Cereal Milk Ice Cream

Y’all remember “Milk and Cereal” by G. Love & Special Sauce? Absolute bop.

When I started Pleasant House Ice Cream in October, I really thought I would incorporate more baking into my recipes. I thought initially that I would find ways to incorporate more cakes and scones and all that into the churning process, but as I tried more and more recipes that I didn’t really like, the simplicity of just making a flavor people would enjoy won over.

Enter cereal milk ice cream. I have made SO much cereal milk and cereal milk ice cream inspired by Christina Tosi’s Momofuku. Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Reese’s Puffs, Corn Flakes. I even went the whole mile to do a cereal milk ice cream cake for my buddy’s birthday last year. A process I probably won’t repeat.

Enter cereal milk ice cream. I have made SO much cereal milk and cereal milk ice cream inspired by Christina Tosi’s Momofuku. Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruity Pebbles, Reese’s Puffs, Corn Flakes. I even went the whole mile to do a cereal milk ice cream cake for my buddy’s birthday last year. A process I probably won’t repeat.

Exhibit A: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream Cake

CTC-Infused Cake with layers of CTC Cereal Milk Ice Cream, CTC Salted Crunch, and Cinnamon Chantilly Icing. Two days of work, too many eggs, to a best friend. He’s lucky he’s a cool dude.

My fiancée and I had major snack cravings for Cap’n Crunch last week as we returned to school, work, life-post California Wildfires, the hellscape that is American politics… and after not having it for so long, we both have developed a little bit of an addiction to it. And honestly, I can’t believe we marketed these as breakfast cereals for kids. I can’t believe I ate so much of this for breakfast in grad school. You know where something this sweet and bad for your health but good for your soul goes? You guessed it. Into ice cream. Oh yes.

This recipe and process are adapted from Christina Tosi’s process, though I take a few different steps, namely steeping cereal in my entire custard and not just cold milk. Also, this isn’t Cap’n Crunch cereal milk ice cream. This is…. sweetened corn and oat cereal milk ice cream. Yeah. That sounds legally sound and totally appetizing, right?

Here’s how I made my Sweetened Corn & Oat Cereal Milk Ice Cream!

RECIPE

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Sweetened Corn & Oat Cereal Milk Ice Cream

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RECIPE 〰️ Sweetened Corn & Oat Cereal Milk Ice Cream 〰️

  • Sheet Pan/Baking Tray

    Parchment Paper

    Sauce Pan (2-2.5L)

    Spatula

    Whisk

    Stand Mixer

    Instant-Read Thermometer

    Fine-Mesh Strainer

    Large and Medium Bowls

    Ziploc Bags

    Measuring Cups

  • 1 ½ Cups Sweetened Corn and Oat Cereal

    2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

    1 ¼ Cup Milk

    1/6 Cup Dark Brown Sugar

    ¼ Teaspoon Salt

    1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar

    4 Larg Egg Yolks

    1. Preheat Oven to 300° Farenheit.

    2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Spread the corn and oat cereal on tray and bake for 15 minutes, until lightly toasted. Let cool completely.

    3. Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and a cup or two of water. Place a medium bowl fitted with a fine strainer inside ice bath.

    4. In your stand mixing bowl, combine egg yolks and granulated sugar. Using your whisk attachment, mix at medium-high speed (6) for 3 minutes until lightened in color. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl.

    5. In sauce pan over medium heat, combine the heavy whipping cream, milk, dark brown sugar, and salt. Stir consistently until the mixture has fully homogenized and reached a temperature of 80° Celsius (or 176° Fahrenheit). Remove pot from heat.

    6. Start your stand mixer at medium speed (4) to begin whipping up the egg yolk-sugar mixture. Using a measuring cup, take 1 ½ cups of the warm milk-cream mixture and slowly stream the liquid into your egg-yolk-sugar mixture, until it becomes more liquid and is warmed. Slowly pour the egg-milk mixture into the saucepan with your milk-cream mixture.

    7. Over low heat, stir constantly under your mixture is thick enough to cook the back of a spoon and registers 80° Celsius (or 176° Fahrenheit). This will take about 5 minutes.

    8. Strain the custard mixture into your ice bath. Add the toasted corn and oats cereal to your custard mix, and cover, letting sit until the mixture reaches room temperature. Strain this mixture into gallon Ziploc bag and refrigerate for six hours or overnight.

    9. Remove the chilled ice cream base from the fridge. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, typically 20 to 30 minutes. The ice cream will be soft after churning.

    10. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for 2 to 4 hours before serving.

    11. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month. If the ice cream is too firm to scoop straight from the freezer, let sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften.