Spicy Applesauce Ice Cream Pie

This ice cream pie uses a brilliant trick: spice cake batter baked in a pie pan collapses as it cools, forming its own crust without any rolling, pressing, or blind baking. You end up with a spiced, cakey shell that’s sturdy enough to hold scoops of ice cream but tender enough to slice through with a fork.

The batter is made from apple spice cake mix combined with water, vanilla frosting, and oil. That frosting-in-the-batter move adds sweetness and richness to the crust without extra eggs or butter. Spread it across the bottom of the pan (not up the sides), and the oven does the shaping work for you.

Maple nut, butter brickle, or cinnamon ice cream fills the sunken cake shell, and the warm spices in the crust pair with any of those flavors beautifully. A swirl of ice cream topping on the surface before freezing is optional but encouraged.

Kitchen Tips

• Do NOT spread the batter up the sides of the pan. It needs to puff up and then collapse to form the pie shell shape. Batter on the sides defeats the effect.
• Use 9-inch pans, not 8-inch. The batter needs room to spread and collapse. Too small and it overflows or doesn’t sink properly.
• Do not overbake. The crust should be set but still soft. Overbaking makes it too crispy and it cracks when you try to fill it.
• Wrap the frozen pies airtight once fully frozen. Unwrapped ice cream pies pick up freezer odors and develop freezer burn quickly.

Variations

• Use chocolate ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce for an apple-chocolate-caramel combination.
• Swap the apple spice cake mix for a regular yellow cake mix and add your own cinnamon and nutmeg for a from-scratch feel.
• Top with whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon just before serving for a more polished presentation.