Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Ice Cream

I’m a lover of all things lemon… especially when the weather starts getting warmer! This citrus fruit has the power to make an indulgent dessert feel a little “lighter”. I’ve been playing with the idea of doing a lemon ice cream for a while now. Then it hit me yesterday- lemon poppyseed. Lemon poppyseed cake. Lemon poppyseed cake… ice cream!!! Ah! I’m so excited for this one!

Cake in ice cream is a personal favorite…

My favorite flavor of ice cream growing up was Perry’s Piece of Cake… which by the way I made my own homemade version of this and it’s amazing! I really loved the chunks of pound cake. That flavor was definitely inspiration for this lemon poppy seed cake ice cream!

For this recipe, I made the lemon poppy seed cake homemade. You don’t have to do this! I’m sure you can find some pre-made at a grocery store or I think even Starbucks might have it?

I also feel that most any lemon poppy seed dessert would work- scones, cookies, bars… you can’t go wrong! These lemon poppy seed bars look like they’d be really tasty in an ice cream. This lemon poppy seed bread is the recipe I went with and it was delicious!

You can choose how big you want your chunks of cake as well as how many you put in! I prefer using bigger pieces with cake since it’s soft and breaks down easily. It’s also important to let them sit in the freezer for a bit to harden up before adding them into the ice cream.

How did you get a “lemon cake” flavored base?

I’m not sure why this is so exciting to me, but I used a Betty Crocker lemon cake mix in the ice cream batter! This may actually be my favorite part of the recipe.

I love that the ice cream itself tastes like lemon cake… it makes the chunks of cake pieces just an added bonus!

Not all grocery stores have the mix though, so just do your research before you go! Wal-Mart usually has a lot of bakery options and that’s where I found it!

Is cake mix safe to eat raw?

It isn’t a good idea to eat raw cake mix. Since you’re not baking this, you’ll need to heat treat it.Here’s an easy way to do this:

• Measure it out
• Put it in a microwave-safe bowl
• Microwave for 30 seconds
• Stir and then check the temperature
• Continue heating for 30 seconds at a time until the cake mix reaches 165 degrees F

I always have two disclaimers for my ice cream recipes…

For one, homemade ice cream is off the charts tasty! It can even be addicting. This is why I limit myself to one batch a month!! Just a warning 😉

Secondly, it’s important to note that I use this ice cream maker. I don’t have much experience in making ice cream without a machine, or even with other machines, so all my recipes are specific to this machine. I’ve had many friends and followers purchase this and everyone LOVES it. I highly recommend it if you’re interested in making your own ice cream. 

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. This means, if you purchase something from a link I provided, I will receive a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your support!

If you’re not a fan of poppy seeds, you can do this exact same recipe and just use a lemon cake or lemon cookie and omit the poppy seeds from the ice cream. I’ll be completely honest and tell you that I chose the poppy seeds because visually I love a good contrast. Plus they have some health benefits so why not??

Last month I made an Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor that is absolutely worth checking out! I’m looking forward to more fun flavors this year!

Love, Elisha <3