A deliciously creamy rainbow ice cream slice in bright rainbow colors with a rich, creamy, heart-shaped chocolate mousse center! And there’s no baking involved in this recipe! This Rainbow Ice cream slice with a hidden surprise is the perfect way to celebrate summer and all the people we love in our lives! 🙂 (RECIPE + VIDEO).
(PIN IT FOR LATER)
This is a post that I deliberated on a lot. I try not to dwell on my personal views or personal life too much on here, but at the end of the day this is a blog, my blog, and it’s a reflection of who I am, what I think, what I do. If I can’t talk about something that’s too important to me on here, then I have failed. But you’re more than welcome to click the link below, if you’d like to go directly to the recipe! 🙂
TAKE ME TO THE RECIPE!
Exactly one year ago today, in a landmark decision, the US supreme court guaranteed the fundamental right to marry to same-sex couples across all states. Love is a beautiful thing that this world could use more of, especially in these current times where ruinous feelings like fear and hate have come to rule our lives. This surprise inside rainbow ice cream slice is a celebration of that beautiful thing called love.
This is for all those who love, who dare to love, and not hate and fear.
To tell you why I feel this strongly about some of these things out there that I see and hear about, let me give you a quick peek into what I grew up with.
I grew up in a beautiful island that goes by the name of Sri Lanka, which was ripped apart by a brutal civil war for nearly three decades. The country itself is one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth, but in the last few decades, an unfortunate ugliness had spread its evil tendrils across all facets of life in Sri Lanka. This petty racism, prejudice, discrimination eventually escalated into a civil war, leaving nothing but tragic losses on both sides and horrific memories to deal with, for those who lived through it.
For a long period of time when I was living in Sri Lanka, leaving to go to school or work in the morning, brought no guarantee that your loved ones would return home at night. At least not alive, or in one piece. Terrorists bombed public places with no compunction – malls, banks, temples, public transport, rallies, basically any place where maximum carnage and human lives could be accounted for. It was an environment where violence became the norm rather than the exception. An environment where, on a day after a bombing, page after page in the daily newspapers, you’d find the most shocking and gruesome images of the darkest deeds that humans are capable of (this was before they started censoring those images in later years). And I saw all of this as a 7 year old. I remember until the time I was in middle school, we never had pockets on our school uniform. And then they required us to have pockets sewn into our uniform, so that we can all carry handkerchiefs that we can wet and tie around our faces to help us breathe through fumes in the event of a bomb, and pencils that we can bite down on, so that gun shots and loud explosions won’t make our ears rupture and bleed. All that was expected, and sadly, all that was inevitable. And you know what? I experienced all that while living 250 miles away from the primary war zone. To think what those innocent people trapped in the war zone were going through, the hell that they were living through on a daily basis, it rattled me to my very core. It still does, even 7 years after a military end to the war.
And through all of that, there was one realization that kept coming back to me, over and over again. It confused me back then, it confuses me even more now. People can be such shitty assholes to each other, when we focus on all the little things that make us different. Whether it’s what we eat, drink, wear, the language we speak, our skin color, our religion, our faith, or who we love, people seem to crave for conformity. The slightest difference from a perceived (and ultimately pointless) majority seem to tick people off, give them a need to ridicule those others, treat them as less than equals. It’s like freaking high school all over again – and that was bad enough.
As cliche as this sounds, peel away those layers of dark and fair skin, and we are all made alike. All that’s left is bones at the end, and then nothing. So why be dicks to each other, just because we all don’t think, act, love the same way? We all have likes, needs, beliefs and flaws, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Think about how damn boring our lives would be if we were all the same, like an assembly line of robots coming out of a factory? So why not accept those differences, embrace them, and celebrate them? Nothing in life is so black and white and we should all be thankful for that. Even the brightest white light is composed of a spectrum of seven beautiful colors, all blended together! And in the end, that’s what all of this comes down to. We are all a blend of different things. No one person or race or culture is so pure that everyone else, everything else is inferior.
And this is why what happened in Orlando two weeks ago, makes me incredibly sad and disappointed. Yes, it’s not the first time in the US, and won’t be the last time either. My heart sinks, every time I hear about these mass shootings (or any kind of unjustified shooting incident) in the US, because it gives me flashbacks of my childhood, knowing the pain and sorrow that come with such tragedies, the anger that comes with the knowledge that someone has taken away my sense of safety for a really long time. And knowing that these are senseless tragedies that can be easily prevented makes it even worse. Having grown up with it, you would think that I’d be desensitized to such violence. But somehow it makes it harder. It becomes increasingly harder to see peoples’ lives taken away long before their prime, through no fault of their own, when they’re enjoying their lives in an environment where they’re meant to feel safe, and loved – like a school, a religious institution, or a LGBT nightclub.
Does it really matter who we love? How we love? Whether it’s man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, within or beyond your faith or race, or your fellow countrymen, or the rest of humanity, love is love is love is love (in the words of Lin Manuel).
It doesn’t have labels, it shouldn’t have labels.
It’s unconditional. It’s accepting.
Who you love, doesn’t hurt anyone. Doesn’t make you any different. It only makes you human, with a beating heart, and a beating soul. A beautiful soul. So if you have someone who loves you unconditionally, for exactly who you are, treasure it, celebrate it, for it’s a wonderful thing.
One man – a radicalized terrorist, a lone-wolf, a mad-man, a homophobe – whatever we choose to call that person who carried out the Orlando shooting, doesn’t change what he did. He did not, could not, accept that people can be different. That people are different. The result – the loss of 49 innocent lives and dozens of others affected traumatically.
So instead of focusing on what makes us different, why don’t we focus on all the things that make us similar? That make us human? We have made amazing progress over the last century or so, but there’s still a distance to go.
Let’s teach our kids that love is love. It’s not unnatural, it’s not conditional, it doesn’t hurt anyone.
It just is.
People come in different colors, just like a rainbow, and that’s what makes this world a beautiful place to live in.
In times where some people try to use hate and fear to divide and conquer, all we NEED is love. That message of love and acceptance is more important now than ever.
(You can click on this link to visit One Orlando and donate to raise funds for the victims of the Pulse Tragedy #OrlandoUnited)
Love is love, and a little Rainbow Ice cream slice with a hidden surprise is the best way I know how to celebrate! 🙂
This rainbow ice cream slice with a hidden surprise was so much fun to make! It’s made with an EASY, no churn vanilla ice cream base that makes up the rainbow colored layers, and the hidden surprise is a delicious chocolate heart, made out of easy chocolate mousse. Yes, the rainbow ice cream slice does take a little bit of time to come together, with the overnight chilling, and layering of ice cream, but the actual making of it is a lot easier. Only that first red layer needs to partially set in the freezer, because in this “rainbow ice cream cake with a hidden surprise”, we will be placing the chocolate hearts (upside down) on top of this layer, and then layer the remaining colored, no churn vanilla ice cream layers.
And top it all off with a DELICIOUS Chocolate Magic Shell sauce – for which you can get the recipe right here.
(PIN IT FOR LATER)
After that first red layer, the rest of the colors – orange, yellow, green, blue, purple are layered carefully on top. Since they are thick layers, they stay separate. However, if you do want CLEAN lines between the colors, then all you need to do is set each layer (at least partially frozen in the freezer), before you add the next one. I did not do that for this rainbow ice cream slice with a hidden surprise however, because ain’t nobody got time for that, baby.
Plus, this rainbow ice cream cake is all about sharing with your loved ones, not making them wait forever to eat it.
VIDEO RECIPE
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Ingredients:
Chocolate Mousse Heart Center
- 5 oz semi-sweet chocolate
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cup whipping cream whipped till soft peaks
- 1 tsp vanilla
No-churn Ice Cream layers (leftovers can be frozen to make vanilla ice cream)
- 2 cans of condensed milk 400g x 2
- 4 cups of cold cream whipped
- Pinch of salt optional
- 2 tbsp of good quality vanilla extract
- Gel food coloring - Red Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple
- 1 quantity of Chocolate Magic Shell Sauce
Instructions:
Chocolate Mousse Heart Center
- Melt the chocolate, salt and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until just melted. Add the egg yolks while the chocolate is warm and mix well. Set aside to cool completely.
- Line a 8 x 8 inch square pan with plastic wrap (you can use a little butter or oil to make sure it sticks to the bottom of the pan. Set aside until the chocolate mousse is ready).
- Add the vanilla to the whipped cream, and then the cooled, thickened chocolate and gently fold in until thoroughly mixed.
- Scrape this chocolate mousse mix into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Keep this in the freezer until completely frozen (a few hours).
- Use a heart cutter to cut out 12 hearts from the frozen chocolate mousse (choose a heart cutter that will fit inside the loaf pan that will be used for the rainbow ice cream cake - about 2 inches in height, in this case).
- Place the cut out hearts in a plastic wrap lined tin and store in the freezer until needed.
No-churn Ice Cream Slice
- Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap.
- In a large bowl, combine 2 cans of condensed milk, whipped cream, salt (if using) and vanilla. Fold gently until the condensed milk and cream have mixed well. This is the vanilla ice cream base.
- Measure 1 ½ cups of this ice cream base into a smaller bowl, and color it with some red gel coloring. Pour this to the bottom of the lined loaf pan. Spread evenly and place it in the freezer until set - not frozen (about 2 -3 hours).
- Once set, place the chocolate mousse hearts upside down, along the middle of the loaf pan (see video). Set aside until you have the other layers ready.
- Mix 1 cup of ice cream base with orange coloring.
- Mix 1 cup of ice cream base with yellow coloring.
- Mix 1 cup of ice cream base with green coloring.
- Mix 1 1/4 cup of ice cream base with blue coloring.
- Mix 1 ½ cup of ice cream base with purple coloring.
- Layer each of these in order, around the chocolate mousse heart center, ending with the purple ice cream layer which will cover the chocolate mousse center completely (see video).
- Cover the top with the plastic wrap and freeze overnight until frozen.
- An hour or so before serving, dip the sides of the loaf pan in warm water to loosen the ice cream slice from the pan. Unmold it onto a serving tray and smoothen the wrinkled surface using a warm spatula.
- Keep it in the freezer until ready to serve.
- Drizzle Chocolate Magic Shell Sauce on top and decorate with rainbow funfetti, nuts, or crushed colored cookie crumbs (optional).
- Slice with a warm knife. Enjoy!
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
So go ahead and make this deliciously creamy rainbow ice cream slice with a hidden surprise with a rich, creamy, heart-shaped chocolate mousse center and share it with all the people you love! Perfect for summer, and to celebrate unconditional love and acceptance! 🙂
Morgan @ Host the Toast says
Beautiful recipe and beautiful write-up, Dini. I love everything about it.
Amali says
Hi Dini, I am from Sri Lanka And this post is so close to my heart. As soon as I saw the post on FB I knew I had to make it for my hubby’s birthday. So I did few days ago. But disaster struck as my ice cream didn’t want to set, the second I took it out it started melting and made a big mess dripping out of the tray. The mousse inside and the magic shell worked perfectly. But no one saw the heart as the ice cream was melting. In my view I followed your instructions to the point but obviously I must have done something wrong somewhere that it didn’t set. I want to try making this again but I would like to rectify the mistakes. You must know where I might have gone wrong so please could you point them out and let me know how I can correct it.
I had following doubts when making this.
1) what is cold cream in Sri Lanka ? I assumed it was normal whipping cream. Is that right?
2) the amount of condensed milk, I put 2 cans of 525g. That’s including the weight of the cans. What I really put in was about 600 or a bit more of it. You have said 2 x 400g. I have put less is that why it didn’t set?
I would really appreciate your help in this regards.
Thanks
Amsli
Dini says
Hi Amali! I am so sorry this didn’t work out for you… I make the no churn ice cream base regularly (because it’s a lazy (wo)man’s ice cream 🙂 ), and definitely want to find out what may have happened!
In the ingredients when I said “4 cups of Cold Cream, Whipped” I meant 4 cups of whipping cream, already whipped. This is because Cream that is COLD/ CHILLED whips much better than cream at room temperature. Not 4 cups of whipped cream.
I can’t remember how condensed milk is sold in SL, but it’s sold in most places with the net weight of condensed milk printed on the can. Here in the US, condensed milk cans have a net weight of 400g of condensed milk IN the can, so 2 of them is 800g of condensed milk. The weight of the can is not on the label. If you weighed the condensed milk in the can separately as 600g, it is 200g less than the recipe – but this would only make the ice cream less sweet, and melt more easily (once frozen) – It should still set properly in the freezer.
The reasons for an ice cream not to freeze is usually if there’s too much sugar (or too little whipped cream), or the freezer simply wasn’t cold enough, or it wasn’t kept in the freezer long enough.
I would love to know what may have gone wrong too – please let me know if this helped! 🙂
Jenny says
Several years ago I was interviewed by a student for the high school newspaper about “gay rights”. I said this then and I’ll say it again now, “[This discussion] should not about ‘gay rights’, it’s about Human Rights. We are all human beings and we all want the same things: peace, love, and acceptance.” (and chocolate!) My heart hurts for you and what you have had to endure during your lifetime. There is hope for us all, if you can live through a (un)civil war and come out preaching love and tolerance.
Love and good food to you always!
Michelle @ Oblogoff says
❤️ Is in the air after this post! Thanks Dini! I want a slice right now! My kids love magic shell! Hard to believe it’s still around, I can remember eating it 35+ years ago!
Naina says
I remember my school days when news from Sri Lanka was always filled with horrifying images of the civil war Dini Can’t imagine what it must have done to you as a kid growing up there! And as humans it seems we never learn; we find new differences and start all over again on the hate bandwagon! Loved this heart wrenching post and that beautiful ice cream of course ❤️❤️
Swayam says
Beautifully put Dini! I can imagine how hard it must have been for you. Seriously wish people would just live and let live without trying to force their opinion and views on everyone. Cool cake too!
Christine | Mid-Life Croissant says
I love you even more than I did before I read this post (and that was already A LOT!) AND..if we wanted to..you and I could totally get married. And I love that, too. xoxoxo
Dini says
And you know I love you too C! 😀 Thank you!
Let’s make us getting married happen pronto! <3 xoxox!!
Sarah says
I just want to throw my hands in the air and give this a big AMEN! I love that you’ve opened up about this on your blog and shed a little more light on it all. This is such a beautiful cake and such a beautiful post to go along with it. No one should have to go through what you did and no one sure as hell should have to persecuted just for LOVING another person.
You and your cake are just too cool!
Dini says
Thank you Sarah! 🙂 The truth is, I was still sheltered from the true horrific things that happened when hate is legitimized and spread through a country – it starts so small and spreads with devastating results! No one should be persecuted for who they love or who they are!
Yaay to love and cake! 😀
Jennifer says
Love everything about this D! SO glad to hear about your past, even though it was not a pleasant one, and get to you know you even more! This ice cream cake is the perfect example of love that we need to share and show to one another. Having differences in our lives does make it more interesting. Thanks for an awesome cake recipe and for sharing the message of love!
Dini says
Thank you J! It means so much that you read the post! I loved making the ice cream cake – it was so much fun! Plus food is the perfect way to bring together people who do have differences too! 😀
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
Excuse me while I grab a few tissues. <3 Dini, I absolutely loved this post. Thank you for opening up about your childhood and the reasons why you feel so strongly about this topic. I agree that love is love. We need to send more positivity into the world, not hate. And seriously though… what would be the point of this big, beautiful world if we weren't all unique and different? This line was fantastic: "Think about how damn boring our lives would be if we were all the same."
This is a gorgeous recipe–and the best thing about it? It's made with 100% love. Thank you for this post. xo
Dini says
Thank you so much Demeter! 🙂 The effects of the Civil War are still so clear to see, and its the new generation that needs to make the changes. Hatred leads to so much loss and it’s so heartbreaking!
I love that line too! 😀 My husband always says that to me because we’re different too! Thank you again for reading this Demeter… it means alot to me! <3
Lynn | The Road to Honey says
I’m glad that you decided to put these issues out there. It’s crazy to think that people preach individualism yet they judge, humiliate, alienate etc. those that are different. These are such contradictions and I can only hope and pray that these senseless behaviors will no longer exist during my lifetime. This is such a wonderful cake to celebrate differences and pay tribute to those that lost their lives in a truly incomprehensible act.
Dini says
Thank you Lynn! 🙂 Human hypocrisy baffles me and it saddens me to see how much hate and fear people can spread… but I’ve seen the love that people can have too – so I haven’t lose faith in humanity yet!
Farida says
You are so brave to speak your mind Dini! There is a big difference of what one believes and how they use that? Hate and killing should not be accompanied with the name of a religion. And this ice cream is really beautiful.
Dini says
Thank you so much Farida! 🙂
& I completely agree with you! You can’t judge or alienate anyone because of their religion, race, gender or who they choose to love. All that matters is who they are in their heart and their own actions and words – to be loving and accepting of people! Love wins right? 🙂
Tamara says
I knew the first time I found you there was something special about you Dini! Tears are streaming down after reading your lovely post. I think I’ve mentioned our 2nd son is gay. We had an engagement party for him and his fiance Devin last Saturday. There’s been a lot of pain in our family forever as a Christian family in the US. Your words are poignant and healing. Thank you! I need to make this as a reminder. Pinning and sharing!
Dini says
Thank you so much Tamara! Your words definitely made me tear up too. This post is so important to me and thank you so much for reading it. There’s a lot of pain in the world that can only be healed with a lot of love! I am so excited and happy for your son and his fiance 🙂 ! And I’m so happy and lucky that I have met wonderful people like you, through our mutual love for food. 😀 Thank you again for sharing this too!
Lorraine @Not Quite Nigella says
This is so cute! I want to make this even though it’s super cold in Sydney! 😀
Dini says
Thank you Lorraine I hope you do get to make it. Everyday was Ice cream season for me in Sydney – provided I was eating it all snuggled up in a doona!! hahaha 😀