I was originally going to make matcha ice cream from scratch, but quickly realized that it probably wouldn't be as accessible to many because an ice cream maker and additional tools would be needed. Instead, I wanted to simplify this recipe by using French vanilla ice cream and our Culinary Grade Matcha! I never thought to "hack" matcha ice cream by making my own by blending in two simple ingredients. This is one of my new favorite ways of enjoying matcha ice cream because I've found that other "matcha" or "green tea" ice cream flavors don't impart much of a matcha taste that I prefer.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (browned)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (not packed)
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (I used a 3.5oz box)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups full-fat sour cream
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup rainbow sprinkle jimmies
For the ice cream:
- 6 cups of your favorite vanilla ice cream
- 3-4 tbs matcha powder (to taste; if you want a stronger matcha flavor, feel free to add more matcha)
- Rainbow nonpareil sprinkles
Other supplies:
- Silicone popsicle molds and wooden popsicle sticks, we used this set that we found on Amazon
A few notes before we begin baking...
- If you've already made our matcha brown butter cake or truffle recipes, you can absolutely use any leftover pieces of cake and do not need to bake a new cake from scratch. If you've made the matcha brown butter cake, you will just need to crumble 1-2 cups of the leftover cake and mix in 8oz of softened cream cheese to achieve the dense cake crumbs we use in this recipe. If you've made the brown butter cake truffles, you can break up pieces of the truffles and use them in this recipe.
- I recommend making the brown butter the night before or earlier in the day before you plan on making your cakes. I love to do this the morning before I do a grocery run to purchase all of my ingredients. If you end up making the brown butter the night before, simply remove the brown butter from the fridge a couple of hours before baking to bring it back down to room temperature
- Your eggs, milk, and sour cream will need to be at room temperature. Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm water. Remove your milk and sour cream from your fridge a couple of hours before you plan on baking
- You will need two types of sprinkles: Rainbow Sprinkle Jimmies(for the cake) and Rainbow Nonpareils (for decorating). I do not recommend getting organic or all-natural sprinkles dyed with vegetable juices - the colors will fade into the cake, thus leaving you without the most important aspect (the colorful rainbow funfetti). Believe me, I tried :)
- You will need to soften/slightly melt your vanilla ice cream. Remove it from your freezer before you begin making your cakes to allow enough time for it to reach the proper consistency to blend in matcha powder.
- Which grade of matcha should you use? We recommend using our Culinary Grade Matcha for all of your culinary needs. We baked this cake for a special occasion, so we decided to use our Ceremonial Grade Matcha since we were feeling extra fancy. In addition to our 30g and 100g tins, our Ceremonial Grade Matcha is now available in resealable pouches!
Steps
Brown your butter:
- Place the butter in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook for about 3-5 minutes (watch this closely and stir constantly to ensure you don't burn the butter) until the butter has turned an amber gold/brown and smells slightly nutty (like toffee). Remove from heat and pour the browned butter into the mixing bowl you'll be making the cake batter in. Place the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer and bring the butter back to room temperature (approximately 15-20 minutes). You’ll know the butter is at room temperature when you press a finger into the top and it makes a slight indentation. It should be solid but soft.
- Once the brown butter is at room temperature you can begin making your cakes.
For the cakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans generously with butter or cooking spray. Grab a few pinches of all-purpose flour and dust into your greased pans, rotating the pan to ensure it's coated with a thin layer of flour. This will ensure that your baked cakes do not stick to the pan. Set pans aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, combine the brown butter, both granulated cane sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract; beat on medium speed until it's completely incorporated and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If you don't have a handheld electric mixer, a classic wire whisk will do — just be ready for an arm workout! If mixing manually, whisk for approximately 7-10 minutes. Once the mixture is fluffy, add in the eggs one at a time and beat until it's completely incorporated. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, instant vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, and salt — mix well to evenly incorporate all ingredients. Add the mixed dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until everything is just barely combined; about 15 seconds. You should still see some lumps and dry streaks. Turn mixer off. Add in the sour cream and milk and using a rubber spatula, fold the ingredients into the mixture, mixing until everything is incorporated, but being sure not to overmix. Set aside. Add the sprinkles and fold in by hand, using a rubber spatula, until just combined. Be sure not to over-mix your batter, this will result in a dense and dry cake.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans, sprinkle the top of the batter with a more rainbow jimmies (the more the merrier). Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the tops are firm and slightly golden. Test the cake by inserting a clean toothpick into the center. You want it to come out clean, or with a few moist (but not wet) crumbs clinging to it. Personally, I begin testing my cake for doneness at the 20-minute mark and will adjust the baking time accordingly.
- As the cakes are baking, prep your matcha ice cream (see steps below)
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before gently running a knife around the edges to loosen any stuck bits, then turning them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Allow the cakes to cool. While you're waiting, make yourself a refreshing matcha drink.
- Once the cakes have cooled, place large pieces of brown butter funfetti cake into a large mixing bowl and use a fork or clean hands to crumble the cake into fine cake crumbs.
- Use 8oz of softened cream cheese if you have approximately 2-3 cups of cake crumbs, use less cream cheese if you end up have less than 2 cups of cake crumbs. Use a fork to evenly mix the cream cheese into the cake crumbs. Mix until all streaks of cream cheese are evenly combined. Add more sprinkles if you'd like.
For the ice cream:
- Place vanilla ice cream in a large bowl, allow to soften and slightly melt (you don't want it to be completely melted and viscous)
- Scoop in matcha powder (one tablespoon at a time) and use a whisk to mix completely into your vanilla ice cream. We recommend using 3-4 tbs of matcha powder, but if you prefer a stronger matcha taste, feel free to use more that suits your liking!
- Crumble 1-1/2 cups of the cake crumb mixture into your melted matcha ice cream and use a spatula to fold it in.
- Spoon in your melted ice cream mixture into your popsicle molds. Avoid filling the molds to the top, leave about 1-inch of space. Sprinkle more cake crumbs into the mold until it reaches the edge of your cake mold. Add more sprinkles if you'd like. Place a wooden popsicle stick into the center of each popsicle mold. Place in the freezer for a minimum of 8 hours before enjoying. If you have extra matcha ice cream, you can place it in a freezer safe container and enjoy once it has solidified.
- Once the creamsicles have set, remove each one from its mold and sprinkle each side with more rainbow nonpareil sprinkles (or whatever ice cream toppings you prefer). Take a bite and enjoy!
Don't waste any unused cake crumbs :)
- If you ended up baking our Brown Butter Funfetti Cake, you can use the extra cake crumbles and make some delectable cake truffles.
