Cool Off With Ice Cream Desserts
Scoop up the fun with these delicious desserts that take ice cream to the next level
I scream; you scream...we all scream for ice cream! It's July and the weather is heating up--so what better way to cool off than with a scoop or two (or four or five or six) of your favorite flavor of freezy goodness? And, in case you need another excuse to indulge, July is National Ice Cream Month. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure a whole month dedicated to celebrating, and eating, ice cream is a pretty cool way to celebrate this delicious dessert. To help get the party started, try your hand at making one these six fabulous frozen delights...your tummy and taste buds will thank you!
Rocky Road Ice Box Pie
Ingredients
• 1-1/2 cups half-and-half cream
• 1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1 graham cracker crust (9 inches)
• For toppings: Miniature marshmallows, chopped pecans, butterscotch chips, and chocolate sauce
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, whisk cream and pudding mix for 2 minutes.
2. Fold in whipped topping.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips, marshmallows, and pecans.
4. Transfer to pie crust. Top with marshmallows, pecans, butterscotch chips, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
5. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving.
Adapted from Taste of Home
Adapted from Taste of Home
Chocolate Pistachio Semifreddo
Ingredients
• Oil or butter, for greasing
• 2 cups dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) + extra for decorating
• Pinch of fleur de sel or 1 tsp instant coffee
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 cups whipping cream
• Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
• 1 cup shelled pistachios plus extra for decorating
Instructions
1. Lightly grease the inside of a 1kg / 2lbs loaf tin, then line it with two layers of clingwrap, leaving a lot hanging out.
2. Break the chocolate into pieces, place in a heatproof bowl and melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water, or in short blasts in the microwave, stirring regularly. Stir in the fleur de sel/coffee and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
3. While the chocolate is cooling, whisk the eggs and sugar for 3-4 minutes, or until pale and fluffy.
4. Stir the cooled chocolate into the egg mixture.
5. In another bowl, whisk together the cream and vanilla seeds until soft peaks form.
6. Add the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture, then fold in the pistachios.
7. Pour into the prepared loaf tin.
8. Cover with the overhanging clingwrap and freeze for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
9. Remove the tin from the freezer 10 minutes before serving to allow the semifreddo to soften a little.
10. Peel back the top clingwrap layers and turn onto a serving plate.
11. Decorate with a little grated chocolate and ground pistachios over the top.
Adapted from A la Lemon
Easy No-Fry Fried Ice Cream
Ingredients
• 6 cups corn flakes cereal
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 2 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• Vanilla ice cream, firm enough to shape but just soft enough to scoop (approx. 32 oz)
Optional Toppings
• honey or caramel sauce
• chocolate syrup or fudge sauce
• whipped cream
• cherries (fresh or maraschino)
Instructions
1. Pour cornflakes into a gallon size resealable bag, seal bag, and use a rolling pin to crush cornflakes to small bits.
2. Melt butter in a nonstick 10-inch fry pan over medium heat. Stir in crushed corn flakes and cinnamon and increase heat slightly.
3. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until golden brown and fragrant (color will deepen and begin to smell lightly toasty and corn flakes should be crisp), about 2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat, pour mixture in a shallow dish and allow to cool.
5. Remove ice cream from freezer, scoop out desired serving size (you should be able to get about 8 individual servings, or 4 big restaurant size sharing servings) and shape into a ball with clean hands.
6. Immediately drop shaped ice cream ball into corn flake mixture and roll to evenly coat, while pressing corn flake mixture around outer surface for a thicker coating.
7. Freeze for 10 - 15 minutes to re-solidify ice cream, keep frozen until ready to serve. Add toppings just before serving. Notes
• You could also replace some of the corn flakes with sweetened shredded coconut or finely chopped pecans.
• If you don't care about having uniformly shaped ice cream balls, then you can simply scoop out the ice cream and drop it into the toasted corn flake mixture without shaping.
Adapted from Cooking Classy
Ice Cream Social Strawberries and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups crushed fresh strawberries, sweetened
Instructions
1. Place egg yolks and milk in the top of a double boiler; beat. Add sugar and salt.
2. Cook over simmering water, stirring until mixture is thickened and coats a metal spoon. Cool.
3. Add the vanilla, cream and strawberries and pour into the cylinder of an ice cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions. 4. When ice cream is frozen, transfer to a freezer container; freeze for 2-4 hours before serving.
Adapted from Taste of Home
Berry Beautiful Ice Cream Cake
Ingredients
Crust
We used a simple cookie crumb recipe for homemade, but you can use premade pie shell pastry or premade graham cracker crust for extra easy!
• 2 cups graham cracker cookie crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling
• 2 cups vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup fresh or frozen mixed berries, plus more for garnish
Instructions
1. While you make the crust, allow ice cream to soften at room temp for 5-10 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter.
3. Press crumb mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased 10-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake at 375° for 8 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool on a wire rack.
5. While, crust cools completely, blend together softened ice cream, whipping cream and mixed berries by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed until thoroughly combined.
6. Pour ice cream filling into pie shell and freeze until firm.
7. Top with more berries prior to serving.
Creamy Coconut Berry Pops
Ingredients
• 1 (15 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1/4 cup pure honey, divided
• 1 1/2 cup mixed berries (we used blueberries and raspberries)
Instructions
1. Whisk together the coconut milk, vanilla and 2 Tbsp of the honey, until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
2. Blend together the berries and remaining honey, until smooth and combined. Add more honey, to taste, as necessary.
3. For a creamy pop: Stir together the coconut milk and berry puree, and divide evenly between the popsicle molds. Freeze for 30 minutes, then insert the popsicle sticks, and continue freezing for 4 hours, or until firm.
4. For a layered, "ombre" pop: Divide the coconut milk equally between the popsicle molds. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes, or so, then top with the berry puree. Freeze again for 30 minutes, then insert the popsicle sticks and continue freezing for 4 hours, or until firm.
Notes
• You can use any berries or fruit (try it with mandarin oranges and pineapple!)--just be sure to adjust sweeteners to taste (and remember, the sweetness will mellow after freezing).
Adapted from Fork Knife Swoon
