When I was sharing the backstory about why we began making desserts like the Red White And Berry Pound Cake Pile, I told you that I don’t like cake, and I like frosting even less. I’ve tried a lot of different cake recipes and frosting recipes and they just don’t do it for me.
My son is the same way. He’ll skip cake every time and opt for no dessert if that is his only choice — except for that one time Uncle Dustin bet him $5 he couldn’t eat five cupcakes, and he did.
With our aversion to cake, our family has sought out other desserts for birthday parties.
For Carter’s birthday, we always have cookies or chocolate fondue. For Natalie’s birthday, we always have doughnuts and ice cream and everyone in the family looks forward to it.
Some people even text me their doughnut order the day before the party. And I always take a photo of the doughnuts right when I get them, share it via social media, and tag my party guests to get them even more excited!
I mean seriously, there isn’t a lot that looks more mouth watering than a fresh baked doughnut with ice cream on top?! And don’t even get me started on doughnut holes dipped in ice cream…
There are a few key elements to making the doughnut and ice cream birthday party a success:
- Get a wide variety of doughnuts and give guests the opportunity to place their doughnut order.
- When calculating how many doughnuts to buy, get three doughnuts for every party guest. Trust me. They want to try different combinations or they’ll only eat half of one and move on to try another. Plus, if you have leftovers, guests will be thrilled to take a couple home!
- Get several different types of ice cream so there are lots of different flavor combinations to create. This way, everyone gets their favorites — you’ll find that freedom of choice at meal time and with desserts is a big thing for our family.
One thing to remember is that this dessert will taste the best if the doughnuts are fresh. Get them the day of the party, early in the morning, when there is the best selection.
If it is hot, don’t leave them in the box on the kitchen counter — the frosting will melt and slide right off the doughnuts! Been there. Done that. Instead, arrange them on platters, cover with plastic cling wrap, and put them in the refrigerator. Also consider using some toothpicks to hold the plastic wrap up and avoid it sticking to the doughnut frosting.
Take the doughnuts out of the refrigerator about 5-10 minutes before you’re ready to serve, and they’ll be cool but not too cold.
So instead of the same old, boring birthday cake, try doughnuts and ice cream for your next birthday party dessert and let me know what your guests think!
Ice Cream And Doughnuts
Doughnuts and ice cream together? This mouth watering dessert will win the hearts and stomachs of party guests for years to come!
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total Time
Ingredients
- A variety of freshly baked doughnuts
- Ice cream — at least three types. We like vanilla, chocolate, and butter pecan
Instructions
- Arrange doughnuts on serving platters and trays as soon as you get them, cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate.
- Remove doughnuts from refrigerator about 5-10 minutes before it's time to serve. Remove ice cream from freezer to soften a bit. If it's easy to scoop, serving will go faster!
- Invite guests to pick their favorite doughnut, add a scoop of their favorite ice cream, and enjoy.
Notes:
If you get any maple doughnuts, be sure to plate them separately from the other doughnuts. If you cover the maple doughnuts along with the rest, the maple flavor will transfer and give all of the doughnuts a slightly maple smell/taste.
