5 Delicious Ways to Use Ice Cream

Things have been seriously heating up around here for quite some time. Last week of May was so intense that even the unexpected rains were only able to offer a short-lived respite. This toasty weather, with no fault of my own, had me craving a ton of ice cream and I was on my 3rd bowl of the day (Sorry, not sorry) when I got this genius idea to try out a bunch of dessert recipes using ice cream. So, here’s a collection of some tried, tested, and mega delicious desserts with ice cream. And the best part, no need to spend on fancy gelatos/sundaes, all you need is your good old store-bought brick of Vanilla ice cream and you are sorted! 

1. Banana Split Supreme

Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 1/4 cup whole fat milk
• 3/4 cup chocolate bar- melted completely
• 3/4 cup butter, divided
• 3 to 4 medium firm bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1-liter vanilla ice cream (or whole brick), softened
• 24 Oreo cookies (or any cookie/biscuit), crushed
• 500-gram pineapple, crushed and drained
• 200-gram cherries, rinsed and halved- optional
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or any nut of choice)
• Whipped cream- optional

Instructions:

• Place 2 1/2  cups milk in a heavy-based saucepan and while stirring frequently, simmer it down until it reduces by half in quantity to make evaporated milk.
• Combine sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate pieces, and 1/2 cup butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool completely.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter; toss with cookie crumbs. Press into a greased tray/pan. Freeze for 15 minutes. Arrange banana slices over crust; spread with 1-liter ice cream. Top with 1 cup melted chocolate. Freeze for 1 hour. Refrigerate remaining melted chocolate. Spread the remaining ice cream over dessert; top with pineapple, cherries, and walnuts. Cover and freeze overnight.
• Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Reheat the melted chocolate. Cut dessert into squares; if desired, serve with whipped topping and chocolate sauce.

2. Strawberry Cream Floats

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2 packages frozen strawberries (about 700 grams), thawed
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 2 cups soda (chilled carbonated water)
• 4 cups vanilla ice cream
• Sliced fresh strawberries, optional

Instructions:

• In a small bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add powdered sugar; beat until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until serving.
• Place strawberries, sugar and lime juice in a blender; cover and process until pureed. Press through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher; discard seeds. Stir in soda  (carbonated water).
• Divide ice cream among eight glasses. Pour strawberry soda over ice cream. Top with whipped cream and, if desired, fresh strawberries; serve immediately.

3. Cookie Ice-Cream Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 14 oatmeal cookies (or any cookie of your choice)
• 3 cups vanilla ice cream
• 2 cups chocolate bar broken into small pieces
• 2/3 cup coconut oil

Instructions:

• To make chocolate hard shell ice cream topping, combine chocolate pieces and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl; heat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, mixing well each time, until mixture is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.
• To assemble ice cream sandwiches, place 1/3 cup ice cream on the bottom of a cookie. Top with a second cookie, pressing gently to flatten ice cream. Place on a tray; freeze until firm. Repeat with remaining cookies and ice cream.
• Remove ice cream sandwiches from the freezer. Working over a small bowl, drizzle prepared chocolate topping over half of each sandwich, allowing excess to drip off.
• Carefully place on a baking tray and freeze until serving.

4. Ice Cream French Toast

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vanilla ice cream melted
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence- optional
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 bread slices
• butter
• honey
• handful of mixed berries/fruits of choice
• 2-3 scoops ice Cream

Instructions:

• Preheat a griddle and coat generously with oil/butter/non-stick spray.
• In a shallow baking dish, combine the melted ice cream, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk until blended. Dip both sides of each slice of bread into the egg mixture, allowing the bread to soak up some of the mixture.
• Cook the bread in batches until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, mixed berries, a drizzle of honey, or any topping of choice.
• If not serving immediately, keep warm in a preheated (120 degrees C) oven until ready to eat.

5. Churro Ice Cream Bowls

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup butter (55 g)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water (235 mL)
• 1 cup flour (125 g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs
• oil, for frying
• cinnamon sugar /powdered sugar
• ice cream
• hot fudge, optional
• caramel sauce, optional

Instructions:

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add butter, sugar, salt, and water, and bring to a boil.

As soon as the butter has fully melted and the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and add in flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the dough comes together to form a ball (about 1 minute).

Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes before proceeding to the next step (to prevent accidentally cooking the eggs).

Mix in the vanilla (if using) and add in the eggs, one at a time, being sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next.

Once all the eggs are incorporated, transfer it to a piping bag with a small tip.

Invert a muffin tin and spray thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray or grease generously with oil. Pipe the dough around the inverted cups in spirals to form the bowls. Immediately transfer the tray to the freezer and freeze until solid (about 3 hours or overnight).

Heat oil in a deep pot to 175˚C. Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and very gently flex it to release the churro bowls. Return any extras to the freezer while you wait to fry.

Fry them in batches, until nicely browned, no more than 3 minutes at a time. Be sure to carefully turn them so they fry evenly.

Once the desired color is reached, remove them from the oil to a paper towel-lined plate. Dab off any excess oil then roll them in powdered sugar.

Fill with vanilla ice cream and desired toppings. Enjoy!

FAQs

Q1: How to melt chocolate?

A: Chop chocolate bar into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 70% power for 1 minute. Remove from microwave and give it a stir. Continue to microwave in 30-second increments, stirring frequently, until the chocolate has fully melted.

Q2: What alternative can be used instead of a pastry/piping bag?

A: in case you don't have a pastry bag, you can use zip-top bags, slider-tip bags, or simple plastic bags. Simply put the custard in the bag, push it to one corner, make a tiny cut using scissors, and pour into the glass.

Q3. How to pre-heat my microwave?

A. You need to place a slatted rack that comes with a microwave to pre-heat it. Now, choose the convection option. Once you set it on the convection mode, your microwave’s digital display will reflect the minimum temperature setting available, you can just increase or decrease it according to your requirement and press start.