In the hot summer months, traditional cake—no matter how moist and fluffy—can sometimes feel too heavy for dessert. The solution? An ice cream cake. This cool, layered dessert looks and cuts ...

along with a layer of ice cream and frosting. Dairy Queen cakes notoriously come with no actual cake at all, but they do feature the decadent fudge and crunch center layer for added texture.

I tried ready-made ice-cream cakes from Dairy Queen, Cold Stone Creamery, and Baskin-Robbins. The Baskin-Robbins cake was the most expensive, and I didn't love its flavors or layer structure.