Halacha: What Blessing Do You Say on Ice Cream?

On ice cream, you recite "Shehakol" (the first blessing).

After eating, you recite "Borei Nefashot" (the after blessing).

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The amount necessary to be obligated for an after blessing (from "Daily Halacha" from the rulings of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ztz"l):

For anything a person eats, they must recite a "first blessing", such as the blessing "Shehakol" or "Ha'etz". Even if they only eat a small amount, they are obligated to bless, as long as they intend to eat it. (If they are only tasting to adjust spices, for example, no blessing is required at all.) Therefore, someone who chews flavored gum must bless for deriving pleasure from the flavor, even if they swallow very little. Similarly, anyone drinking, even a single drop, must bless.

However, this applies specifically to the first blessing. For the after blessing, one must eat an "important amount", which is the size of an "olive", or 27 grams, and for drinking, the size is a "Revi'it", which is 81 grams.

Additionally, eating or drinking must occur within a timeframe for them to combine. For instance, if someone eats an olive-sized amount of bread over an entire day, crumb by crumb, they certainly cannot recite the Grace After Meals. The olive-sized amount must be consumed within "Kedei Achilat Pras", with varying opinions on this duration: some say five minutes, others say about seven and a half minutes (with additional opinions). Therefore, it's wise to always eat an olive-sized portion (especially during Shabbat meals) within four and a half minutes to cover all opinions.

Regarding the after blessing on drinks, one must drink a Revi'it (81 grams) at once, for if there are pauses between sips, no after blessing is said. Therefore, someone drinking soup with a spoon does not say an after blessing on that soup, as they haven't drunk 81 grams at once. Similarly, those drinking hot coffee or tea cannot bless afterwards, as they cannot consume it all at once.