Fried ice cream is the classic cold treat, breaded in crushed cereal and fried to create a deliciously crunchy crust. Make this treat right at home and serve it up with your favorite toppings!
One of the best parts of going out for Mexican food is ordering dessert.
And while churros are delicious, in summer, it’s all about fried ice cream for us.
This frozen treat has a crunchy caramelized crust around cool, creamy ice cream.
And our recipe lets you indulge in a version of this dessert right at home.
What is fried ice cream made of?
Fried ice cream generally has a scoop of deep frozen vanilla ice cream rolled in either cookie crumbs or seasoned crushed cereal like our version.
It’s then deep fried and served with your favorite toppings.
Since we are making this at home, most of us are not able to deep freeze ice cream to make it cold enough to hold up to deep frying.
So to get around this, we are frying the cereal topping in butter and rolling ice cream scoops into the topping to coat them.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need:
- Ice cream– Traditionally it’s made with vanilla ice cream but since you are making this at home, you can use your favorite flavor.
- Butter– To lightly fry the cereal in.
- Cereal– Crushed Cornflakes. Again, you can substitute other cereals if you would prefer. Frosted Flakes or Cinnamon Toast Crunch would both be delicious!
- Cinnamon
- Sugar– Granulated
How to Make
Making fried ice cream is not as mysterious or complicated as you’d think!
To do it, measure out 1 cup of ice cream and roll it into a ball with clean hands.
Put the ice cream ball on a parchment lined plate or baking sheet.
Repeat this process until you have 4 ice cream portions.
Freeze the ice cream balls until they are firm.
Once the ice cream balls are frozen solid, heat the butter over medium heat in a large skillet.
When the butter is melted, stir the crushed cereal and ground cinnamon into the pan.
Fry the mixture over medium low heat until it is golden brown, stirring often.
Remove the cereal mixture from the heat and let it cool completely.
Once the cereal mixture has cooled, roll the ice cream balls in it until they are coated.
Freeze them again until you are ready to serve.
When you serve them, top them with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Topping Ideas for Fried Ice Cream
Topping ideas include:
- chocolate sauce
- caramel sauce
- hot fudge
- honey
- a dash of cinnamon
- whipped cream
- maraschino cherries
- sprinkles
Where is fried ice cream from?
Though it is popular in Mexican restaurants, it is actually a Chinese dessert.
You’ll see it in many Chinese and Japanese restaurants along with Mexican restaurants.
Storing
Store homemade fried ice cream in your freezer until ready to serve.
I don’t recommend saving leftovers so only make what you think will be eaten.
Tips and Tricks
- The ice cream will melt quickly once you start to roll it into balls so I recommend having the parchment paper covered plate or baking sheet prepared and chilled before the ice cream balls so you can quickly get them in the freezer before they melt too much.
- Forming the ice cream balls can be pretty uncomfortable, so it may be a good idea to use latex gloves. You could also just work very quickly and run your hands under warm water as soon as you are done.
- The ice cream balls do not need to be perfect. They can be pretty roughly shaped. It’s more important to work quickly so it doesn’t melt.
Other Frozen Desserts
Homemade fried ice cream is a delicious way to enjoy the restaurant treat at home!
Make it this summer and see for yourself how yummy it is!
Looking for other frozen desserts?
Try these:
If you’ve tried this FRIED ICE CREAM, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Fried Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 cups vanilla ice cream
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups Cornflakes crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Toppings: whipped cream chocolate sauce, honey, cinnamon, maraschino cherries
Instructions
- Measure out 1 cup of the ice cream and form it into a ball with clean hands. Place on a parchment paper lined plate or baking sheet, then repeat this process with the remaining ice cream to form 4 ice cream balls. Freeze the ice cream balls until firm.4 cups vanilla ice cream
- In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until melted. Add the crushed Cornflakes, ground cinnamon, and sugar to the skillet and stir to coat with the melted butter. Pan fry the Cornflake mixture over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes until golden brown, stirring often. Remove from the heat and cool completely to room temperature.3 tablespoons butter, 3 cups Cornflakes, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Roll the ice cream balls in the cooled Cornflake mixture to coat well. Return the ice cream balls to the freezer until you’re ready to serve.
- Just before serving, top the fried ice cream with the toppings of your choice and enjoy!
Notes
- The ice cream will melt quickly once you start to roll it into balls so I recommend having the parchment paper covered plate or baking sheet prepared and chilled before the ice cream balls so you can quickly get them in the freezer before they melt too much.
- Forming the ice cream balls can be pretty uncomfortable, so it may be a good idea to use latex gloves. You could also just work very quickly and run your hands under warm water as soon as you are done.
- The ice cream balls do not need to be perfect. They can be pretty roughly shaped. It’s more important to work quickly so it doesn’t melt.
Nutrition
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