Fried Ice Cream?
Anyone know of a Mexican place in DC or Alexandria that does a really good fried ice cream? I know it's not authentic, and probably even offensive to real Mexican cuisine, but I have a craving for that crispy whatever-it-is coating smothered in honey and whipped cream!
Thanks for your help!
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It's not DC or Alexandria, but I got very excited to see fried ice cream on the menu at Arcos in Baltimore and unfortunately, it sucked! Tasked like crappy ice cream rolled in corn flakes (which were terribly burnt by the time all the alcohol flamed off) doused in something which tasted like gasoline. The texture and taste were all wrong!
The search continues!
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re: Sean D
All I know is that it is on the menu as fried ice cream and that my son really likes it.
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re: aburkavage
Reporting back! It was very good, but it wasn't real fried ice cream. It was a ball of ice cream that had been rolled around in some very tasty mixture of crumbs, sugar, and spices. (In other words, the usual thing that most Mexican chain restaurants serve.) Very yummy and worth the price, but not the same as the ChiChi's dessert. Sorry.
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Aburkavage, I share your passion for this dessert. And, it's nearly impossible to find now. Even the places that say they have it, simply take a scoop of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream and roll it around in a mixture of crumbs and sugar. Then, the dabble a little honey on top and put whipped cream and a cherry on it.
However, I can tell you how to make fried ice cream and it's really not as hard as you may think. It takes two days to prepare, but you can make a lot of the unfried product and just use them, at your leisure.
First, buy a good premium quality vanilla ice cream. (Or, any flavor you want.) The key with the ice cream is to buy the dense, minimally aerated type. Then, scoop it into big balls. Use your hands and work fast. Quickly roll them around in finely crushed cornflakes. Then, put them in your freezer and freeze them until they are rock-hard.
Second, after the ice cream balls are frozen hard take them out and quickly dunk them, one by one, in a batter made of about 2 cups of milk, 1 egg, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of all purpose flour, and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. (Note: I make this batter by "feel", but the proportions are very forgiving.) Then, roll them in another coating of crushed cornflakes. Return them to the freezer and freeze the until they are rock hard.
Third, now it's time to eat them. Heat your oil up to a very hot temperature (about 400 degrees). Your fryer/pot needs to have a lot of oil, so it does not cool down as you fry the ice cream. You need to lay out your dishes and toppings so they're ready to go. Have more of the dipping batter ready. Warn your guest that dessert is coming out and that fried ice cream waits for no one!
Now, take out the prepared balls, one at a time, from the freezer. Quickly dunk it in the batter, and put it right into the fryer. The batter will fry up VERY quickly. If you've coated the balls properly, there will be no ice cream leakage. The first ball is usually the test dummy. It has taken me as little as 20 seconds, and as much as one minute to fry them. (Usually, you're good when the ball is golden brown.)
Put it right into the dish, douse it with some honey, squirt it with whipped cream, and eat it immediately. (This is not a dessert to prepare for a lot of people who want to start eating at the same time.)
The layers of cornflakes and batter create insulation from the heat. The high egg and sugar content of the batter insure a quick browning/caramelization time. I've had really good luck with this recipe.
Good luck!
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re: Sean D
Mister Big
Jul 21, 2009 03:25 PM
The first time I had fried ice cream (San Francisco, 1974), it was coated in tempura batter. I've never seen it done that way since.
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re: MikeR
Tempura batter is actually an excellent choice of coating. While it definitely differs from the flavor you get from the other batter/cornflake coating, it fries up very quickly. The less time you spend in the oil, the better.
You guys have inspired me to try an experiment this weekend. It would be very cool to create a hybrid approach.
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re: aburkavage
Me, too. I prefer the crusty, cinnamon-like shell. However, I've known people who think that the traditional shell is too overpowering. I've never used the tempura batter as a shell. I'm curious to see what it would be like.
The recipe I gave is definitely in the ChiChi's tradition.
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