Fried Ice Cream sounds like an impossible feat, but imagine creamy smooth vanilla ice cream enveloped in a hot, crispy shell drizzled with honey or chocolate sauce and a dollop of whipped cream … and then stop imagining.. because it’s right here and it’s pretty darn easy to make at home!
First, let me preface this by saying that Yes, this is fairly easy to make, but unless you have a little bit of help in the kitchen (aka an extra pair of hands), this can be a bit time-consuming, oh… and no matter how you make them, this is a messy project. So we really recommend doubling or tripling the batch and making a bunch at once.
How to Make Fried Ice Cream
Fried Ice Cream Recipe
You’ll Need:
1/2 Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream (any brand you like or homemade ice cream)
4 1/2 cups of Cornflakes
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (about two sleeves of graham crackers, finely crushed)
8 oz Almond Paste (1 cup if using homemade)
3 Eggs
a Bit of water
Toppings
Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup OR Honey
Whipped Cream
Normally when we share a recipe, we don’t specifically state which step to follow first; we assume that most of our readers have basic cooking skills and prefer to adapt recipes to suit themselves. However, in this case, we thought you might find it very helpful if we specify each step, as this particular recipe can get very messy very quickly.
Step 1:
Finely crush the cornflakes and then add graham cracker crumbs; mix together in a medium-sized bowl, and set aside. In another 2-4 cup size bowl beat the eggs with about 3 Tbs of water until well blended, and set aside.
Step 2:
If you’re using homemade almond paste, chances are that it is soft and pliable enough to roll out.
Scoop out about 2 Tbs of paste rolling it into a small ball with the palms of your hands. Lightly dust a clean surface with powdered sugar (aka confectioners sugar) and roll out the almond paste very thinly, creating a nice circle.
Place the round on a square of wax paper, place another sheet of wax paper over the top and continue until you have eight almond paste rounds ready before continuing to the next step. If you’re using store-bought almond paste, scroll down to the bottom of the page for an alternative method of preparation.
Step #3
If you have a helper in the kitchen, have them stand by with plastic wrap, ready to tear off a sheet as you work; otherwise, Tear off several small squares of plastic wrap and have them laid out on the counter in a row.
Step #4
Cut a half gallon of ice cream into six pieces like this: You can make larger or smaller ice cream balls depending on your own preference.
Step #5
Scoop out the ice cream and, using your hands, form it into a ball quickly.
Step #6
Place it in the center of a rolled almond paste and gather each of the corners of the wax paper, helping to form a complete ball around the ice cream.
Using the wax paper, secure the almond paste, sealing in the ice cream. At this point, if this is your first time making these, chances are the ice cream is fairly soft and starting to ooze out of the almond paste seams.
Step #7
Wrap the almond paste wrapped ice cream ball in a piece of plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer as quickly as you can.
Repeat steps #3 thru #7 with the remaining ice cream.
Once the ice cream balls have had time to fully harden (depending on how quickly you worked and the temperature of your kitchen, they might be ready in 10 minutes, or they might need a few hours). If so, be sure to refrigerate your beaten egg mixture until you’re ready to proceed with the next step.
Step #8
Remove the ice cream ball from the freezer, unwrap it, and immediately plunge the almond-wrapped ice cream ball into the beaten egg and roll it around, coating it completely.
Step #9
Remove from egg and place it into the graham cracker/cornflake mix and coat the ball completely. Then, immediately plunge the coated ball back into the egg mixture, roll it around quickly again and then plunge it back into the cornflake mixture, coating evenly.
Step #10
Re-Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the coldest part of the freezer right away. Repeat until all of the ice cream balls have been double-dipped in the crunchy coating.
For best results, We highly recommend Freezing these overnight. This recipe makes six softball-sized fried ice cream treats, or eight tennis ball-sized fried ice cream.
How to Cook Fried Ice Cream:
Now that you’ve accomplished the hard, messy part, here comes the easy part. In a fryer or large saucepan, fill with about 4″ of vegetable oil.
Heat the oil to 375F (Do not take out the ice cream ball until the moment you’re ready to fry it!)
Using a metal slotted spoon, gently lower the (unwrapped) ice cream ball into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, rolling it over once to cook both sides (this takes about 30 seconds or so).
Gently scoop it out of the oil and drain it on paper towels; immediately transfer it to a serving dish, and drizzle it with chocolate syrup or honey, as desired.
Alternative Method: Store-Bought Almond Paste
If you’re using a store-bought almond paste that comes in a tube, you might find it to be extremely hard and difficult to manage. In this case, open the tube and cut the “log” into 1/2″ pieces, and drop them into your blender. Add 1 Large egg and grind/puree them until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the creamy mixture into a bowl that holds approximately 2-4 cups (max).
Rather than wrapping each ice cream ball with sheets of rolled almond paste, you can simply roll the ice cream ball in the thinned, creamy almond paste mixture, coating evenly, then immediately drop the coated ice cream ball into the crushed cornflake/graham cracker mixture, rolling to coat.
Wrap in plastic wrap, then freeze for several hours until quite firm. Then follow steps #8 thru #10 as listed above.
Additional Tips-n-Tricks for the Best Fried Ice Cream
If you want a crunchy topping where nothing else is added (no honey or syrup), try crushing up Golden Graham’s cereal or cinnamon toast crunch cereal in place of the cornflakes/graham cracker combination.
No, this CANNOT be Baked in the Oven; yes- people actually ask this question.
Deep Fried Ice Cream Print Recipe
Fried Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream (any brand you like or homemade)
- 4 ½ cups Cornflakes
- 1 ½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (about two sleeves of graham crackers, finely crushed)
- 8 oz Almond Paste (1 cup if using homemade)
- 3 Eggs
- 3 Tbs water
- Hershey's Chocolate Syrup OR Honey
- Whipped Cream
Instructions
- Finely Crush the cornflakes and then add graham cracker crumbs; mix together in a medium-sized bowl, and set aside.4 1/2 cups Cornflakes1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
- In another 2-4 cup size bowl beat the eggs with about 3 Tbs of water until well blended, and set aside.3 Eggs3 Tbs water
- If you're using Homemade Almond Paste, chances are that it is soft and pliable enough to roll out. Scoop out about 2 Tbs of paste rolling it into a small ball with the palms of your hands. Lightly dust a clean surface with powdered sugar (aka confectioners sugar) and roll out the almond paste very thinly, creating a nice circle.8 oz Almond Paste
- Place the round on a square of wax paper, place another sheet of wax paper over the top and continue until you have eight almond paste rounds ready before continuing to the next step. If you're using store-bought almond paste, scroll down to the bottom of the page for an alternative method of preparation.
- If you have a helper in the kitchen, have them stand by with saran wrap, ready to tear off a sheet as you work; otherwise, Tear off several small squares of saran wrap and have them laid out on the counter in a row.
- Cut a half gallon of ice cream into six pieces like this: You can make larger or smaller ice cream balls depending on your own preference.1/2 Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream
- Scoop out the ice cream and, using your hands, form it into a ball quickly.
- Place it in the center of a rolled almond paste and gather each of the corners of the wax paper, helping to form a complete ball around the ice cream. Using the wax paper, secure the almond paste, sealing in the ice cream.
- Wrap the almond paste wrapped ice cream ball in a piece of saran wrap and stick it in the freezer as quickly as you can.
- Repeat steps #3 thru #7 with the remaining ice cream.
- Once the ice cream balls have had time to fully harden (depending on how quickly you worked and the temperature of your kitchen, they might be ready in 10 minutes, or they might need a few hours). If so, be sure to refrigerate your beaten egg mixture until you're ready to proceed with the next step.
- Remove the ice cream ball from the freezer, unwrap it, and Immediately plunge the almond-wrapped ice cream ball into the beaten egg and roll it around, coating it completely.
- Remove from egg and place it into the graham cracker/cornflake mix and coat the ball completely. Then, immediately plunge the coated ball back into the egg mixture, roll it around quickly again and then plunge it back into the cornflake mixture, coating evenly.
- Re-Wrap in saran wrap and place in the coldest part of the freezer right away. Repeat until all of the ice cream balls have been double-dipped in the crunchy coating.
- For best results, We highly recommend Freezing these overnight. This recipe makes six softball-sized fried ice cream treats, or eight tennis ball sized fried ice cream.
How to Cook Fried Ice Cream:
- In a fryer or large saucepan, fill with about 4" of vegetable oil.
- Heat the oil to 375F (Do not take out the ice cream ball until the moment you're ready to fry it!)
- Using a metal slotted spoon, gently lower the (unwrapped) ice cream ball into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, rolling it over once to cook both sides (this takes about 30 seconds or so).
- Gently scoop it out of the oil and drain on paper towels; immediately transfer to a serving dish, and drizzle with chocolate syrup or honey, as desired.Hershey's Chocolate Syrup OR HoneyWhipped Cream
Alternative Method: Store-Bought Almond Paste
- If you're using a store-bought almond paste that comes in a tube, you might find it to be extremely hard and difficult to manage. In this case, open the tube and cut the "log" into 1/2" pieces, and drop them into your blender. Add 1 Large egg and grind/puree them until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the creamy mixture into a bowl that holds approximately 2-4 cups (max).
- Rather than wrapping each ice cream ball with sheets of rolled almond paste, you can simply roll the ice cream ball in the thinned, creamy almond paste mixture, coating evenly, then immediately drop the coated ice cream ball into the crushed cornflake/graham cracker mixture, rolling to coat. Wrap in saran wrap & freeze for several hours until quite firm. Then follow steps to fry.
If you altered the ingedients above by doubling or tripling the recipe, you may also need to change the pan/dish size and adjust the cooking/baking time.
Nutrition
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