Last month’s 5 Star Makeover event was all about beets. Given that they are sometimes called super foods I found it amusing that this month’s theme was junk food. Talk about jumping from one end of the spectrum to the other. Our challenge was not a makeover of junk food, but to incorporate it into a 5 star dish. I think this had to have been my favorite challenge to date.
I will admit I ate a lot of junk food growing up – Fruit By the Foot, Dunkeroos,Pixy Sticks, etc. (But before you judge my parents too harshly, I feel the need to point out that it was the early 1990′s, before childhood obesity had become a national issue and our lives were pretty active.) So deciding what ingredient to use was a bit like a trip down memory lane.
I wanted to pick something that I don’t enjoy as often as I used to so I decided sugary cereal was the way to go and chose one of my childhood favorites – Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I’ve been swooning over the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook these days so I thought it would be fun to do a version of their cereal milk ice cream. The result is a sugary salty delight that’s like lapping up every last drop after a morning breakfast, only better.
Makes about 1 quart
Adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar
Note: I’m finding recipes from this book, in general, to be a little sweeter and saltier than my general tastes. If you generally prefer your ice cream less sweet you may want to scale back.
Ingredients:
-3 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, divided
-4 cups whole milk, divided
-1/2 teaspoon powdered gelatin
-2/3 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup dried milk powder
-2 tablespoons glucose
-2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
-3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon vanilla
Method:
Take 2 cups of the cereal and crush to the texture of gravel. Add to a pitcher or large bowl. Pour 3 3/4 cups of milk over the top and stir vigorously. Let steep for 20 minutes at room temperature.
Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve into am medium bowl. Use a spatula to squeeze the milk out of the cereal, but don’t force the mushy cereal through the sieve.
Set aside. Take the remaining 1/4 cup milk, which should be thoroughly chilled, and sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the top. Let stand for 20 minutes.
Warm a cup of the cereal milk in a sauce pan (either on the stove or in the microwave). Remove from the heat and whisk in the gelatin mixture to dissolve. Whisk in the remaining ingredients, including the rest of the cereal milk, until fully dissolved and incorporated.
Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve again into the ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
If you like junk food as much as I do I highly recommend checking out the recaps by my gracious hosts later this week.
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The ice cream with Cinnamon toast crunch cereal sounds awesome, must make this for 5 Star Foodie Junior!
What a fun post. I’m not a junk food junkie so this was hard for me, but I do love your ice cream recipe. And, I can see this as a great midnight snack. I always want ice cream at night.
Love me some Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Still eat it today. Interesting take on Christina Tosi’s recipe. I met her recently here in Miami. Very nice and down-to-earth.
Nice job on ice cream treat.
P.S. Never heard of Pixie Sticks or Dunkeroos.
How fun is that! Really looks delightful
And I haven’t seen Pixy Sticks in
forever
definitely some great creations!! i’d probably have to do something with cheetos or lucky charms
Hi Kelly – so happy to see a creative sweet recipe for the Junk Food Challenge! Have you been to Glenn’s Diner in Chicago? YAY for cereal.
LL