Fried Ice Cream

I would say the only drawback to frying (aside from infusing your diet with fat and possibly burning yourself with the spluttering hot oil) is figuring out what to do with all that leftover oil when you're done. Last month I made cannoli shells and faced that very dilemma. That time the answer was simple, just strain the oil and save it for another use. Which is why I made fried ice cream yesterday. I really just wanted to get that oil out of my fridge and have a little fun doing it. And I have to say, it was pretty great. Hot and crunchy on the outside and cold and melty on the inside. Of course now I have a nasty pot of leftover oil to deal with. What I really need is a vegetable oil powered car to justify my deep frying. I haven't crunched the numbers, but I'm pretty sure my Thanksgiving fried turkey would pay for itself.

FRIED ICE CREAM

Yield: 4 servings

1 quart vanilla ice cream

1 cup finely crushed cornflakes

1 cup finely crushed cookie crumbs (I used nilla wafers)

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons sugar

coconut oil or vegetable oil, for frying

salted caramel sauce or chocolate sauce for serving (optional)

whipped cream for serving (optional)

1.      With an ice cream scoop, form 4 large balls of ice cream. Place on a waxed paper lined sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 2 hours.

2.      In a shallow dish, combine the cornflake crumbs, cookie crumbs and cinnamon.

3.      Dip the ice cream balls in the crumb mixture and freeze for 30 minutes.

4.      In a bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Dip the coated ice cream balls into the eggs, then roll in the crumb mixture, coating completely. Freeze for 1 hour. (If necessary, or for a thicker crust, roll again in eggs and crumbs until the balls are completely coated.)

5.      Heat the oil in a large pot or fryer to 400º F. One at a time, lower the balls into the oil and fry until golden brown, about 15 to 30 seconds.

6.      Remove from the oil and place in a dessert bowl. Drizzle with caramel sauce or chocolate sauce and top with whipped cream. Repeat with the remaining ice cream.

slightly adapted from Emeril Lagasse

scooping ice cream

ice cream balls

rolling in crumb/cinnamon mixture

coated in crumbs

dipping in egg/sugar

rolling in crumb mixture again

coated again

After freezing for 1 hour, I dipped the balls in
egg & crumbs again for an extra thick coating.

frozen and ready to fry

fresh from the hot oil

fried ice cream

drizzled with warm salted caramel sauce

.