This month, Mickey Mouse is turning 90 years old and to celebrate I’ll be doing a month of Mickey Mouse inspired cakes! For me, Mickey is a spark of joy, a constant friend, and a reminder of magic and great memories. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this very special mouse and I’m so excited to share all of these cakes with you!
To kick off this month of Mickey, I went back to Mickey’s first film debut, Steamboat Willie. As it was the first Mickey film distributed, as well as the first to have fully synced sound, I decided embrace the spirit of firsts and make my first ice cream cake. Since Steamboat Willie is in black and white, I wanted my cake to mirror the film and it too is in black and white. The cake is a moist chocolate cake, topped with a layer of cookies and cream ice cream, a layer of vanilla ice cream, and then covered in grey, white, and black frosting.
Since I had never made an ice cream cake before, I was a little worried about how much prep work is involved, but it’s most definitely worth it. Given all of the time needed to freeze the ice cream and cake, I recommend making the cake over two days. To start, you’ll want to make all of the cakes. For the Mickey Mouse shaped cake, I used a 6-inch cake pan for the head and then cut out four 3-inch cake rounds to use for the ears. Once you’ve made the cakes, go ahead and freeze them overnight so they’ll be a stable base for the ice cream layers.
In addition to the cakes, you’ll need a good amount of ice cream. I used three pints. I wanted the inside of the cake to mirror the black and white film, so I used one pint of vanilla and two pints of cookies and cream. I found these paired well with the chocolate cake while still maintaining the black and white look. To make the ice cream layers for the head, you’ll want to let the ice cream soften and then press them into the cakes pans you used to make the cakes so you have the right size. For the ice cream in the ears, I simply inverted the ice cream pint, took it out of the container, and used the 3-inch cutter to cut out two layers. Once you’ve molded your layers, make sure to freeze them overnight as well. The harder the ice cream is, the more time you’ll have to work with it when assembling the cake.
The next day, you’ll be assembling your cake. While it is pretty straightforward, you do have to work quickly and plan to place the cake back in the freezer to chill as you go. I recommend assembling the cake on whatever dish you plan to serve it on or on a cake board as it hard to change plates once it has been assembled.
To assemble, you’ll want to start with the chocolate cake layer. Make sure to trim the tops off so they’re flat and then place the first layer of ice cream on top if it. Once it’s secure, add the second layer of ice cream, and then use a sharp knife to go around the sides and make sure all of the layers are even and smooth. Place back in the freezer while you work on the ears. For the ears, I decided to make a bit of an ice cream sandwich, and so unlike the head, it has a layer of ice cream in between two layers of cake. You’ll follow the same process as before and place the ears at the top of the head and freeze everything for at least 15 minutes before frosting.
To frost the cakes, I used an icing spatula. Again, you’ll need to work quickly as the frosting won’t stick to the ice cream if it’s melting. To avoid melting, I chose to frost the cake in sections. First, I frosted the ears, then the top half of the head, and then the bottom half of the head. After each section, I let it rest in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Once frosted, make sure to let the entire cake rest in the freezer for a few hours.
Once it’s all frozen and you’re ready to serve it, use a sharp knife dipped in hot water to cut cake. Place in bowls or onto plates and enjoy!
Steamboat Willie Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ cup flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
Frosting
- 1 ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 7.5 oz jar marshmallow fluff or creme
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- black food coloring
Ice Cream
- 1 pint vanilla ice cream
- 2 pints cookies and cream ice cream
Equipment
- 2 six inch cake pans
- 1 nine inch cake pan
- 1 three inch round cutter
- wax paper
- freezer bags
- freezer safe container
Instructions
Cake
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray pans with cooking spray and line bottoms with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder.
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Add in eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
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Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin and runny).
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Pour into prepared cake pans.
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Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
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Cool 10 minutes in the pans before transferring to a cooling rack.
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Once cooled completely, cut out four circles from the 9-inch cake using the 3-inch cutter.
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Wrap each cake in wax paper and place in freezer bags. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
Ice Cream
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Place ice cream pints on counter and let soften and line 6-inch cake pans with wax paper.
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Using a small spatula or spoon, place 1 pint of ice cream in each of the 6-inch cake pans and press down so it fills out the pan. Transfer wax paper wrapped ice cream to a freezer bag or freezer safe container.
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Lay a sheet of wax paper on the counter and place the third pint of ice cream inverted on top. Remove the container and cut 2 circles of ice cream using the 3-inch cutter.
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Wrap each ice cream circle in wax paper and place in a freezer bag or freezer safe container.
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Freeze all ice cream layers for at least 8 hours.
Frosting
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Just before you’re ready to assemble and decorate the cake, make the frosting.
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On medium speed, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
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Add in marshmallow fluff and beat on low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds.
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Gradually add in sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until fluffy. Make sure not to overbeat the frosting as it will become tough.
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Separate into two bowls. Add black food coloring to one bowl and mix until it is a dark grey.
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To make the black buttons, take a small amount of the grey icing and dye it black. Place into a piping bag with a round tip.
Assembly
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Remove cakes from freezer. Using a serrated knife, Trim the tops off the cakes so they are level. Place one of the 6-inch cakes onto the plate or platter you will be serving the cake on. Place the rest back in the freezer.
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Remove the ice cream layers from the freezer and unwrap them. Place the cookies and cream layer on top of the cake and the vanilla layer on top of the of the cookies and cream layer. Using a spatula, press the ice cream layers together.
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Go around the perimeter of the cake with a sharp knife to make sure all of the layers are the same size and all of the sides are smooth. Place the cake back into the freezer for 10 minutes.
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Remove the four 3-inch cakes and ice cream layers from the freezer. Unwrap the cakes and ice cream and place two of the 3-inch cakes next to each other on a cutting board or flat plate. Place the ice cream on top of each of the cakes and then place the remaining two cakes on top of the ice cream layers.
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Go around the perimeter of each cake with a sharp knife to make sure all of the layers are the same size and all of the sides are smooth. Place cakes back into the freezer for 10 minutes.
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Remove all of the cakes from the freezer. Place the two 3-inch cakes at the top of the larger cake to make Mickey’s ears. Make sure the ears are close to the larger cake.
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Using an icing spatula, frost the ears and the top half of the cake with grey frosting. If the ice cream begins to melt and the frosting won’t stick, place the cake back into the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
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Once the ears and top are frosted, frost the bottom half of the cake with the white frosting.
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Place the cake back into the freezer for 15 minutes.
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Remove and add the black button decoration.
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Cover or place cake into a cake container and freeze for 3-5 hours. Keep in freezer until ready to serve.