We love the idea of marshmallows in ice cream, but have struggled to figure out the perfect way to add them. When we add mini marshmallows just from the bag, we like the flavor, but the texture is a bit too crunchy. Marshmallow fluff froze too hard. So, we finally decided that the way to go was marshmallow sauce. It didn’t allow us to have a chunk of marshmallow, which was unfortunate, but it did give the great marshmallow flavor.
However, this week, we finally found it! The solution to all of our marshmallow woes! And that answer is…drum roll please…homemade marshmallows! They stay perfectly gooey and soft, just like you would want from a marshmallow. To kick it up another notch, we also toasted them. Seriously, we have reached ice cream marshmallow perfection!
So, of course, our next question was, what would Halloween ice cream with marshmallows be? Of course, they lend perfectly to a ghost ice cream. So, we decided to make an ice cream that looked like ghosts floating in a graveyard! We settled on a dark green malt ice cream layered with a chocolate pudding Oreo ice cream all speckled with white “ghosts”. While the aesthetics were fun, the flavor was even better!
Toasty Ghosties in the Graveyard
These ghosts are made for toasting, and that’s just what they’ll BOO!
Ingredients
- Homemade Marshmallows (from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home)
1 cup cold water
3/4 ounces gelatin (3 packets)
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped out and reserved
Powdered sugar
- Chocolate Pudding Oreo Base
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1.75 oz chocolate pudding mix (half of a small box)
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup whipped cream
Oreos
- Mossy Malt Base
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate malt mix
Green food coloring
Directions
- Homemade Marshmallows
- Grease a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with vegetable oil.
- Put 1/2 cup of the water and gelatin in a bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Make sure it is all stirred in and let it sit while you move on to the next step.
- Combine the rest of the water, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla seeds in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly to make sure the sugar dissolves.
- Using a candy thermometer allow the mixture to come to 236 degrees.
- Turn the stand mixer with the whisk attachment on low and allow the gelatin to mix a bit. With the mixer still going, slowly add the hot syrup carefully.
- Turn the mixer up to medium for a minute, and then to high. Allow the mixture to run for 12 minutes. It should be white and frothy by the end.
- Pour the mixture onto the greased cookie sheet and spread so that you have an even layer. Cover with a sheet a well greased plastic wrap and let it stand on the counter overnight.
- When ready, either cut the marshmallows, tossing them with powdered sugar so they don’t stick, or toast them with a kitchen torch, allow them to cool, and then cut them.
- Chocolate Pudding Oreo Base
- Heat the heavy whipping cream and milk on low in a medium saucepan until it reaches 140° F, stirring occasionally. While the custard heats, using an electric mixer to whisk the 2 large eggs in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- While the cream is still heating, slowly add the 3/4 cup sugar and pudding mix into the eggs, whisking thoroughly to make sure the mixture doesn’t become grainy.
- After the cream reaches the target temperature, gradually pour it into the egg mixture, again whisking each time the cream is added to avoid cooking the eggs.
- Pour the entire mixture back into the medium saucepan and heat it to 170° F. While it heats, add the 4 oz cream cheese. Whisk constantly so the cream cheese melts evenly into the mixture. (We ended up using an immersion blender to get rid of the chunks.)
- Now pour the mixture back into the mixing bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
- When ready, make in your ice cream maker based on the maker’s instructions.
- During the last 5 minutes in the ice cream maker (the ice cream should basically have the consistency of soft-serve ice cream), add in some finely ground Oreos. This is the part that makes it look like dirt, so add liberally!
- When done, scoop the ice cream into a medium-sized mixing bowl and fold in the whipped cream, making sure not to mix too much. You should still see some streaks of whipped cream.
- Move to the freezer while you prepare the other ice cream.
- Mossy Malt Base
- Heat the 1 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 cup milk on low in a medium saucepan until it reaches 140° F, stirring occasionally. While the custard heats, using an electric mixer to whisk the 2 large eggs in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- While the cream is still heating, slowly add the 3/4 cup sugar into the eggs, whisking thoroughly to make sure the mixture doesn’t become grainy.
- After the cream reaches the target temperature, gradually pour it into the egg and sugar mixture, again whisking each time the cream is added to avoid cooking the eggs.
- Pour the entire mixture back into the medium saucepan. Add the food coloring and malt and whisk/blend until it is all dissolved. Heat the mixture to 170° F.
- Now pour the mixture back into the mixing bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
- When ready, make in your ice cream maker based on the maker’s instructions.
- Layering the Ice Cream
- Make sure your marshmallows are toasted, cut, and ready to go!
- Add a layer of the chocolate pudding ice cream to the bottom of the container of your choice. Top with a layer of marshmallows.
- Next, add a layer of the malt. Top that layer with marshmallows.
- Repeat the layers until all of the ice cream is in the container.
- Top with a toasted marshmallow just for looks if you want. Move the ice cream to the freezer until hardened (about 4 hours).
