This is the dessert that turns up at every South African birthday party, Christmas table, and braai wind-down for a reason — it takes fifteen minutes of actual effort and the freezer does the rest. No baking, no fussing over a stand mixer, just good ice cream and whatever crunchy, chocolatey bits you have in the pantry.
The trick is working fast while the ice cream is just soft enough to mix, then folding through three completely different textures — malty crunch, chocolate-cherry richness, and brittle peanut snap — so every slice looks (and tastes) like it came from a proper bakery. A shower of chocolate shavings and extra cherries on top before it goes back in the freezer is non-negotiable.
If birthday cake at your house always meant a bowl lined with cling wrap and raided from the freezer an hour before candles, you already know exactly how good this is. Swap the mix-ins for whatever’s in your cupboard and it’ll still work every time.
Ingredients:
- 1 litre good-quality vanilla ice cream, still frozen
- 1 packet Maltesers (crunchy malted chocolate balls), roughly chopped
- 100 g chocolate, chopped, plus extra shavings for decorating
- 200 g peanut brittle, chopped
- 1 cup cherries, chopped (plus a few extra whole for decorating)
👩🍳 CHEF-STYLE INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pulse the Maltesers, chocolate and peanut brittle separately in a food processor.
- Divide the ice cream into three bowls and let it soften slightly.
- Line a bowl with cling wrap, leaving plenty of overhang.
- Fold one mix-in through each portion of ice cream — Maltesers, chocolate and cherries, peanut brittle.
- Layer into the lined bowl, decorate with cherries and chocolate shavings, then freeze until firm.
- Unmould, slice, and serve with whipped cream.
Chef’s Notes in printed format 👇
No-Bake Ice Maltesers Cake
Ingredients
- 1L good-quality vanilla ice cream still frozen
- 1 1 packet Maltesers (crunchy malted chocolate balls) roughly chopped
- 100g chocolate, chopped plus extra shavings for decorating
- 200g peanut brittle chopped
- 1 cup cherries, chopped (plus a few extra whole for decorating)
Instructions
- Crush the mix-ins — Working in batches, pulse the Maltesers, chocolate and peanut brittle separately in a food processor until finely chopped. Set each aside in its own bowl.
- Soften the ice cream — Divide the vanilla ice cream evenly into three bowls and let it stand at room temperature for 5–10 minutes, just until soft enough to stir.
- Line your mould — Line a medium bowl with cling wrap, leaving enough overhang to fold back over the top.
- Fold through the flavours — Mix the crushed Maltesers into the first portion, the chopped chocolate and cherries into the second, and the peanut brittle into the third.
- Layer and freeze — Spoon the three mixtures into the lined bowl in layers, smoothing each one before adding the next. Top with whole cherries and chocolate shavings, fold the cling wrap over, and freeze for at least 4 hours or until fully set.
- Unmould and serve — Remove from the freezer 5 minutes before serving. Invert onto a serving plate, lift off the bowl and peel away the cling wrap. Slice with a warm knife and serve with whipped cream.
Chef's Notes
- Don't let the ice cream fully melt — soft-scoop consistency is all you need, or the layers will bleed into each other.
- Work quickly and re-freeze between layers if your kitchen is warm.
- Keeps well in the freezer for up to 2 weeks, tightly wrapped.
- Best enjoyed within 10 minutes of unmoulding, before it starts to soften.