Mini Egg Ice Cream Cakes are little individual desserts that combine chocolate and vanilla ice cream with a layer of crushed candy-covered mini eggs. They are topped with chocolate ganache and a mini creme egg for the ultimate Easter spring holiday treat.
I love ice cream but this is the first time I have made individual ice cream cakes. I think it’s nice when everyone gets their own individual dessert, especially when served on a pretty plate or bowl.
My plates came from my maternal great-grandmother. They are so pretty and I love how there are three different colours they really set off the ice cream cakes.
Easter Lunch Dessert
Mini Egg Ice Cream Cakes are the perfect dessert for a special lunch at Easter or for any other Spring hoiday lunch. They would also make good birthday cakes, just pop a candle in the top but don’t let it burn too close to the ice cream!
What kind of ice cream should I use?
I use a Scottish traditional ice cream that is made with whole milk and cream. I recommend that you use the best quality ice cream you can afford. Ice cream is the main ingredient in this dessert so you want it to have a really great taste.
I use vanilla and chocolate ice cream to reflect the chocolate mini eggs and the chocolate ganache. However, you can use your own favourite flavours or use chocolate chip or stracciatella ice cream which both contain chocolate.
What is ganache?
Ganache is a glaze, icing or sauce that is made from cream and chocolate. It is a rich sauce that is really very easy to make. Once cooled it can also be rolled into balls and dusted with cocoa to make chocolate truffles. In this recipe, the ice cream cakes are drizzled with a generous portion of ganache for the ultimate indulgence.
What kind of chocolate should I use in ganache?
I use dark (semi-sweet) chocolate because you are adding cream as part of the ganache. However, you can make ganache with milk chocolate or even white chocolate. It is entirely a matter of taste, try different types of chocolate and see what you like best.
What are mini eggs?
Mini eggs are small egg shapes made from chocolate and covered in a hard candy coating in pastel colours. There are many different kinds of small chocolate eggs. In this recipe I use two different kinds of eggs, the mini eggs are crushed and provide a little surprise and a bit of texture between the layers of ice cream. I also use mini creme eggs on top of the finished dessert. These eggs have a thick milk chocolate shell filled with white and yellow fondant.
How long can I keep the ice cream cakes in the freezer?
It’s a good idea to make this dessert in advance and you can store the frozen ice cream cakes for up to a month. Once the ice cream has been packed into the pudding basins, cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store in the freezer. You can also store the frozen ice cream cakes after you have removed them from their pots, and store them in a freezer-proof container.
When you are ready to serve, make the ganache ready to pour over the ice cream cakes and freeze again for up to 24 hours. The ganache will not be as nice if you freeze it for a longer time.
Can I serve the ice cream cakes straight from the freezer?
The Mini Egg Ice Cream Cakes will be too hard if you serve them straight from the freezer. Put them on their serving plates and leave them at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften slightly. Leave them longer if your room is cool and for a shorter time if it is very warm.
I don’t have any individual pudding basins, what else can I use?
You can use any small container that is freezer proof e.g. cups, yogurt pots, or even muffin tins. The advantage of the pudding basins is that they are wider at the opening than the base which makes it easier to get the ice cream cakes out of the mould. For other shapes, or where there are multiples, like a muffin tin, I would line them with plastic wrap leaving a good overlap so you can lift the frozen ice cream out of the container and then peel it off.
The muffin tins won’t hold as much as the pudding basins, but sometimes after a large lunch, a smaller dessert can be welcome! The smaller size is also great for younger children.
How to make Mini Egg Ice Cream Cakes
Follow the simple step-by-step photographs to make these delicious individual desserts.
You will need:
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Chocolate Ice Cream
- Mini Eggs (candy-coated)
- Double cream
- Chopped dark chocolate
- Mini Creme Eggs
Start to build the ice cream cakes
- Take the vanilla ice out of the freeer 15 minutes before you start so it can soften a little.
- Use a rolling pin to crush the mini eggs
- Put one scoop of vanilla ice cream into the base of each pudding basin and press down with a teaspoon.
- Sprinkle over the crushed mini eggs and press gently into the ice cream.
- Return to the freezer.
Add chocolate ice cream
- Take the chocolate ice cream out of the freezer 15 minutes before starting to allow it to soften.
- Put two scoops of chocolate ice cream on top of the crushed mini eggs and vanilla ice cream. Press down with a teaspoon.
- Return to the freezer.
Unmould the Ice Cream Cakes
- Use hot water from the tap and put enough water in the bowl to come half way up the pudding basin. You will need to renew the water for each one.
- Take one ice cream cake out at a time.
- Carefully place the pudding basin into the warm water and leave for approximately 30 seconds.
- Turn the ice cream cake onto a plate. If it doesn’t come out, pop it back into the water for another 10 seconds.
- Put the unmoulded ice cream cake back into the freezer and continue with the other cakes.
Make the ganache
- Chop the chocolate and place it in a heatproof bowl.
- Put the cream into a small saucepan and heat until just below boiling point. You will see little bubbles start to appear around the outside of the pan.
- Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate and stir with a whisk or spoon until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth chocolate sauce. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
To Assemble the Ice Cream Cakes
- Remove the ice cream cakes from the freezer and place them on serving plates.
- Spoon over the ganache so it runs down the sides.
- Place two halves of the mini creme egg on top of the Mini Egg Ice Cream Cake.
How do I serve Mini Egg Ice Cream Cakes?
Put the ice cream cakes onto their serving plates and return to the freezer. Remove from the freezer 10 -15 minutes before you want to eat them so that the ice cream will soften a little and you will be able to taste the full deliciousness of the Mini Egg Ice Cream Cakes.
More Ice Cream Desserts from Farmersgirl Kitchen
More Mini Egg Desserts
- Mini Egg Cheesecakes – Sew White
- Mini Egg Chocolate Glazed Baked Doughnuts – Curly’s Cooking
- Easter Chocolate Traybake Cake – Feast Glorious Feast
PIN FOR LATER
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Mini Egg Ice Cream Cakes
Equipment
- 4 x 180 ml (6 fl oz) individual pudding basins
- Sharp knife
- chopping board
- rolling pin
- small bowl
- whisk
- Teaspoon
Ingredients
- 200 g Vanilla Ice Cream
- 400 g Chocolate Ice Cream
- 16 Mini Eggs candy coated
- 100 ml double cream
- 65 g chopped dark chocolate
- 4 Mini Creme Eggs
Instructions
- Take the Vanilla Ice Cream out of the freezer 15 minutes before you want to start, so it will soften slightly.
- Remove the foil wrappers from four mini crème eggs and put them into the freezer in a container. They are easier to cut in half if they are frozen.
- Use a rolling pin to lightly crush the candy covered mini eggs inside a plastic bag. Don’t over crush, leave some bigger pieces.
- Put one scoop of vanilla ice cream, approximately 50 grams, into the base of each pudding basin and press down with a teaspoon.
- Sprinkle over the crushed mini eggs and press gently into the vanilla ice cream with the spoon.
- Put the pudding basins back into the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Take the Chocolate Ice Cream out of the freezer 15 minutes before you are ready to start the next stage.
- Put two scoops of chocolate ice cream, approximately 100 grams, on top of the vanilla ice cream and crushed mini eggs. Press down with a teaspoon.
- Return the pudding basins to the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- Use hot water from the tap (not boiling water) and put enough water in a bowl to come half way up the pudding basin.
- Place the pudding basin carefully into the bowl and leave for 30 seconds. As soon as you see the ice cream start to melt around the edges, remove from the water and turn the pudding basin upside down onto a plate.
- Put this plate back into the freezer and continue to turn out the other ice cream cakes. You will need to renew the water each time as it will be cooled by the ice cream.
- Leave the ice cream cakes in the freezer until they are hard about another 30 minutes.
- If you plan to store them for more than a day, remove them from the plate and store in a closed container.
For the Ganache
- Chop the chocolate into small pieces or use chocolate chips. Place into a heatproof bowl.
- Put the cream into a small saucepan and heat until just below boiling point. You will see little bubbles start to appear around the outside of the pan.
- Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate and stir with a whisk or spoon until the chocolate has melted and you have a smooth chocolate sauce.
- Leave to cool for about 10 minutes. You want the ganache to still be runny but not so hot it will melt the ice cream.
To Assemble
- Take the frozen mini creme eggs from the freezer and cut in half lengthwise.
- Remove the ice cream cakes from the freezer and place on serving plates.
- Spoon over the ganache so it runs down the sides.
- Place two halves of the mini creme egg on top of the Mini Egg Ice Cream Cake.
- 10-15 minutes before you are ready to serve remove the ice cream cakes from the freezer to soften slightly.
Cat says
Love these! Simple to put together but definitely a bit special and so tasty. The perfect Easter dessert.
Janice Pattie says
Thank you, we loved them.
Chloe Edges says
These are so cute! Simple but really effective and a nice special dessert. I also love that they’re individual so you can make just as many as you need!
Janice Pattie says
Thank you, yes they are very flexible.