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Brown Sugar Espresso Ice Cream Cake

Brown sugar espresso ice cream cake with a graham cracker crust and creamy coffee center, finished with salted caramel-style brown sugar drizzle. Inspired by brown sugar shaken espresso flavors, it sets into a sliceable frozen cake with a whipped-cream top and cinnamon-brown sugar dusting.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
freezing 8 hours
Total Time 9 hours
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Graham cracker crust
  • 24 graham crackers Crushed fine for a firm crust layer.
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar Used for the crust sweetness.
  • 6 tbsp butter Melted and mixed into the crushed grahams.
Coffee ice cream filling
  • 0.5 gallon coffee ice cream Softened so it folds smoothly.
  • 1 tbsp espresso powder Dissolved in hot water to concentrate the espresso flavor.
  • 2 tbsp hot water For dissolving espresso powder.
Brown sugar espresso drizzle
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar Combined with water to simmer into a syrup.
  • 0.5 cup water For the brown sugar simple syrup.
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar simple syrup Total amount used includes the syrup made from brown sugar + water; reserve half for drizzling.
Topping
  • 2 cups whipped cream Whipped cream layer on top after the cake is fully frozen.
  • 1 cinnamon Dust over the whipped cream.
  • 1 brown sugar Dust over the whipped cream and cinnamon.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 springform pan

Method
 

Make the crust
  1. Combine crushed graham crackers, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and melted butter, then press firmly into a 9-inch springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes to set the crust.
Prepare the espresso syrup and ice cream
  1. Simmer brown sugar and water in a Dutch oven until it thickens slightly into a simple syrup, then remove from heat. Dissolve espresso powder in hot water and stir it into the syrup.
  2. Fold half of the espresso brown sugar syrup into the softened coffee ice cream until evenly blended. Keep the remaining syrup at room temperature for later drizzling.
Assemble and freeze
  1. Spread the ice cream over the frozen crust in an even layer. Freeze for 4 hours until firm enough to hold the topping.
  2. Drizzle the remaining espresso brown sugar syrup over the frozen cake surface in ribbons. Return to the freezer.
  3. Top with whipped cream and dust with cinnamon and brown sugar. Freeze for 2 more hours before serving for clean slices.

Notes

Pro tip: Let the coffee ice cream soften just until spreadable—too warm will make the crust loosen. Refrigerate-ready? Keep fully frozen; it will hold in the freezer up to 2 weeks. Freezer yes; assemble and freeze as written. Dietary swap: for a dairy-free version, use dairy-free coffee ice cream and dairy-free whipped topping (flavor will stay closest with a caramel-brown sugar syrup).