Fried ice cream

A ball of ice cream in breadcrumbs, thirty seconds in hot oil. It only works if the ice cream is frozen solid and the coating has no gaps.

Hot desserts · Hands-on: 30 min · Waiting: 4 h · Total time: 4 h 30 min · Servings: 4 · Difficulty: Challenging

Freeze the scooped balls for at least 3 hours, then another hour after the double coating. They are fried only then, straight from the freezer.

Fried ice cream is a restaurant dessert that works surprisingly well at home — as long as you respect two numbers.

The ice cream must be very hard. The balls freeze for at least three hours, then another hour once coated, and go from the freezer straight into the oil. Even a short stand at room temperature is enough for the inside to melt and burst through the coating while frying.

The oil must be at 190 °C and the ice cream can stay in it for no more than 30 seconds. Cooler oil will not seal the coating fast enough and the ice cream runs out; longer and it melts from within. The coating (flour, egg, breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes) goes on twice — the second layer fills the gaps the first one left.

This is the one dessert on this site that calls for real care: hot oil and a frozen ball is a combination that spits. Lower the balls in with a slotted spoon, never by hand, and never wet.

What you need

  • 8 balls of vanilla ice cream (about 400 g), scooped firmly
  • 80 g plain flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 150 g breadcrumbs or crushed cornflakes
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • oil for frying (about 1 litre, with a high smoke point)
  • honey, chocolate sauce or fruit purée to serve
  • whipped cream — optional

Method

  1. Line a tray with baking paper and put it in the freezer to chill.
  2. Scoop eight firm balls of ice cream onto the cold tray and return it to the freezer at once. Freeze for at least 3 hours.
  3. Set up three bowls: flour, beaten eggs, and breadcrumbs mixed with the cinnamon and sugar.
  4. Take out four balls (leave the rest in the freezer). Coat each in flour, then egg, then crumbs. Return to the freezer for 15 minutes.
  5. Coat them a second time — egg and crumbs again. Check every ball and patch anywhere the ice cream shows through. Coat the remaining four the same way.
  6. Freeze the coated balls for at least another hour. They must be rock hard.
  7. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 190 °C. Without a thermometer: a crumb should bubble immediately and brown within 20 seconds.
  8. Lower one or two balls at a time into the oil with a slotted spoon. Fry for 25 to 30 seconds, until the coating is golden. Lift out and drain briefly on paper.
  9. Serve immediately — pour over honey or sauce and add a spoonful of whipped cream.

Serving and storage

Serve immediately on a warm plate with honey or fruit purée. Cut it open at the table — the whole point is that the ice cream inside is still hard.

Tips

  • Higher-fat ice cream stands up to hot oil better. Sorbet is not suitable for frying — it is mostly water and melts instantly.
  • Crushed cornflakes hold better than fine breadcrumbs and are crunchier.
  • Never fry more than two balls at once. Cold ice cream drops the oil temperature sharply and the coating will not seal.
  • You will not taste the oil — the frying is brief, and at 190 °C the coating seals before fat soaks in.
  • If the ice cream leaks anyway, the cause is almost always one of two: a ball that was not frozen hard enough, or a gap in the coating.

Which ice cream works

Shop-bought will do, but homemade makes it a different dessert. These recipes of ours fit:

Amount: 2 balls (about 100 g) per serving

More desserts

  • Baked Alaska

    Ice cream baked in the oven and still cold. The meringue is insulation — full of air, and air does not conduct heat.

  • Ice cream sundae with hot chocolate sauce

    The classic sundae: vanilla ice cream, warm chocolate sauce and whipped cream. The sauce must be hot and thin — a thick one sets into a hard shell on the ice cream.

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