homemade black forest ice cream sandwiches

Black Forest Ice Cream Sandwiches are what your summer has been missing! Made with a simple no-churn Cherry Ice Cream that’s full of real cherries, and two layers of rich fudgy chocolate brownies!

this recipe

I don’t think I need to remind you that ice cream is LIFE during the summer months – it’s cool, refreshing, and comes in literally every flavor you could dream of. I’ve always been partial to a chocolate cherry combo, especially since it’s one of my husband’s favorites.

Now, I know that traditional Black Forest Cake has whipped cream on top and is made with some type of liquor. I left those things out here – it’s probably obvious that whipped cream would be a bit weird on an ice cream sandwich, and I wanted to make a treat that was kid-friendly (plus, alcohol makes ice cream melt WAY fast so I didn’t really want to work with that type of situation here.)

If you want to include some of that alcohol in this, you could add a couple tablespoons to the brownie batter – it’ll bake off in the oven and remain perfectly kid-safe.

How to Make Black Forest Ice Cream Sandwiches:

As you know, anytime a recipe is a little more challenging (or if it seems intimidating) I like to walk you through it! So let’s break this down. First, we’ll make whipped cream – then we’ll fold a little of it into some sweetened condensed milk, and then that gets folded back into the rest of the whipped cream.

I got ahead of myself – before we start the ice cream, we’re going to cook some cherries with a little sugar – this will cool while you’re making the ice cream base. Once you’ve completed the steps above (ice cream base), stir the cooled cherry mixture in and freeze it in a parchment paper lined pan.

Stick the ice cream in the freezer, and get your brownies made! Chill them in the fridge for a few hours ahead of assembly. If they’re frozen, it’ll be hard to eat the sandwich. When you’re ready to assemble your sandwiches, cut the ice cream into 9 blocks and cut each pan of brownies into 9 squares. If you want to be REALLY precise, you can use a ruler (I’m notoriously bad at cutting things evenly so I used a ruler!).

Set a brownie piece on top of an ice cream block, pick it up with a cookie flipper, and gently transfer it onto another brownie piece. Stick them on a sheet pan and back into the freezer to set up for at least 30 mins – 1 hour.

That’s it! If you can make whipped cream and brownies, you can make these ice cream sandwiches.

But, if you need/want to make these a little easier/quicker there are a couple ways to do that –

• Use boxed brownie mix instead of making the brownies
• Use store bought ice cream instead of making the ice cream

HOWEVER – I challenge you to try making the whole thing from scratch! It’s SO delicious and worth the little bit of extra effort. You got this, you baking rockstar! And, if you don’t have time/don’t want to assemble the brownies and ice cream into sandwiches, you can serve this as a Black Forest Ice Cream Sundae Bar! Slice the brownies, let people scoop ice cream on top, and set out some toppings like hot fudge, fresh cherries, and whipped cream! And, while you’re at it, invite me over.

Bonus: This recipe can easily be made GLUTEN FREE! Yes, I’m serious. Just use my Fudgy Gluten Free Brownie recipe instead of the brownie recipe included below. You’ll need to make two batches and bake each in a 9 x 13 pan.

I don’t think I need to even say this, but how perfect would these be for the 4th of July?!

More Cherry Recipes to LOVE:

• Cherry Hand Pies – Portable, personal pies filled with juicy cherries!
• No-Bake Cheesecake Parfaits with Boozy Cherries – The best no-bake dessert you’ll ever make. Omit the bourbon to make them kid-friendly!
• Classic Fruit Galette – A simple, flaky crust filled of blueberries + cherries!

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!

Homemade Black Forest Ice Cream Sandwiches

Made with a simple no-churn Cherry Ice Cream that's full of real cherries, and two layers of deeply flavored, rich, chocolate, fudgy brownies!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Keyword: Fourth of July Desserts, Easy Homemade Ice Cream, Black Forest Desserts, Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time: 36 minutes

Freezing Time: 1 day

Servings: 9 sandwiches

Calories: 850kcal

Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Cherry Compote

• 2 cups fresh cherries, rinsed, pitted, and sliced in half
• 3 TBSP sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 TBSP water

Cherry Ice Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk 14 oz.
• 1 TBSP vanilla

Fudgy Brownies

• 3/4 cup salted butter
• 12 ounces good quality semi-sweet or dark chocolate Can use bars (chopped) or chips
• 1 cup + 2 TBSP granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup + 1 TBSP brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 TBSP cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

If Serving as a Brownie Sundae Bar

• whipped cream, fresh cherries, hot fudge for toppings

Instructions

• Make the Cherry Compote: Rinse and pit your cherries. Add the cherries, sugar, and almond extract a pot over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until it reaches a low boil/is pretty bubbly, then reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Stir the cornstarch and water together, making sure the cornstarch is fully disolved, and add to the pot. Stir, and cook 2 more minutes to thicken a bit. The juice will also thicken a bit after you remove the cherries from the heat. Set in the fridge to cool while you make the ice cream base. 
• Make the Ice Cream: Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper (leaving enough overhang to later lift out the frozen ice cream) and set aside. Make sure your heavy cream has been thoroughly chilled before starting this. If it's been sitting out, chill it before proceeding - or it won't whip. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a medium mixing bowl. Add the vanilla and whisk to combine. Set aside. 

  In a large mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and beat with a handheld mixer on high until stiff peaks form. This will take between 2-5 minutes, depending on how cold everything is. (See photo above for what the peaks will look like. You should be able to dunk the beaters into the cream, lift them straight up and have little peaks that stand.)

  Gently scoop out one cup of the whipped cream and add it to the bowl with the condensed milk. Fold it in gently (with a spatula), until combined. Then, add the condensed milk mixture into the big bowl of whipped cream and fold together until combined. Pour the mixture into prepared pan and cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap. Freeze at least 8 hours.
• Make the Brownies: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two 9x13 pans with parchment paper.

  In a large mixing bowl, melt the chocolate and butter, in 30 second intervals, stirring between each. Let cool a few minutes. Whisk in the sugars, then the eggs and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa, and salt and whisk until combined. Batter will be thick.

  Divide evenly between the two pans and bake for 10-11 minutes - they'll look pretty set and a toothpick inserted in the middle will come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter.

  Let cool at room temp, then cover tightly and pop in the fridge for at least a few hours before assembly.
• Assemble: Slice each pan into 9 equal rectangles (mine were 3 x 4 inches). Set aside. Get a sheet pan out and a cookie flipper. Get out the ice cream. Lift it out of the pan using the edges of the parchment paper. Slice into 9 pieces. Working quickly, lay a brownie piece on top of one of the ice cream slices and use a cookie lifter to lift out the ice cream block. (You can also flip this over quickly onto a clean surface, and place the second brownie piece on top.) Place it onto a second piece of brownie and gently slide off the ice cream block with the first piece of brownie. Pop that onto your sheet pan and into the freezer. Make the next one and repeat until all are done. Freeze for another 30 mins - 1 hour.
• Serve + Store: Enjoy anytime once they've been frozen in sandwich form! Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Notes

NOTE: To make this recipe GF, use my Fudgy Gluten Free Brownie recipe. Make a double batch, and divide it between two 9x13 pans to bake. Start the bake time at 15 minutes and add a few mins at a time as needed until a toochpick inserted in the center comes out clean (or with moist crumbs, not wet batter). Proceed with the rest of the recipe as directed. 

NOTE: You can use store bought ice cream if you want - you'll need to soften it, and spread it in the 9x13 pan. Proceed with the recipe as directed. You can also use a store bought brownie mix. Just use one mix (if the box says it fits a 9 x 13 pan) and two mixes (if it says it fits an 8x8 or 9x9 pan) and divide it between the two pans. Proceed as directed. 

NOTE: You can skip the sandwich assembly and serve this as an Ice Cream Sundae Bar! Cool and cut your brownies, freeze ice cream as directed and simply scoop it out into bowls with a brownie slice. Top with hot fudge, fresh cherries, and whipped cream! If you do it this way, it will yield 18 brownie pieces but not 18 ice cream servings. I recommend doubling the ice cream recipe to ensure enough per brownie piece. Divide the doubled mixture between two pans to freeze (that way you can have one sitting out and when it gets low/melty, you can stick it back in the freezer and put out the second one). 

Nutrition

Calories: 850kcal

Order my new book:

The One-Bowl Baker

today!

One-Bowl recipes for incredible cookies, brownies, cakes, and breads made easy enough for anyone to bake!

Order Now:

Walmart // Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Target // Booksamillion // Bookshop // Indie Bound // Book Depository

Get the Bonus e-Book!