Fried Ice Cream

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Servings: servings

Calories: 207cal

Equipment

Spider strainer or large flat slotted spoon
Candy thermometer

Ingredients

4 cups vanilla ice cream
4 large egg whites
4 cups cornflakes cereal
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
vegetable oil or canola oil for frying

Instructions

Scoop ice cream into 8 - 1⁄2 cup round balls. Place on a quarter sheet pan lined with a sheet of parchment paper and immediately place in the freezer for the ice cream to re-solidify (30 minutes - 1 hour).
Meanwhile, place four egg whites into a shallow bowl and whisk until frothy.
Place Corn Flakes in a gallon size ziptop bag, seal the bag, and roll with a rolling pin to crush the cereal into small pieces (you can crush them completely or leave them about “Rice Krispie” size.
Transfer the crushed cereal to another shallow bowl and stir together with the cinnamon and granulated sugar.
Taking one ice cream ball from the freezer at a time, dip the ice cream into the frothy egg whites and toss to coat. Immediately place the ice cream ball into the cereal mixture and toss it until well coated. Return the coated ball back to the freezer as quickly as possible.
A few of the corn flakes may break away when you place the ice cream into the oil, so be sure that you have coated the ice cream well. Once the corn flakes pop off the ice cream, there will be nothing left to prevent the ice cream from melting right into the oil.
Coat the remaining ice cream balls. Chill the balls for about 30 minutes. Then, repeat step 5 to coat all of the balls in a second layer of frothy egg whites and cereal.
Leave the prepared ice cream in the freezer for at least 3 more hours, longer if desired.
When you are ready to fry the ice cream, fill a deep skillet or Dutch oven with 4-5 inches of cooking oil, such as vegetable oil or canola oil. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil. Heat until the oil reaches 375°F; maintain the oil temperature between 370°F and 375°F throughout cooking.
Use a large, flat slotted spoon or frying simmer to dip an ice cream ball into the hot oil. Be sure the ice cream dunks all the way under the oil and is completely covered so that it cooks evenly. Cook for about 10 seconds and then immediately lift it out of the oil and blot on a paper towel.
Serve immediately or return the fried ice cream to the freezer.
Fry the ice cream balls one at a time, taking each one out of the freezer only when you are ready to put it in the fryer.

Video

Author: Amanda Davis

5 from 8 votes

Notes

There are a few elements that work together to make the magic of frying ice cream possible - freeze the ice cream between each step so that it is never out of the freezer for too long. You want it as cold and solid as possible before putting it into the fryer. You also want the ice cream balls large enough that they can withstand the 375°F oil temperature for a few seconds. If your ice cream ball is too small, it will melt before the shell can fry.
10 seconds is really all it takes to fry up the exterior of each ball. Any longer than that and everything will start falling apart.
The fried ice cream balls stayed intact more when I was able to simply dunk the ice cream into the oil and then lift it straight back out. The ice cream right under the cornflakes gets super soft (obviously) so if you try to fish the ball out of the oil or toss and turn it, it really starts to dent and smush. The ice cream balls are heavy so they’ll sink down under the oil - just keep the skimmer underneath and lower it in then lift it back out.
Froth those egg whites! Use a whisk or even a hand beater to really beat the egg whites until they’re foamy. Re-whisk while coating your ice cream to make sure there is plenty of frothy foam. It works SO much better than just the egg whites to really “glue” on the corn flakes.
Serve these immediately for best results. You can put them in the freezer for just a few minutes while you’re making the rest of the batch if you wanted to be able to serve them all at once. You an also store them in the freezer, but the coating will not be as crisp.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time30

Chill Time4 30

Total Time5

Nutrition