Dunkaroos Ice Cream

Things are happeninnngg!!  I did it guys.  I bit the bullet and bought an ice cream maker!  I've been wanting one for SO LONG and I kept convincing myself that I didn't need it or I wouldn't use it.  Well take that, me!  I DID need it and I DO use it.  

           

It was some sort of divine intervention that got the wheels in motion, really.  I saw this recipe on How Sweet Eats and I decided enough was enough.  So I began Googling some prices (I have a KitchenAid mixer so I knew I just needed to buy the attachment) and, like an angel, Best Buy had a sale for $20 off the original price AND store pickup available that day.  By 6pm I was heading home with my new ice cream maker.  Doesn't that story just warm your heart?  Miracles really do happen.  

So then, of course, I was stuck with the impossible task of finding my very first ice cream recipe to make.  I wanted something a bit different and fun but I wasn't quite finding a recipe that spoke to me.  Then, for no reason at all, the idea of Dunkaroos Ice Cream popped in my head!  Truth be told, I've tried once to make a Dunkaroos-inspired dessert (a frozen cheesecake) that was less than successful.  So I've been determined to make something work since then.  And this worked SO HARD guys.  

Just layers and swirls of sweet Dunkaroos-style frosting and crunchy chewy animal cracker crust in vanilla ice cream.  Reserve some of that animal cracker crust for garnish (and snacking) and you've got yourself a dessert.  I'm sorry/You're welcome for doing this to you.        

Here's the recipe!  

Dunkaroos Ice Cream
makes about 2 quarts 

Ingredients
5 cups half and half 
1 cup sugar 
pinch of salt 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons corn starch 

Frosting Swirl
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup Funfetti cake mix 
3/4 cup powdered sugar 
2 tablespoon multi-colored sprinkles 

Animal Cracker Crust 
1 cup crushed animal crackers 
3 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 

Directions:
1.  First prepare the ice cream base.  Put 4 cups half and half, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Cook until mixture begins to steam.  In a small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 cup half and half with corn starch until no lumps remain.  Add mixture to saucepan and whisk to combine.  Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and barely reaches a boil, about 5 mins.  Immediately reduce heat to low and cook additional 5 mins to thicken more.  Once finished, whisk in vanilla extract.  Allow ice cream base to cool completely and chill in the fridge.  
2.  Meanwhile, make the animal cracker crust.  Preheat oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8x8 pan with vegetable oil.  Combine crushed crackers, sugar, salt and melted butter in your baking pan.  Stir to moisten the crackers, until mixture resembles wet sand.   Press lightly into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 5-7 minutes until edges are golden brown.  Allow to cool, turn onto countertop, and crumble crust into sizes of your choice.  Set aside. 
3.  Next, make the frosting swirl.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 mins.  With the mixer on low, add the cake mix and stir to combine.  Slowly add powdered sugar until fully combined and mixture is fluffy like buttercream.  With a rubber spatula, fold in sprinkles.  
4.  Once your ice cream base in chilled, churn ice cream in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Once complete, begin scooping spoonfuls into your storage container and alternating dollops of frosting (I found using a piping back was easy), layers of ice cream, and layers of animal cracker crust.  I reserved about 1/3 of the crust for garnishing later.  After layering, do not swirl layers.  Chill about 6-8 hours until ice cream is set.  

Enjoy!  

Recipe adapted from New York Times