed coconut milk, toasted gluten free flour (for cake batter) and gelatin. There is no need to chill the canned coconut cream and skim off the solids.
2. Gently heat in the microwave in 30 second increments until the gelatin is dissolved and there are no chunks of coconut cream. You can also heat it in a saucepan over low heat while stirring occasionally until the gelatin is dissolved.
3. Once the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture is smooth, pour into a shallow container and place in the fridge to chill. Once chilled and thickened (about 4 hour or overnight) move the mixture to your stand mixer, or into a bowl with an electric hand mixer. Whip until it is fluffy and has increased slightly in volume. Add sprinkles.
4. While the mixture is whipping, color your frosting and make sure it is at room temperature. You can use a purchased “canned frosting” or my vegan frosting. Many canned frostings are dairy free and vegan, so I’ll sometimes use them when I’m to lazy to make my own frosting, or don’t have leftover frosting from another project.
5. Scoop some coconut cream mixture into a freezer-safe loaf pan. Then add a spoonful or two of frosting. Continue to layer it up in this manner until you have used all of your frosting and coconut cream mixture. I try to stagger my scoops to keep both mixtures evenly distributed.
6. Insert a knife into the picture, perpendicular to the bottom of the pan, and drag through the frosting and coconut cream mixtures to create marbles and swirls. Add some additional sprinkles to the top.
7. Freeze for at least 4 hours, but preferable 8 hours or overnight.
8. Let stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften before scooping.

Can I make dairy free no churn ice cream with canned full fat coconut milk instead of canned coconut cream?

If you do not have canned coconut cream, and instead have canned full fat coconut milk, you’ll need to chill your cans and skim off the solids to equal 4 cups of coconut cream. You'll probably need 3-4 cans of canned coconut milk to get 4 cups of coconut cream. 

If you are using canned coconut cream, the amount of liquid in the bottom of the can is small enough that it isn’t necessary to chill and separate.

Can I use something instead of gelatin to make no churn vegan ice cream?

Every ingredient in this recipe no churn ice cream recipe is vegan, except for the gelatin.

There is a vegan gelatin alternative my friend The Baking Fairy told me about, Bakol Unflavored Jel. She used it to make coconut white chocolate panna cotta. I haven’t tried it myself, so I’d recommend using the directions on the back of the box to add it to the canned coconut cream. One package sets about 2 cups of liquid, which is equal to about 1 envelope or 1 tablespoon of unflavored gelatin. If you use Bakol Jel, you'll need about ⅓ of the package.

You may also use ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum instead of gelatin. This won’t thicken your mixture the same way as gelatin, but will help to emulsify it so that the coconut cream doesn’t separate out while chilling. The gelatin helps it to be more scoop able, in addition to emulsifying the mixture so you don’t have clumps of coconut cream in your chilled mixture. If you use xanthan gum, add it very slowly, just a pinch at a time, while whisking.

If you don't use gelatin, you can add 1 tablespoon of vodka to your ice cream to help prevent it from being too icy.

Can I make dairy free cake batter ice cream in an ice cream machine?

Yes, you can make this dairy free cake batter ice cream in an ice cream machine. To make dairy free ice cream that is no churn, there are a few hoops to jump through. I think it is actually easier to make this dairy free cake batter ice cream in an ice cream machine!

To make dairy free cake batter ice cream in an ice cream machine:

Mix all ingredients together in saucepan as described above, with one exception.

Decrease the gelatin, or omit it entirely. You can use ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum instead of gelatin. Add it very slowly, a pinch at a time while whisking so you don’t end up with clumps.

If you omit the gelatin, there is no need to heat your mixture unless you have chunks of coconut cream that won't mix with the other ingredients.

The xanthan gum does not require heating. 

No heating, means no chilling before churning which is a huge time saver! 

Churn your dairy free cake batter ice cream according to your ice cream machine directions.

At the end of the churning, add your sprinkles to your ice cream machine. Once the ice cream is ready, scoop it into a loaf pan and marble in the blue buttercream, as described above.

You can also add the frosting for the last few turns of your ice cream machine, but it may be mixed unevenly so I still prefer marbling it in by hand. 

Freeze your churned dairy free cake batter ice cream for  2-4 hours before scooping.