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Fried Ice Cream is one of my favorite Mexican desserts, with its crispy outer shell and smooth cold ice cream. Now you can make this tasty treat right at home!
Nothing tops off a meal at a Mexican restaurant better than a dish of Fried Ice Cream. It’s so satisfying to dig my spoon into the delicate crunchy outer shell to find smooth, cold ice cream in the middle. This homemade recipe combines two of my very favorite things into one: “fried” and “ice cream”. It takes a little time, but you will love the end product, and so will your loved ones! Trust me, it’s well worth the effort.
Ingredients in Fried Ice Cream
The flavors in this beautiful dessert are unlike anything I’ve ever tried before. Sweet, a hint of spice, and smooth ice cream. It’s incredible! Here’s what you need:
- Vanilla ice cream – about three cups for this recipe. Make sure the ice cream is REALLY cold. You can also switch up the flavor of ice cream too! Try chocolate ice cream, butterscotch, Neapolitan, etc.
- Corn Flakes Cereal – You’ll need about three cups of crushed corn flakes. You could also try Cinnamon Toast Crunch, crushed up.
- Coconut flakes – two cups sweetened coconut added to the cornflakes mixture gives the shell an extra layer of texture that is so delicious.
- Ground Cinnamon – start with about four teaspoons, then add more to taste.
- Corn syrup – one and a half cups of LIGHT corn syrup works best for this recipe.
- Vegetable oil – You’ll use the hot oil to deep fry your ice cream.
- Chocolate sauce – optional, but SO yummy!
- Caramel sauce – for a real treat use chocolate AND caramel sauce together.
- Whipped cream – a little or a lot for garnish.
- Maraschino Cherry – can’t have ice cream without a cherry on top!
Extra Toppings
Add chopped pecans, crunchy almonds, sprinkles, extra coconut or extra chocolate sauce. I like to provide bowls of extra toppings for guests to decorate their dessert however they like.
Getting the Perfect Ice Cream Shape
Scoop out medium-sized scoops of ice cream, about one cup each in size. You’ll use your hands to roll into balls. The best way to do this is use gloves so your hands don’t get sticky (and cold!) Pop them in the freezer for at least eight hours but preferably longer, like overnight. If you’re under a time constraint and don’t have all day to make these, you can use a smaller ice cream scoop so they will freeze faster.
Crispy, Crunchy Shell
To get that beautiful, crispy outer shell takes a few steps and a little patience, but well worth it.
- In a shallow bowl, combine corn flakes, coconut, ground cinnamon and mix together. Then separate into two equal portions. One portion goes into a Ziploc bag to use later. Using the shallow dish for the rest, roll the frozen ice cream bowls in the cereal mixture until they’re completely covered. Place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
- Next, coat ice cream balls with corn syrup and roll in remaining mixture from the Ziploc bag. Repeat this process until the balls are completely covered.
- Freeze for another another hour or so. Heat oil in a large pot or deep fryer to 400 degrees. One at a time, lower the balls into the oil and fry until golden brown (about 30-45 seconds).
- Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Drizzle with chocolate and/or caramel and top whipped cream and a cherry. Repeat with the remaining ice cream balls. Serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
While fried ice cream is a favorite at most Mexican restaurants, it’s actually thought to have come from Asia, and brought to Mexico by Chinese immigrants.
This is why it’s so important to work with REALLY cold ice cream. It doesn’t melt because it’s frozen solid, and then quickly dipped in hot oil with the crispy outer shell. This allows the outside to cook and crisp before even reaching the ice cream center.
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Other Ice Cream Treats You’ll Love
- White Chocolate Raspberry Fried Ice Cream
- Deceptively Easy Ice Cream Cake
- Pink Lemonade Ice Cream Pie
- Raspberry Almond Fudge Ice Cream Cake
How to Make Fried Ice Cream
Fried Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 c vanilla ice cream
- 3 c. corn flakes crushed
- 2 c. coconut flakes
- 4 tsp. cinnamon or to taste
- 1 1/2 c corn syrup
- oil for frying
- chocolate topping
- caramel topping
- whipped cream
- cherries
Instructions
- Scoop out medium-sized scoops of ice cream (appx. 1 cup size) and roll into balls (you can do this using gloves so your hands don't get all sticky). Freeze for about an hour roll.
- Meanwhile, combine corn flakes, coconut, and cinnamon and divide into two equal portions. Put one potion in a Ziploc bag to use later and put the remaining portion in a bowl. Roll ice cream balls in corn flake mixture. Put on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
- Coat ice cream balls with corn syrup and roll in remaining mixture (the one you put in the plastic bag). You want the balls completely coated, so if needs be, re-coat the balls with corn syrup and roll again in the mixture.
- Freeze another hour or so.
- Heat oil in a large pot or deep fryer to 400 degrees. One at a time, lower the balls into the oil and fry until golden brown (about 30-45 seconds). Remove from the oil and place on a bowl or small plate.
- Drizzle with chocolate and/or caramel and top whipped cream and a cherry. Repeat with the remaining ice cream balls. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Nutrition does not include toppings.
- Scoop out medium-sized scoops of ice cream, about one cup each in size. You’ll use your hands to roll into balls. The best way to do this is use gloves so your hands don’t get sticky (and cold!)
- Pop them in the freezer for at least eight hours but preferably longer, like overnight.
- If you’re under a time constraint and don’t have all day to make these, you can use a smaller ice cream scoop so they will freeze faster.
Have had this dessert before where my daughter went to High School as part of Mother/Daughter meal. It was amazing! Had no idea you could fry ice cream without it melting all over! Am going to try making it!
I will make them, but will fail- I’m too impatient and will fry the ice cream balls before nice and frozen…..oh well LOL!
SO YUM. One of our favorite treats!
This Fried Ice Cream has a great crisp and cold ice cream mix. So yummy, and guess what? My family wants me to make some more. Highly recommended!
We loved this recipe so much! It was totally amazing.
This is a great recipe! So fun for the kids and so delish for us all! Followed the recipe to a T and it came out perfectly. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, I’ve never tried fried ice cream! Sounds decadent and a different way to eat this dessert. Can’t wait to try
Such a delicious dessert! I will be making this one again and again!
Love this idea! Looks so delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
Made it last night! It was to die for…. amazingly delicious, easy to make! Thanks for such the gorgeous treat!
I'm trying this tonight! So excited! Scared to death my ice cream will melt in the fryer :/ but I'm going to try it!!!
only had fried ice cream once (at the grand canyon of all places) but i remember loving it! Must try this sometime 🙂
Ooo that looks yummy. I think I'd sub caramel for chocolate. Gonna stumble this and add to my recipe box. 😀