Cereal Milk Ice Cream and Pie

If you're not tired of all the cereal milk creations yet, here's two more:  Cereal Milk Ice Cream and Cereal Milk Ice Cream Pie.  First, the ice cream. The recipe in the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook called for powdered freeze-dried corn, which I just didn't feel like looking for or buying off the internet.  Luckily, I found this recipe on-line that doesn't use freeze-dried corn but instead steeps the ice cream base in caramelized cornflakes, which were similar enough to Cornflake Crunch that I just used that instead.

 
Cereal Milk Ice Cream (adapted from Cafe Fernando)
makes almost a quart

1 recipe Cornflake Crunch (you really only need 3 1/2 cups, and you should have that much left over if you made the whole batch just to garnish the panna cotta)
4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 
In a large bowl, combine 3 1/2 cups cornflake crunch with the whole milk and let steep for an hour.

Strain the milk with the help of a fine-mesh sieve (make sure to press on the cornflakes with a spatula to extract as much liquid as possible).  You should get about 2 cups of cereal milk out of this.

Combine the cereal milk and salt in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.

 
In the meantime, in a medium pot, whisk together egg yolks with sugar. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the yolks while whisking constantly. Pour back into the pot and place over medium heat, stirring until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.

Pour the custard through a strainer into a medium bowl and add the heavy cream and vanilla extract.  Stir to combine.

 
Chill the mixture and then freeze in an ice cream maker.  Serve with remaining cornflake crunch.

 
As soon as I tasted this ice cream, I remembered why I like Jeni's ice creams so much; all I could taste were the egg yolks.  I had gotten so used to making ice cream without eggs that the taste was kind of overwhelming.  After a couple of bites I got used to it, though, and other than that initial reaction, I really liked it.  It also makes the best root beer float you've ever tasted.

 
And it goes great with the cornflake crunch as a topping.  Which means it'll go even better with the cornflake crunch as a pie crust!

 
Cereal Milk Ice Cream Pie (from Momofuku Milk Bar)
makes 1 pie

1/2 recipe Cornflake Crunch (2 cups)
25 g melted butter (2 tablespoons)
3 cups Cereal Milk Ice Cream

Using your hands (or a food processor if you prefer), crumble the cornflake crunch clusters to half their size.

 
Toss the melted butter into the crumbled cornflake crunch, mixing well.  Using your fingers and the palms of you hands, press the mixture firmly into a 10-inch pie tin, making sure the bottom and sides of the pie tin are evenly covered.

 
Use a spatula to spread the ice cream into the pie shell.  Freeze the pie for at least 3 hours, or until the ice cream is frozen hard enough so the pie is easy to cut and serve.  Wrapped in plastic wrap, the pie will keep for 2 weeks in the freezer.

I thought the pie was the perfect ratio of ice cream to cornflake crunch and a fun way to serve ice cream at a gathering.

 

Next:  Duchikey (or Simplified Turducken)

Previously:  Cereal Milk Panna Cotta with Cornflake Crunch

Cereal Milk Panna Cotta with Cornflake Crunch

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  Christina Tosi is a genius.  First she brought us cereal milk.  Then, she makes it into a panna cotta.  It's like combining two of my favorite things!

Cereal Milk Panna Cotta (from Momofuku Milk Bar)
makes 4 servings

3/4 teaspoon powdered gelatin
1/2 recipe Cereal Milk (1 1/4 cups)
25 g light brown sugar (1 1/2 tablespoons, tightly packed)
1 g kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon)

 
Sprinkle the gelatin evenly over 2 tablespoons of cold water and let bloom for a few minutes.

Warm a little bit of the cereal milk and whisk in the gelatin to dissolve.  Whisk in the remaining cereal milk, brown sugar, and salt until everything is dissolved, being careful not to incorporate too much air into the mixture.

 
Put 4 small ramekins on a flat, transportable surface.  Pour the cereal milk mixture into the glasses, filling them equally.  Transfer to the refrigerator to set for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

 
I found this panna cotta to be super soft and jiggly, which I thought I wouldn't like as I usually like my panna cotta a little firmer.  But I decided to trust Christina and took a bite.  Heavenly!  As Christina writes, "the secret to a profesh panna cotta is just the right amount of gelatin:  just enough to hold it together.  As little as possible, so that the second the panna cotta hits your mouth, it transforms into a silky river of flavored cream.  So little that you wonder how the dessert held its shape in the first place."  Yeah, it was definitely a silky river of cereal milk in my mouth.

 
To contrast all the soft creaminess, I made a batch of Cornflake Crunch, another invention of Christina's, to put on top.

Cornflake Crunch (from Momofuku Milk Bar)
makes about 4 cups

170 g cornflakes (5 cups)
40 g milk powder (1/2 cup)
40 g sugar (3 tablespoons)
4 g kosher salt (1 teaspoon)
130 g butter, melted (9 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 275°F.

 
Pour the cornflakes into a medium bowl and crush them with your hands (it's fun!) to 1/4 of their original size.

 
Add the milk powder, sugar, and salt and toss to mix.  Add the butter and toss to coat.

 
Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes, at which point they should look toasted, smell buttery, and crunch gently when cooled slightly and chewed.

 
Cool the cornflake crunch completely before storing or using in a recipe.  Stored in an airtight container at room temperature, the crunch will keep fresh for 1 week; in the fridge or freezer, it will keep for 1 month.

 
But good luck keeping it that long!  Sure, this makes a lot, and you only need a little to add on top of the panna cotta, but I couldn't stop munching on this like a snack.  And you can use 2 cups of it to make the crust of a Cereal Milk Ice Cream Pie!

Next:  Cereal Milk Ice Cream and Pie
Previously:  Cereal Milk

Cereal Milk

While browsing my local library's cookbook shelf, I noticed that they had a copy of Momofuku Milk Bar!  I've made the crack pie and compost cookies before from recipes I've found on-line, and while they were pretty complicated to make, it's still easier than traveling to NYC to get them.  In case I haven't said it before, I think Christina Tosi is a real genius when it comes to creating things for the Milk Bar.  I mean, take cereal milk for example.  The idea is simple--the yummy milk leftover at the bottom of a cereal bowl--but who would have thought to make it as a drink to sell?  And it's soooooooooo good!  Thankfully, this is one of the easier things from the Milk Bar to make.

Cereal Milk (from Momofuku Milk Bar)
makes 4 servings 

100 grams (2 3/4 cups) cornflakes
825 grams (3 3/4 cups) cold milk
30 grams (2 tablespoons, tightly packed) light brown sugar

1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) kosher salt   

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

 
Spread the cornflakes on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly toasted. Cool completely.

 
Transfer the cooled cornflakes to a large bowl. Pour the milk into the bowl and stir vigorously. Let steep for 20 minutes at room temperature.

 
Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, collecting the milk in a medium bowl. The milk will drain off quickly at first, then become thicker and starchy toward the end of the straining process. Using the back of a ladle (or your hand), wring the milk out of the cornflakes, but do not force the mushy cornflakes through the sieve.

 
Whisk the brown sugar and salt into the milk until fully dissolved. Store in a clean pitcher or glass milk jug, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

 
I like to drink this straight up, but you can also use it in coffee or make milkshakes out of it.  Next, I'll post about how to make a panna cotta out of this!

Next:  Cereal Milk Panna Cotta with Cornflake Crunch
Previously:  Margherita Pizza