Hula Pie is a delicious frozen treat featuring a chocolate cookie crust, a ridiculously tall pile of vanilla macadamia nut ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and even more macadamia nuts. If a trip to Hawaii is not in the cards, the next best thing is making this delightful and easy Hula Pie recipe yourself at home!
Hula Pie is a beloved Hawaiian dessert originally invented at Kimo’s on Maui, but has expanded to all of the other restaurants within the T S Restaurants group. In fact, its official name is Kimo’s Original Hula Pie® across all the menus. Sadly, Kimo’s was a victim of the 2023 Lahaina fire, but as of 2024 the legacy of this frozen treat lives on at the following locations:
- Maui
- Duke’s
- Hula Grill
- Leilani’s on the Beach
- Kauai
- Duke’s
- Keoki’s Paradise
- Oahu
- Duke’s
- Hula Grill
- California
- Duke’s (Three locations: Huntington Beach, La Jolla, Malibu)
- Jake’s Del Mar
- Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge (West Lake Tahoe)
When I traveled to Hawaii, my mission was to try this famous island treat at some point during the trip. The moment finally came during dinner at Duke's Canoe Club Barefoot Bar (the less formal and more laid-back portion of Duke’s) in Kauai. The Hula Pie was everything I had imagined and more. I can comfortably say that to me, Hula Pie really is the best pie in the world!
The task of recreating this dessert only requires a few basic steps: making the crust, prepping the ice cream filling, and assembling (with some freezing steps in between).
Although some other homemade Hula Pie recipes assemble the pie in a pie crust, in reality you’ll notice that the chocolate cookie crust of an authentic Hula Pie is more of a flat disc rather than a traditional pie crust with sloping sides.
For this reason I decided to bake the crust in the bottom of a springform pan (without pressing it up the sides) rather than using a traditional pie dish. I then layer the domed ice cream bomb on top of the chocolate cookie disc and proceed with the toppings.
Ingredient notes
- Ice Cream: Duke’s uses vanilla macadamia nut ice cream in their decadent Hula Pie. To simplify this for the home cook, I suggest doctoring up store-bought vanilla ice cream. Use regular vanilla rather than French vanilla. If you look closely at a real Duke’s Hula Pie, the ice cream is very white as opposed to the more off-white hue of French vanilla.
- Macadamia Nuts: Use chopped macadamia nuts to transform your plain vanilla ice cream to vanilla macadamia nut ice cream. I like coarsely chopping them by hand to control the size, but you could pulse them in a food processor to save some time. You’ll also want to save some nuts for garnishing each slice!
- Whipped Cream: This is a case where using canned whipped cream can be much easier to swiftly decorate each slice with vertical lines to resemble a hula skirt.
- Fudge Topping: Homemade or store-bought fudge topping will work in this recipe. Keep in mind that the topping needs to be room temperature (not heated up) for the first step of spreading it over the ice cream dome. The remaining fudge topping can then be heated up to make hot fudge to drizzle over each slice. Yum! Please read the Expert Tips section below. The fudge topping is a hot topic (pun intended) when it comes to making Hula Pie, and I have some very important tips to share which can make or break your assembly.
How to make it
Chocolate Cookie Crust
Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the center. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a parchment paper circle.
Place chocolate sandwich cookies (with the cream filling intact) into the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely crushed. Add melted butter and process again to combine into a chocolatey paste.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform pan and carefully press it evenly against the bottom.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely before using.
Filling
Soften vanilla ice cream at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes, but don’t let it melt.
Find a mixing bowl (metal or glass would work fine) with a diameter at the top of 9-inches across. Line the inside of the bowl with plastic wrap with some overhang on each of the sides. Set aside.
Note: The easiest way to mix the chopped macadamia nuts into the vanilla ice cream is using an electric mixer, but if you don’t have one you can do this by hand in a large mixing bowl.
Transfer the softened ice cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Mix it on low for a couple minutes to soften it a bit more. Then add the macadamia nuts and continue to mix until combined.
Transfer the vanilla macadamia nut ice cream to the prepared bowl lined with plastic wrap. Smooth out the top.
Carefully place a small cutting board over the cookie crust and then flip it over to invert. Then gently slide it onto the bowl so it fits over the ice cream. It should fit just inside the rim of the bowl.
Very gently press it down to make sure it lays flush against the ice cream. Fold the plastic wrap overhang over the cookie crust to seal it in.
Freeze at least 8 hours or overnight.
Assembly
Work quickly so the ice cream stays as cold as possible!
Remove the bowl from the freezer and peel away the plastic wrap covering the cookie base. Gently invert the bowl onto a parchment paper lined board or platter (I use a pizza pan) that can fit inside your freezer. Lift up the bowl and carefully remove all the plastic wrap from the ice cream dome.
Immediately spread 1 cup of room temperature fudge topping over the surface of the ice cream dome. This is the trickiest step. See the Expert Tips section below for additional guidance. If you find your ice cream is melting and the fudge is sliding off, put the ice cream dome back into the freezer until very very cold and then try again. Freeze until the fudge firms up, about 1 hour or longer.
To serve
Remove the assembled Hula Pie from the freezer. Cut into slices with a large sharp knife.
Place each slice on a plate and top with hot fudge (gently heated so it’s warm enough to drizzle but not so warm it will melt the ice cream). Sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts, and finally, garnish with whipped cream piped on the back in vertical lines to resemble a hula skirt.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
One of my best tips for evenly spreading and flattening a cookie crust in the bottom of a pan is to use the flat bottom of a dry measuring cup to gently press the crumbs down. Use a smaller size, such as a ¼ cup measure and make sure it is a flat and not rounded at all on the bottom.
Make sure to press the measuring cup downward and incrementally move it around the base until you have an even layer. This not only helps flatten and get an even thickness but it keeps your hands (mostly) clean!
Once your ice cream has partially softened, the easiest way to get it out of the paper carton is to use kitchen shears to cut down one of the narrow sides of the container. Then carefully pull the carton off the block of ice cream while holding it over your mixer bowl.
Two containers of ice cream seems like a lot, but you’ll need it to have enough to create the dome. Carefully press the ice cream down and gently break it up in your mixer bowl to make it easier to mix and soften with the dough hook. It can get messy once you start mixing!
I find that Hula Pie realistically will serve about 16 people with thinner slices (or larger shareable slices), so that’s how I’ve calculated the nutritional information. Keep in mind that the restaurant slices are larger. If you want to serve them as they do at the restaurants, you can get about 8 larger slices from one pie and garnish them as I did in my photos (these are of larger, shareable slices). If cutting thinner slices, it's easier to lay them on their sides to garnish and serve.
Tips on Fudge
Spreading the fudge over the ice cream dome is by far the most challenging part of this recipe. Chances are, you will make a mess, but even if you do, the most important thing is that your Hula Pie will still be delicious! Here are some of my tips on fudge:
- I’ve tried using a couple different brands of store-bought fudge for Hula Pie. I prefer the consistency, spreadability and flavor of Hershey’s Hot Fudge Topping over Smucker’s Hot Fudge Topping. You can use homemade too of course, but keep in mind that different fudge toppings can yield different results.
- Make sure your fudge is room temperature. If it’s too warm, it will melt right off the top of the dome and start melting the ice cream. If it’s too cold, it won’t spread and in attempting to spread it it will melt the ice cream. That being said, cooler is better than warm so if it's a hot summer day, chill the fudge if needed.
- Work VERY QUICKLY. Have a work space ready next to your freezer. Take out the bowl and quickly unwrap and flip it onto your pizza pan or other dish you plan on using (line it with parchment paper–trust me on this–and make sure it has a few inches of space on either side so any fudge drips stay contained to the pan). Work very fast and then immediately put it back in the freezer. Don’t worry about getting it perfect.
- Dump all of the fudge over the top at once. You're not frosting a cake so don’t add a little at a time. Again, work very quickly and don’t worry about it being perfect. If the fudge starts to slide off the ice cream, the tides are turning and you need to get that dome back into the freezer ASAP. You can always use a small offset spatula to scrape some of the fudge that pools around the base back up the sides and onto your dome later once it’s chilled.
- Don’t use too much fudge. I’ve tried using a whole jar before and a lot of the fudge ended up in a pool around the edges. Use just enough to evenly coat the top of the dome.
- Don’t panic if you make a mess. The end result will still be delicious even if it’s not pretty. You’re going to drizzle more fudge on top, sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts, and add whipped cream to the back of the slice so it will cover up your mistakes.
- If you look closely at slices of Hula Pie served at the restaurants, the fudge doesn't even go all the way down the sides,. It cuts off around where the whipped cream is applied. It's ok if it only covers most of the top and is uneven at the sides for any reason.
- When heating up your remaining fudge to drizzle over the top of your Hula Pie slices, don’t heat it too much. Heat it just enough so you can drizzle. If you heat it too much, it will melt the layer of fudge right off and you’ll have no fudge instead of double the fudge on top! Ask me how I know this 🙂
Variations
Some of T S Restaurants, most notably Leilani’s on the Beach in Maui, feature creative Hula Pie flavors as specials. All of their pies are made with Roselani ice creams which are local to Hawaii, so you can use their list of flavors as inspiration.
Here are a few that I’ve seen Leilani’s share on their social media that look particularly worth trying (some are inspired by Girl Scout Cookies), along with a few of my own suggestions:
- Samoa Haupia: Roselani Haupia ice cream, Samoa crumbles, shredded coconut, hot fudge
- Thin Mint Chip: Roselani mint chip ice cream, crumbled thin mints, hot fudge
- Tagalong Banana Crunch: Roselani banana macadamia nut ice cream, crumbled tagalongs, hot fudge, macadamia nuts
- Adventurefuls Salted Caramel Brownie: Roselani creme caramel ice cream, cookie crumbles, caramel and hot fudge
- Cherry Chocolate: Roselani cherry chocolate truffle ice cream, hot fudge
- Coffee: Coffee or coffee chip ice cream, chopped chocolate covered espresso beans, hot fudge
- Raspberry Chip: Raspberry chip ice cream
Other Hawaiian recipes you may like
- Hawaiian Butter Mochi
- Mochiko Chicken (Hawaiian Fried Chicken)
- Hawaiian Loco Moco (Hamburger Steak with Gravy)
- Hawaiian Hot Dog (Puka Dog Inspired Recipe)
- Saimin (Hawaiian Noodle Soup)
- Authentic Hawaiian Macaroni Salad (Mac Salad)
- Garlic Noodles
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Duke’s Hula Pie (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
Chocolate Cookie Crust:
- 18 (205 grams) chocolate sandwich cookies such as Oreos (regular, not Double Stuf)
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter melted
Filling:
- 2 (1.5 quart) containers vanilla ice cream (not French vanilla)
- 1 cup (113 grams) coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
Assembly:
- 1 cup fudge ice cream topping room temperature (not heated, preferably Hershey’s brand)
To Serve:
- 1 cup fudge ice cream topping heated
- 1 cup (113 grams) coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
- Whipped cream
Instructions
Chocolate Cookie Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the center. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a parchment paper circle.
- Place the chocolate sandwich cookies (with the cream filling intact) into the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely crushed (scrape down the sides as needed to get them to crush evenly). You can also crush them manually in a large, sealed plastic bag using a rolling pin to smash them up.
- Add the melted butter and process again to combine into a chocolatey paste. Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform pan and carefully press it evenly against the bottom (don’t go up the sides). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely before using.
Filling:
- Soften the ice cream at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes, but don’t let it melt.
- Find a mixing bowl (metal or glass would work fine) with a diameter at the top of 9-inches across. Line the inside of the bowl with plastic wrap with some overhang on each of the sides (crisscross 2 pieces to get full coverage inside the bowl). Set aside.
- Note: The easiest way to mix the chopped macadamia nuts into the vanilla ice cream is using an electric mixer, but if you don’t have one you can do this by hand in a large mixing bowl.
- Transfer the softened ice cream to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix it on low for a couple minutes to soften it a bit more and then add the macadamia nuts and continue to mix until combined.
- Transfer the vanilla macadamia nut ice cream to the prepared bowl lined with plastic wrap. Smooth out the top. Carefully place a small cutting board over the cookie crust and then flip it over to invert. Then gently slide it onto the bowl so it fits over the ice cream. It should fit just inside the rim of the bowl. Very gently press it down to make sure it lays flush against the ice cream. Fold the plastic wrap overhang over the cookie crust to seal it in. Freeze at least 8 hours or overnight.
Assembly:
- Work quickly so the ice cream stays as cold as possible!
- Remove the bowl from the freezer and peel away the plastic wrap covering the cookie base. Gently invert the bowl onto a parchment paper lined board or platter (I use a pizza pan) that can fit inside your freezer. Lift up the bowl and carefully remove all the plastic wrap from the ice cream dome.
- Immediately spread 1 cup of room temperature fudge topping over the surface of the ice cream dome. It works best if you dump all the fudge on top and then quickly start spreading rather than doing a little fudge at a time (like frosting a cake). You do not want the fudge to be too warm (it will melt the ice cream and just slide off) or too cold (if it’s solid you won’t be able to spread it. This is the trickiest step. If you find your ice cream is melting and the fudge is sliding off, put the ice cream dome back into the freezer until very very cold and then try again. Freeze until the fudge firms up, about 1 hour or longer.
To serve:
- Remove the assembled Hula Pie from the freezer. Cut into slices with a large sharp knife. Place each slice on a plate and top with hot fudge (gently heated so it’s warm enough to drizzle but not so warm it will melt the ice cream). Sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts, and finally, garnish with whipped cream piped on the back in vertical lines to resemble a hula skirt.
Notes
- One of my best tips for evenly spreading and flattening a cookie crust in the bottom of a pan is to use the flat bottom of a dry measuring cup to gently press the crumbs down. Use a smaller size, such as a ¼ cup measure and make sure it is a flat and not rounded at all on the bottom.
- Once your ice cream has partially softened, the easiest way to get it out of the paper carton is to use kitchen shears to cut down one of the narrow sides of the container. Then carefully pull the carton off the block of ice cream while holding it over your mixer bowl.
- Two containers of ice cream seems like a lot, but you’ll need it to have enough to create the dome. Carefully press the ice cream down and gently break it up in your mixer bowl to make it easier to mix and soften with the dough hook. It can get messy once you start mixing!
- I find that Hula Pie realistically will serve about 16 people with thinner slices (or larger shareable slices), so that’s how I’ve calculated the nutritional information. Keep in mind that the restaurant slices are larger. If you want to serve them as they do at the restaurants, you can get about 8 larger slices from one pie.
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Mary says
This pie is amazing! Wish I could have some now!