Guilty Pleasure - Cake Ice Cream & Malted Milk Balls

Dinner tonight was really good - a marinated flank steak topped with a smoked paprika/basil compound butter. Sooo good. And a salad of sauteed corn, grape tomatoes, diced avocado, green onions, lime juice, olive oil, and a tiny bit of adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers. The perfect summertime accompaniment for just about any meal. However, the photos were terrible - and I realized too late that I had my camera on the wrong setting. Ugh. Well, I'll definitely make that again. And I'll be sure to check my camera settings next time!

But for dessert... Well, I have to tell you a secret. I love good food, including well-made desserts. Not a big fan of mixes. Okay - that's not the secret, but this is...My summertime guilty pleasure is birthday cake flavored ice cream at Marble Slab Ice Creamery. And I like it with crushed Whoppers mixed in. (I warned you this was a guilty pleasure...) Another one of my internet research sessions turned up a recipe I knew I could handle. The main flavor component is dry cake mix. Yep, I know. A mix. But I like this flavor. So, I was willing to give it a try.

Now the recipe calls for bringing milk and a little cake mix to a simmer, then chill the milk mixture for about 2 hours. Then, when you're ready to process the mixture in the ice cream maker, you add heavy cream and vanilla extract. I forgot to add the cream and vanilla. (Yes, I was suffering from brain freeze today - quite a feat in 102 F. heat... ) I let the original mixture process for 20 minutes, then added the crushed malted milk balls and processed for another 2 - 3 minutes. I was nervous about how this was going to taste and what the texture might be like after I realized my inadvertent omission. Nothing to worry about. It was delicious and creamy. I was happy. On top of that, a couple of fortunate things happened here... I saved on some major calories in 2 ways: 1) by not adding the cream, and 2) I ended up with only 3 cups of this delicious concoction.

Oh yeah. Uh huh. I did that on purpose after all...

Birthday Cake Ice Cream Recipe
Philadelphia Style

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Chill Time: at least 2 hours
Ice Cream Maker Time: Approximately 20-25 minutes
Makes: 1 1/2 quarts
Servings: Ten 1/2 cup servings

1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup cake mix
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 to 1/2 cup add-ins

In a saucepan over medium low heat, combine milk, sugar, and cake mix. Stir constantly until mixture starts to bubble. Remove from heat and cool completely in refrigerator (about 2 hours). Stir in cream and vanilla. Pour into ice cream maker. Mix approximately 15-20 minutes or according to manufacturer's instructions. Pour in add-ins. Mix in ice cream maker for 5 more minutes. Scoop it out and enjoy!


Source: serving-ice-cream.com