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Did you know you can make your own homemade magic shell? It’s one of the easiest things ever. And when you can copycat a great product and make it taste like cake, well, that’s a win-win.

Birthday cake magic shell: where your ice cream turns into cake!

DIY Homemade Birthday Cake Magic Shell on vanilla ice cream In a ice cream bowl

I loved magic shell when I was a kid. It ranked up there among the most magical of things, like unicorns, rainbows, and shopping mall cookies. My mom would dish me out some ice cream and I’d douse it with chocolate magic shell and then wait for the magic to happen.

How did it harden into a shell? It was like a little fairy godmother lived inside the bottle and waved her magic wand and poof! my ice cream was covered with hard chocolate. Then I’d carefully eat all the ice cream, leaving the best part for last: the shell. If I concentrate I can still hear the crack from my spoon against the hardened chocolate.

Guess what? You can make magic shell at home. DIY homemade magic in a bottle. And it’s so easy it’ll make you cry just a little bit.

DIY Homemade Birthday Cake Magic Shell on vanilla ice cream in a ice cream bowl with sprinkles all around

The secret behind how magic shell hardens? Vegetable or Coconut Oil.

{Kind of takes away the magic, doesn’t it? Like…that’s it? No fairy dust? No magic wands?}

The real secret is in the ratio of chocolate to oil. Add too little and it’ll still harden up in the jar. Add too much and it just tastes like, well, oil.

Traditionally, coconut oil is used in the making of homemade magic shell.  I used vegetable oil for this recipe because not all coconut oils are created equal. The brand I have in my kitchen currently stays solid unless I heat it in the microwave. (Even a super hot day doesn’t liquify it.) When I combined it with the white chocolate, it just hardened back up and stayed that way. That’s not magic shell…that’s just flavored white chocolate. Good, but not what I was going for.

The vegetable oil solved that problem and made my favorite new ice cream topping possible: birthday cake magic shell!

DIY Homemade Birthday Cake Magic Shell in a clear mason jar

I love regular chocolate topping on my ice cream but, if you know me at all, you know I want everything to taste like cake…even coffee. Last month at BlogHer Food, one of the parties had an ice cream bar. You know the kind: pick an ice cream, layer on the toppings. It was fun watching the other women act like kids in a fro-yo shop. I know I piled on more than I would have if I was with my daughter, that’s for sure. 🙂

One of the toppings they had was, you guessed it, Birthday Cake Magic Shell. I’d never seen it before (and it’s not even on the website) and I was instantly smitten. I mean, it’s funfettied ice cream topping. #loveatfirstsight

This recipe is super easy and it makes a lot. It’ll last awhile on your counter too, so it’s perfect to have around this summer for the hot ice cream eating days.

After melting together your white chocolate and oil, you just have to add the birthday cake. Normally, I like to use butter extract for funfetti flavored things but for this recipe you must use cake mix. All extract has water as an ingredient and water and chocolate are mortal enemies. If you add extract to melted chocolate you’ll get a gloppy mess. Cake mix is a must! Plus, think of all the flavor variations…

{Red velvet? I’m looking at you!}

Add some sprinkles and life is complete.

DIY Homemade Birthday Cake Magic Shell on vanilla ice cream collage
Well, once you add the ice cream, that is.

Find all my funfetti recipes here.

DIY Homemade Birthday Cake Magic Shell on vanilla ice cream In a ice cream bowl

Birthday Cake Magic Shell

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A homemade version of your favorite childhood ice cream topping! Birthday Cake Magic Shell is easy to make and even better to eat.

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil see note
  • 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon dry yellow cake mix
  • 2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles do not use nonpareils - they will dissolve in the liquid

Instructions

  • Place white chocolate chips and oil in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on HIGH in 30 second increments, stirring after each, until smooth (about 1-2 minutes). Whisk in cake mix until no lumps remain. Let cool before adding sprinkles. Once cool, stir in sprinkles and transfer to a jar. Store at room temperature.
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Click here to see my best Cake Mix recipes!

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Sweets from friends:
Peanut Butter Magic Shell by Picky Palate
Roasted Strawberry Topping by Love Grows Wild
Cookies ‘n Cream Sundae Sauce by Something Swanky

Last Updated on May 13, 2020

Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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39 Comments

  1. If you just want white chocolate magic shell… without the bday cake mix, do you still use the same amount of oil or do you reduce it since you’re not using the cake mix?

  2. I’m so glad you came up with a version that doesn’t use coconut oil. That stuff is expensive out here. You’d think with all the coconuts falling on people’s heads, we wouldn’t have to pay ten bucks for a jar. This looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try it!

  3. That magic shell was AMAZING!! I’m so pumped to make it at home now! Thanks for the awesome-sauce recipe, Dorothy!

  4. Toppings are always a must when it comes to eating ice cream or froyo. I did know you could do your own magic shell, but I never would have thought to use cake mix to flavor it. Love, IT!!!! Now I need a bottle of this to pour on everything. Sprinkles and cake batter make me one happy camper 🙂