This popcorn ice cream is creamy, buttery and full of popcorn flavor. Perfect for family movie night or when you want a popcorn treat without the heat.
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Is there anything better than Netflix and chill with a huge bowl of popcorn and a big bowl of ice cream? What about a combination of popcorn and ice cream to make one amazing popcorn flavored ice cream?
This buttered popcorn ice cream combines these two amazing movie snacks, light, buttery popcorn and delicious creamy ice cream. And it's fun watching the popcorn magically shrink when your pour the hot ice cream mix over the popcorn.
Delicious on its own, or with some of my caramel popcorn sprinkled over the top. Either way this popcorn ice cream will become your go to next family movie night.
Ingredients
Buttered microwave popcorn: normally I prefer freshly made popcorn, however for this recipe the extra flavoring in the microwave popcorn actually helps enhance the buttered popcorn flavor in a way that fresh won't. If you Really can't stand microwave popcorn you could make you own buttered popcorn from scratch, in which case you will need approx. 8 - 9 cups.
Thickened cream: I use thickened cream which as a fat content of about 34%. You could also use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream which is similar.
Full fat milk: is best for this recipe. It needs to have a fat content of around 3.5%. I don't recommend using low fat milk, it will make your ice cream icier.
Tapioca starch: is a natural and accessible way of both thickening and stabilizing the ice cream. If you can't get tapioca starch you can use arrow root powder or corn flour in the same volume.
Glucose syrup: also called confectioner’s glucose. You can get in from specialty baking shops, online and some supermarkets. A small amount of glucose syrup helps lower the freezer point of ice cream and improves the texture and scoop-ability of the ice cream. Without it your ice cream will freeze very firm and you will need to leave it out of the freezer for several minutes to make it scoopable.
You can substitute with the same amount of light corn syrup or powdered dextrose. Measure carefully, preferably using a digital kitchen scale, and don't add to much or your ice cream will melt in a red hot minute!
How to make popcorn ice cream
Measure the milk. Add two table spoons to a small bowl and add tapioca starch. Mix to form a slurry.
Add milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup to a pot on the stove. Heat on medium low and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the tapioca starch slurry and stir well.
Cook the microwave popcorn according to the instructions on the packet.
Hot tip: The microwave popcorn bag will be very hot when you remove it form the microwave. Take care not to burn yourself on the packet.
Crack the bag open just a tiny bit, turn upside down and shake to remove the un-popped kernels out. Put the popcorn into a heatproof bowl. Pour over warm dairy mix. The popcorn will significantly reduce in volume, almost by magic when you pour the mix over the top.
Allow to stand for five minutes, then blitz well with an immersion/stick blender until smooth. Add salt and mix well. Strain mix through a sieve. Transfer mix to a container, cover and chill in fridge for at least four hours, ideally overnight.
Put your storage container in the freezer to chill. If using a self refrigerating ice cream machine turn it on about ten minutes before churning, other wise take your bowl out of the freezer just before churning.
Churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done. Working quickly transfer churned ice cream to chill container. Cover and return to freezer for about four hours or until firm.
How to serve
To serve the ice cream remove from the freezer, scoop and enjoy! Fabulous on its own, or with some of my caramel popcorn on top. Delicious!
How to store
This ice cream will store well in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two weeks. After this is may start to become a little icy, but will still taste delicious.
Have you made this recipe? Tell me how it went in the comments below and tag me on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations! @keep_calm_and_eat_icecream
Looking for more yummy desert recipes
Why not try making
- Caramel popcorn
- Cinnamon sugar pitta chips
- Tim Tam Rocky Road
- Homemade honeycomb
- Homemade cola popsicles
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📋 Recipe
Popcorn ice cream
Equipment
- ice cream maker
- stick/immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500mls) thickened cream
- 1 cup (250mls) full fat milk
- ½ cup (110gms) white sugar
- 1 teaspoon (7.5gms) glycose syrup
- 2 teaspoons (5gms) tapioca starch
- 1 packet (3.5oz /100gms) microwave popcorn, buttered flavor
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Add the tapioca starch to a small bowl. Measure the milk and add two tablespoons to the tapioca starch. Mix to form a slurry.
- Add the rest of the milk, cream, sugar and glucose syrup to a small pot. Heat on low, stirring well until the sugar and syrup is dissolved.
- Add the tapioca starch slurry and mix well. Turn off.
- Cook the popcorn in the microwave according to the instructions.
- Once done, wait until the steam has subsided. Open the packed just a crack and shake upside to remove uncooked popcorn kernels.
- Add the popcorn to a large heat proof bowl.
- Pour over hot dairy mix. The popcorn will significantly reduce in volume as your pour over the liquid.
- Allow to cool for about five minutes. Blend well with a stick/immersion blende until mix is smooth.
- Add salt and mix well.
- Strain mix through a sieve. Pour mix into a heat proof container, cover and chill in fridge for at least four hours, preferably overnight.
- Put your storage container in the freezer to chill. If you are using a self refrigerating machine turn it on about ten minutes before churning, other wise take your freezer bowl out of the freezer right before churning.
- If the butter has settled a bit on the top of the ice cream mix once chilled give it a good stir. Churn the ice cream. It will be the consistency of soft serve when done.
- Transfer the mix to the chilled storage container, cover and freeze for four hours, or until firm.
- To serve remove from the freezer, scoop and enjoy! Fabulous on its own, or with some of my caramel popcorn sprinkled over the top. Delicious!
Notes
- If you don't use glucose syrup your ice cream may freeze a little firm. Put it in the fridge for about ten minutes to make it soft enough to scoop (this is better than leaving it on the bench because it will soften uniformly).
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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Sylvie
Oh my what an epic ice cream recipe! My husband and I are obsessed with popcorn in front of the tv so combining it with ice cream would seriously make our movie nights even more fun!
Sarah Brooks
Thanks Sylvie, you would love this then 🙂 It really does taste like buttered popcorn!
Harriet
This would be such a nice change to our regular movie night treat. Can’t wait to make it and serve it!
Sarah Brooks
Thanks Harriet, its lots of fun and something different for movie night snacks 🙂
C
This is incredible. Tastes just like popcorn. We didn't have a churn and just froze the mixture. It was still delicious and scooped just like ice cream. The right combo of salty, sweet, and buttery! I will absolutely be making this again! Thank you!!
Sarah Brooks
Hi C, you're welcome, I'm so glad you loved it! Really interesting it worked well without churning it to, I've never tried it like that. Thanks for your feedback 🙂