Jeni’s Spinalong #1 – lucky charms ice cream and salty cereal gravel

lucky charm 0316

You know that wonderful lady over at A Periodic Table? Well, after falling in love with our Jeni’s books, we thought it would be fun to team up for a Jeni’s Ice Cream Spinalong! Because cooking is always more fun with friends, even when those friends are 1,500 miles away.

So here we are, with our first ice cream debut…

A little bit about the process… We pick a base recipe and a theme. It’s really that simple. Armed with that information, we retreat to our separate laboratories to work our magic, then come back together when we’re done to reveal what we’ve created. This month we chose an easy recipe: Jeni’s Basic Sweet Cream… and for the theme? Breakfast. Because who doesn’t want to eat ice cream for breakfast?!

This project really happened to showcase how versatile the Jeni’s recipes can be. Shannon turned our base into a delightful Sticky Bun Ice Cream while I went for Lucky Charms Ice Cream, which I thought would be super fitting for March. You know, with the leprechauns and all.

lucky charms 9500

Back to the ice cream… I took Jeni’s standard Sweet Cream ice cream base and just soaked some Lucky Charms (sans marshmallows) in the milk, then strained them out and used that to make the ice cream base. You don’t have to sing the Lucky Charms jingle while you’re separating the marshmallows from the cereal, but it does make the process more enjoyable.

Once the base was churned into ice cream, I layered it with the marshmallows in the container and moved it to the freezer to harden. While the ice cream was hardening, I made a cereal “gravel” to complement the cereal flavor in the ice cream and then, remember those waffles from last month? Yeah, we used some of those too, because this is breakfast, after all…

So, to make your breakfast sundae, you will need, you will place a wedge of warm pillowy waffle into a bowl, top it with a scoop of your Lucky Charms ice cream. and finish it off with a touch of crunchy, salty, cereal crumb gravel.

Et, voila! You have achieved breakfast-for-dessert success. Unless, of course, you are having it as dessert-for-breakfast. No judgment here. And, if you want to accompany your cereal  sundae with a scoop of Shannon’s sticky bun ice cream with cinnamon-pecan swirl, nobody will blame you one bit.

lucky charm 0360

Disclaimer: Again, as I’ve said before, Jeni’s has not given me anything in exchange for my glowing reviews of their ice creams or their cookbooks… That being said, I definitely wouldn’t turn down some free ice cream or the opportunity to open my own shop 😉 (Just in case you happen to be reading this Ms. Britton Bauer! I love you!) But seriously, if you don’t have any of the Jeni’s books (This one or This one) you should get them. They’re super cheap and filled to the top with win. I promise I won’t do a Jeni’s PSA in every post. This one should be enough… If you’re still skeptical, find some Jeni’s near you and become a believer! 

lucky charms ice cream

Yield: 1 quart ice cream & 2 cups of gravel

Ingredients

    For the ice cream
  • 2 2/3 cups whole milk
  • 2 1/2 cups Lucky Charms cereal (no marshmallows), lightly crushed
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 cup Lucky Charms marshmallows
  • For the gravel:
  • 1 cup crushed Lucky Charms cereal (no marshmallows)
  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons corn starch
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 8 tablespoons butter

Instructions

    Prep work
  1. Separate the Lucky Charms cereal from the marshmallows. Although you won't use all of the cereal and the marshmallows, save them (separately). We'll need them next week.
  2. Combine the cereal and the whole milk in a large bowl. Let sit 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature to infuse.
  3. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the cereal out of the milk, pressing on the cereal to extract any absorbed milk.
  4. In a small bowl, make a slurry by whisking 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk cream cheese and salt together until combined.
  6. Fill a separate large bowl with ice water and set aside.
  7. Make the ice cream base
  8. Combine the remaining cereal milk, heavy cream, sugar, and corn starch in a 4 quart saucepan.
  9. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, set a timer for 4 minutes. Keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn't boil over, stirring as necessary.
  10. After 4 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Return the pan to the heat and return to a boil for another minute.
  11. Remove pan from heat and gradually whisk the milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Pour into a gallon-size Ziploc bag and seal the bag, pressing out excess air.
  12. Submerge the bag in he ice water until cold, about 30 minutes. If you aren't ready to spin your ice cream yet, you can dry off the bag and place it in the refrigerator until you are ready.
  13. Spin the ice cream
  14. Pour ice cream base into your ice cream maker and spin according to manufacturer's directions.
  15. Once the mixture reaches the texture of soft serve ice cream, transfer to your storage container, alternating layers of ice cream with layers of marshmallows.
  16. Place storage container in the freezer until the ice cream is firm, at least 4 hours, but overnight is better.
  17. Make the gravel
  18. Preheat the oven to 275F
  19. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
  20. Add melted butter and stir to combine, mixing until it is the texture of wet sand.
  21. Pour the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread evenly.
  22. Bake the mixture for 20 minutes, tossing the mixture halfway through the baking time.
  23. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Notes

If desired, you can make the ice cream base up to two days ahead of time. Keep chilled in the refrigerator until ready to spin.

I often use the 1 quart square or rectangle Ziploc containers for freezing - they are almost the perfect size (sometimes I have extra)

https://wee-eats.com/2015/03/01/lucky-charms-ice-cream-with-salty-cereal-gravel/

[ Recipes adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Desserts ]

[ Check out Shannon’s recipe over at A Periodic Table ]

Lucky Charms Ice Cream - Wee Eats

7 thoughts on “Jeni’s Spinalong #1 – lucky charms ice cream and salty cereal gravel

  1. That sundae sounds amazing! I was so hoping there would be a waffle involved in the breakfast-themed ice creams, and then there they were. If it weren’t snowing massively right now, I would be making both yours and Shannon’s ice creams (and would probably end up eating them for breakfast for the next month, because lets face it, I have no self control around ice cream — especially Jeni’s!)

  2. is it bad that i’m now considering an ice cream brunch made entirely of your ice cream / gravel / waffle, my ice cream, and like…well i think that covers it, yeah. and then naps. ALL the naps.

  3. LUCKY CHARMS ARE MY MOST FAVOURITE CEREAL. I don’t eat them with milk though. I put ’em in a bowl, eat all of the cereal bits, and then save the marshmallows for last. Then I eat the marshmallows in colour order. It’s a whole thing.

    Me likey this recipe.

Somethin' to say? Share it here!