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Idaho’s Popular Dessert Recipe: How to Make Potato Ice Cream

Known as the “potato state,” Idaho has some popular potato-related desserts. One of them is potato ice cream. This dessert is unique and you will not find it anywhere outside Idaho, unless you are making your own. Not actually having any potato, this ice cream is made of vanilla ice cream and covered with a variety of toppings to make it look like a baked potato. So, this is called an ice cream potato because of what it looks like, not what it tastes.

Potato Ice Cream Recipe

Without using any potato inside, making potato ice cream is easy and simple. There are no special ingredients needed, each ingredient is available and easy to find at the grocery store.

Ingredients

For the Vanilla Ice Cream

  • 1 cup of whole milk
  • 1 cup of heavy cream
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla bean.paste
  • ½ cup of granulated sugar

For the Toppings

  • 1 cup of cocoa powder (buy here)
  • 1 can of whipped cream
  • 4 yellow starbursts
  • ¼ cup of shredded coconut (buy here)
  • ¼ cup of chopped peanuts
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • Licorice, chipped finely
  • Yellow and orange food colorings
  • Green sprinkles
  • Granulated sugar
  • 1 pack of Oreo
  • Chocolate sauce

How to Make Idaho Potato Ice Cream

  1. First, make your vanilla ice cream. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks in a saucepan until the mix turns light yellow. Heat milk in separated sauce pan over medium-low heat. Once it simmers, turn off the heat and gradually add it to the egg mixture while stirring constantly.
  2. Reheat the egg and milk mixture until it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t let it come to a boil, just simmer. Turn off the heat once it reaches the temperature.
  3. Now that your custard base is ready, store it in an airtight container and chill it until it reaches 65 degrees Fahrenheit or the longer the better.
  4. Mix your custard base with heavy cream and vanilla bean paste once it is ready in an ice cream maker. Just follow the instruction and your vanilla ice cream is ready to make the novelty potato ice cream.
  5. Spoon half a cup of your homemade vanilla ice cream onto a plastic wrap and press it to form a russet potato. When it comes to a good potato shape, freeze it again for 2 hours to make it firm.
  6. Put the cocoa powder in a shallow bowl and roll your potato-like ice cream in it. Make sure each part is well covered with cocoa to create the potato skin.
  7. Freeze the potato ice cream while doing the next step: making the cheese. Put the shredded coconut in a small bowl and add a little of yellow and orange coloring to create the ‘cheese color’. Stir it using your finger for the best result.
  8. Cut out the top of your potato in a thin slit and put in the heavy whipped cream. At this time, your ice cream will look like a baked potato with sour cream inside.
  9. Now you can add the remaining toppings: sprinkle the chopped licorice to act as bacon; add the yellow starbursts as the butter; the cinnamon as the pepper; white sanding sugar as the salt; and green sprinkles as the chives.
  10. Crush 4 Oreos without the frosting and sprinkle it over your ice cream with the peanuts. Make bigger crumbs of the Oreos to sprinkle them over a plate, add in some chocolate sauce and put your ice cream on it. You can actually dress up your ice cream over this chocolate sauce from the start, so you don’t have to remove the ice cream to prevent anything from falling off.

Recommendations of Tools and Ingredients

1. Ice Cream Maker

potato-ice-cream

Making your sweet potato ice creamin 20 minutes or less using this machine is very easy. With a single press, you can make any of your favorite ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurt. It features a double-insulated freezer bowl to freeze your ingredients quickly and evenly.

The powerful heavy-duty motor of this machine can accommodate up to 1 and ½ quartz of ice cream in just 20 minutes. Moreover, it has a compact design and a wide-mouth feeding spout that supports efficiency. It also features an easy-lock lid with a transparent material to allow you to monitor each step of the ice cream making.

2. Ice Cream Mix

potato-ice-cream

This is a great alternative for those who don’t have a lot of time to make homemade vanilla ice cream. Consisting of eight individual packages, this ice cream mix can make a total of two quarts of vanilla ice cream. You just need to mix it with heavy cream and milk in your ice cream maker and your vanilla ice cream is ready in minutes.

3. Shredded Coconut

potato-ice-cream

It is better to use store-bought shredded coconut than the fresh ones because most of the time, the fresh coconuts don’t last long. This shredded coconut is unsweetened and unsulfured, so you can still taste the pure and authentic taste of fresh shredded coconut.

It is also preservative free, making it ideal for baking and desserts, including as a topping for potato ice cream.

4. Cocoa Powder

potato-ice-cream

Because cocoa powder is the most important topping for your potato ice cream, choosing the best quality will make the taste even better. You don’t have to feel guilty about eating cocoa with this product as it is additive free and loaded with nutrients. It will not only improve the taste of your ice cream, but will also benefit your health. Don’t worry about the taste since it has the same delicious and great flavor as chocolate but with added benefits.

5. Coconut Heavy Cream

potato-ice-cream

As the substitute for your regular whipped cream as the topping of your potatoice cream, coconut heavy cream would be a great option. This also a perfect alternative for those who are milk intolerant. This coconut heavy cream is pressed from fresh organic coconuts to collect the fat.

Using a little water during the pressing ensures that you will get a premium taste of 30% coconut fat. It is as creamy as your regular heavy cream, but a healthier version. Since it comes with no additives, you might find it separated in the can, but this is fine and just normal.