Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream
What are your favorite movie snacks? I love popcorn and ice cream so much that I combined them! First, I make fresh popcorn milk for the ice cream base in my Breville the Smart Scoop. Then, I fold caramel popcorn and drizzle it with plenty of caramel sauce. It’s the ultimate movie treat that makes me so happy!
- Yield: about 1 quart/945 ml
Ingredients
3 1/4 cups/830 ml whole milk
1 1/2 cups/360 ml heavy cream
2 Tbsp popcorn kernels
1 cup/200 g sugar
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 oz/55 g cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 cups salted caramel popcorn, homemade or store-bought, plus extra for serving
1/4 cup/60 ml caramel sauce, homemade or store-bought, plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Mix 3 cups/710 ml milk and heavy cream in a medium saucepan and simmer over medium heat.
- While the milk heats, pop the popcorn in a microwave or stove. Add the freshly popped hot popcorn to the saucepan with the milk. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, using an immersion blender or high-speed blender, pulverize until smooth. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to at least 16 hours, preferably 48 hours, for maximum flavor.
- After refrigeration, strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a medium saucepan and discard any remaining solid bits.
- Stir in the sugar and honey and boil over medium heat, stirring often to prevent the milk from scorching.
- Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup/60 ml milk with the cornstarch to form a smooth slurry in a small bowl. Whisk the mixture into the hot infused milk while it’s boiling and cook until thickened like a custard. The liquid should be able to coat the back of a spoon and leave a trail when a finger runs through. Remove from the stove.
- Add the cream cheese to a medium heat-proof mixing bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture until smooth and combined. Transfer this cream cheese mixture to the saucepan and whisk into the hot milk. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps. Refrigerate the liquid until chilled. When ready to prepare the ice cream, pour the ice cream base into the ice cream maker and follow the directions in the Breville the Smart Scoop ice cream maker manual. (Please check with the manufacturer’s instructions when using other products)
- Transfer half of the ice cream to a freezer-safe container or a metal 9 in/23 cm loaf pan. Sprinkle half of the popcorn and drizzle 2 generous Tbsp of the caramel sauce. Repeat with the remaining ice cream and layer. Wrap the top with parchment paper or cling film and freeze for at least 6 hours until firm. This ice cream can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the freezer. When ready to serve top with extra salted caramel popcorn and caramel sauce.
Notes
- Use freshly made popcorn for the milk. Infuse up to 48 hrs for maximum flavor.
- You can use store-bought caramel popcorn for the caramel popcorn. However, the ice cream can get soft with repeated thawing. To avoid this, freeze the popcorn before it’s incorporated into the ice cream, and don’t soften it too much once it’s frozen. Keep it in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
