Guest Project: Cinco De Mayo -- make Deep Fried Ice Cream!!

Happy {almost} Cinco de Mayo, friends!

I want to
thank Jen for giving me the opportunity to share one of my favorite
Mexican recipes with all of you. Now, I don’t think I have a drop of
Mexican blood in me, but that doesn’t stop me from celebrating with
those who do!

Besides, in my family, any occasion can be used as an excuse to make a fun dessert.

So let’s get started -- Mexican Fried Ice Cream.

First, you
will need to collect your ingredients. (The sprinkles are optional, of
course.) I didn’t realize until after I took this shot that nearly
everything in this recipe was made from Great Value brand foods. I just
want to let you know, that was not intentional, so just ignore the
labels, please.

You will also need some food storage bags, such a sandwich “baggies” or gallon sized bags that do not zip. (There are probably a dozen different ways to make ice cream balls, but this is the way I do it.)

Part 1

Stick your non-dominant hand inside one of the bags.

Scoop the ice cream into the “gloved” hand.

Now invert the bag so that the ice cream is inside the bag. Squish it into something that resembles an ice cream ball.

Leave the
ball in the bag. Start with a fresh bag for each ice cream
ball…scooping, shaping and inverting the bags, until you have enough
servings, then toss them all in the freezer. You can leave them there as
long as you want to, but at least until they firm up a little. You can
easily make these up ahead of time so that the dessert seems effortless
at the time of serving.

Part 2

This is the part where you can really get the kids involved. First, get them excited about the project: w_092

Next, have them pour some of the frosted flake cereal into a zip bag.

(You may notice I had to label mine “DO NOT EAT”

to keep the older kids out of it long enough to make this recipe!)

Sprinkle the cereal generously with cinnamon.

You’ll want enough that you can taste it, but not so much that it is spicy. Feel free to taste as you go!

BE SURE TO ZIP THE BAG COMPLETELY!

Then, just
have them use a rolling pin over the bag, rolling or pounding, until the
flakes are crushed up. They like this part a lot!

Part 3

Remove the ice cream balls from the freezer. Pour the crushed cereal mixture into a plastic bowl that has a tight fitting lid.

(Can
you tell, these pictures were taken after dark? Sorry, but my helpers
could not wait until tomorrow to try their creation, so we forged on.)

Unwrap the ice cream balls one at a time and drop them into the bowl.

Close the lid and shake until well- coated.

At this
point, again, you can place all the coated balls into a container and
store them in the freezer until it is time to serve dessert. This is the
way I prefer to do it, otherwise, the process feels pretty slow.

Part 4

Now
comes, the best part! If you really want to impress the kids (or
adults), you can fry up some tortillas, coat them in a cinnamon-sugar
blend (I keep mine in a shaker in the spice cabinet.) and quickly stuff
them into your bowls so that they harden in the bowl, forming a crunchy
shell for the ice cream.

This is a cute and yummy effect, but also one you should practice before your
guests arrive, as it can be rather messy. When I make these for my
kids, we usually skip the frying thing, but it does add a little “wow
factor”!

Now
all that is left is to place an ice cream ball into the shell (or
directly into the dish!) Drizzle plenty of honey over the top…