5 Store-Bought Ice Cream Cakes To Try And 2 To Skip

There's so much to love about a cake with built-in ice cream. But if you're on the lookout for an incredible store-bought ice cream cake, keep in mind that not all of them are created equal. Granted, every ice cream cake is a little bit different — some have layers with actual cake, while others might be mainly ice cream with a filling or topping made of cookie crumbs or "crunchies".

Whichever the case, the ice cream-to-cake ratio matters (or ice-cream-to-cookie ratio in some circumstances, I suppose). The point is that there needs to be some balance between the creamy, silky ice cream and the other components. Moreover, the flavors should surely complement one another.

Whether you're hosting an elaborate birthday party or just having a casual backyard barbecue, you need a treat that will satisfy everyone. It's good to have some intel before heading to the store, so I'm here to help. I've taste-tested seven different ice cream cakes and determined which are worth buying and which aren't. Of course, the overall quality of the ice cream is crucial since it is the primary ingredient. But other qualities influenced my suggestions too, so you can check out my full methodology at the end of the article if you're interested.

The Oreo ice cream cake didn't disappoint. I was in awe of its appearance when taking this cake out of the box. It looks incredibly appetizing with crushed Oreos on the sides and intricate piping details on the upper border. On top of the cake, there's a jumbo-sized Oreo in the center that's quite adorable. When I taste-tested this dessert, it had the classic cookies and cream ice cream flavor combination that's a crowd-pleaser.

This is a great safe option if you're unsure what kind of desserts your guests are into. It had excellent texture balance between the rich ice cream and the softened, slightly chewy cookies, and there wasn't too much of any one component. Meanwhile, although the frosting had a relatively basic flavor, it was incredibly silky in texture. In my opinion, the lack of sweetness in the frosting actually helps to offset the rest of the cake's sweetness. This cake was $18.68 and serves nine people.

When you see this cake, you might assume it contains alcohol since Baileys Irish Cream is a liqueur. But surprisingly, this treat is completely alcohol-free, so I was curious if it would taste like Baileys at all. I'm happy to report that it certainly does! There are also chocolate shavings and chocolate syrup, which pair wonderfully with the coffee icing that's nutty and has a marshmallow-y texture. The icing might've been my favorite part, actually. But the ice cream itself was also heavenly with subtle notes of cocoa and caramel.

Although this product doesn't have a cake or cookie layer, the chocolate flakes provide a pleasant crunch to the dessert, offsetting the softer elements. They also add a nice touch in terms of appearance. The outside of the cake had a simple yet sophisticated look, making it ideal for various types of celebrations. This cake costs $19.82 and serves nine people.

This cake is a delight for chocolate and peanut butter lovers. I bought it for $18.68 and didn't expect it to have such an elevated look. The velvety whipped frosting has a marbled-like chocolate design, and the crushed Reese's cups make for a lovely top border. I suggest this cake for those who prefer their desserts to be decadent and rich. The chocolate and peanut butter flavors hit you when you take a bite, but in the best way.

I do wish there had been an actual cake layer to help create more contrast in texture, but the crushed chocolate peanut butter cups get the job done. Adding a cake layer would likely make it overly sweet anyway, so Reese's knew what it was doing here. This treat serves nine people, and just like the Baileys cake, it's ideal for all sorts of occasions — it doesn't just scream "birthday cake" like some of the other options here.

If you're a fan of Funfetti cake mix, this dessert is undoubtedly a great choice for you. Although it has a somewhat plain look, you can actually use that to your advantage. For instance, you can buy some pre-made gel icing to pipe a message on top, or you can add a cake topper without concealing any of the cake's design.

Although the cake itself (and the ice cream portion) was incredibly sweet when I tried it (and dare I say almost too sweet), I feel like that's what gives Funfetti its charm. Everyone who digs into a Funfetti cake knows what to expect, as it's the perfect nostalgic dessert for when you want something indulgent.

This cake costs $19.82 and serves eight people. What I liked most about this product was how much cake it actually had. I also enjoyed the icing, which tasted like vanilla whipped cream. If you're hosting a celebration where you'd typically serve cake slices and scoop some ice cream to go with it, this all-in-one cake will make your life so much easier.

With 11 servings, the Friendly's celebration ice cream cake is the largest of the bunch. It costs $22.97, so even though it's the most expensive, its price is justified. It consists of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, a chocolate crumb layer, and icing. This cake has a simple design with a white exterior and periwinkle border, finished with colorful sprinkles. I thoroughly enjoyed both the chocolate and vanilla ice creams; they had more flavor depth than others.

This dessert also had a perfect amount of chocolate crunch pieces. They were dense and paired well with the other ingredients. When I sliced into the cake, there were distinct layers. But I learned you have to be quick with serving it. Otherwise, they start to bleed into each other after just a few minutes. This isn't enough to prevent me from buying it again, though, since this happens with every ice cream cake to some degree. Nevertheless, this is a winner for its high-quality taste.

Friendly's strawberry "krunch" cake was priced at $16.97. It features layers of vanilla and strawberry ice cream with an outer coating of cakey bits. It looks like a family-style version of the classic ice cream bars that taste like strawberry shortcake – you know, one of the old-school ice cream truck treats.

With a description like "strawberry krunch," you'd expect the little bits to bring the crunch-factor, right? Well, sadly, they didn't deliver on that promise. The crunchies on the exterior were fluffy, and their light texture actually blended with the ice cream, so the entire dessert was just soft. I also felt like the strawberry sauce and crunch center were lacking. There's supposed to be an entire layer between the two types of ice cream, so I felt cheated.

This product's redeeming quality was the ice cream's flavor, and I will admit, it did have a pleasant strawberry taste. But to me, this felt more like cake-shaped ice cream than anything because it didn't have enough balance. Honestly, if you want to relive the magic of the strawberry shortcake ice cream bars that you remember having as a child, you might as well just pick up the real deal instead. They are cheaper per ounce, and the ratio between ice cream and crumb coating is much better.

The Carvel mini ice cream cake, which I bought for $16.92, will feed a small group of five. The flavors and components of the cake are essentially the same as those of the Friendly's celebration ice cream cake. It has both chocolate and vanilla ice cream with chocolaty pieces for the cake portion, complete with a fluffy frosting. However, if you want a cake that has these ingredients, I suggest going with the Friendly's cake instead. The ice cream in this dessert had a good flavor, but it wasn't super rich and creamy. Out of curiosity, I looked at the ingredients, and it doesn't contain any cream (just nonfat milk), so maybe that's why it lacks richness and has an airier mouthfeel.

For those who care about presentation, its blue border is a bit heavy-handed on the food coloring. I also felt the frosting was bland and didn't add anything to the dessert. All of this to say: it wasn't horrible by any means, but I would still skip it. Compared to the other cakes, it's the second-most expensive one by weight, and costs about $0.29 more per ounce than the similar Friendly's celebration cake.

I decided which ice cream cakes to include in this article based on popularity and accessibility. All of these products can be found in several different popular grocery chains and are not exclusive to any particular store. When judging the cakes and whether they're worth buying, I considered their texture balance, overall flavor, appearance, and affordability. The ice cream's quality was the most important deciding factor, but the frosting and other components mattered as well. I was looking for cakes that actually delivered what the package promised.

All cakes for this review were purchased at Walmart, and prices were accurate at the time of writing.