S’Mores Ice Cream Bars: Your favourite campfire treat in ice cream form.
In parts of Canada, we’ve been eaten alive by the summer heat. And that’s not a complaint when you live with winter the remaining 8 months of the year. It does, however, make writing a baking blog a little more challenging at times. We won’t shy away from turning on our ovens, but it has to be for the right reasons (Ahem, one bowl vegan chocolate cake anyone?). Otherwise, we’ll happily to turn to our favourite no-bake treats. These chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream sandwiches or this frozen tahini and sesame fudge fit that bill and are a great way to get dessert on the table without the use of your oven.
Related: Tiramisu Popsicles (made with no-churn ice cream)
Are they worth the effort?
First off, heck yes! Secondly, heck yes! S’Mores Ice Cream Bars go above an beyond a regular s’more to offer that extra bit of magic. They are what happens when your favourite campfire treat meets a snowy blizzard; the grown up version. The welcome bars boast a weighty layer of indulgent toasted marshmallow ice cream to cool you off, a sandy graham cracker base for a necessary textural note, and a dark chocolate “magic shell” topping to balance everything out–seriously don’t skip the shell.
No-Churn Ice Cream WILL Change Your Life
I borrowed the ice cream recipe base from Alanna’s tutorial a few weeks back. It’s no-churn, so also–if I could be so presumptuous–a no-brainer for making its way into your kitchen this summer. No churn ice cream, at its core, is the easiest ice cream (maybe even easiest dessert?) to make. It requires two ingredients and does NOT require an ice cream maker.
If you find yourself in Toronto
Since this is a Canadian baking blog, I wanted to share that this particular recipe is inspired from my favourite Burnt Marshmallow ice cream from Toronto’s Home. My version is by far the more pedestrian of the two, but it hits the spot when you can’t make it Toronto. For those that live in the Big Smoke, I urge you to include a visit to Home in your summer plans–not as a substitute to these bars, but as an adjunct. S’mores ice cream bars should be on everybody’s summer make list!
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A mashup between your favourite campfire treat and the best ice cream you could eat, these S’Mores Ice Cream Bars are the quintessential summer treat.
Ingredients
For the Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream:
- 2 cups (554 ml) whipping cream
- 300 ml (1 small can) sweetened condensed milk
- Pinch kosher salt
- 12 large marshmallows
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- 12 full sheets graham crackers (approximately 175g)
- 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, melted
For the Chocolate Magic Shell:
- 200g dark chocolate of your choice
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
For the Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream:
- In a large bowl, whisk whipped cream until you’re just past the soft peak stage, but stop before arriving at fully stiff peaks.
- Pour the sweetened condensed milk into the cream, and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Meanwhile, place marshmallows under a low broiler for 30-60 seconds to “toast”. Watch them VERY carefully so that they don’t burn. Flip marshmallows to toast on the opposite side. Marshmallows should be brown and slightly charred on the outside with a gooey, soft centre. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly.
- Add a pinch of salt, then add the cooled marshmallows to the cream mixture and whisk until incorporated. Sturdy whisking will break the marshmallow up sufficiently.
- Scrape mixture into a freezer-safe container and cover tightly with cling wrap. Freeze for 6 hours or overnight.
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×8″ square pan with parchment paper.
- Process graham crackers in a food processor or blender, or crush in a zip top bag with a rolling pin until they are finely ground.
- In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together until combined.
- Press the mixture into the pan. Use the bottom of a flat measuring cup or glass to solidly press the crust in.
- Bake this crust for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to chill for at least 2 hours.
For the Chocolate Magic Shell:
- In a double boiler or in the bowl of a microwave, melt the chocolate along with the coconut oil until it is completely melted and creamy.
For Assembly:
- Spread softened ice cream over the chilled graham cracker crust and return to the freezer until frozen solid. You will not need all of the ice cream. Enjoy the remaining on its own or topped on cones.
- Working very quickly, cut the frozen ice cream into 16 bars. Return to the freezer until frozen solid.
- Working even more quickly, dip the corner of each bar into melted chocolate and place on a wire rack set over a baking pan to set. Place entire rack and pan in the freezer until frozen solid. Alternatively, drizzle chocolate over the tops of each bar. Whatever you do, don’t skip this part. The bars just aren’t balanced without it.
- Place individual ice cream bars into a sealed container and store in the freezer for up to 4-6 weeks
Notes
- Don’t feel like making bars? The toasted marshmallow ice cream is delicious on its own or mixed with some graham crack crust crumbles and topped with a chocolate drizzle.
- You will not need all of the ice cream for the bars. Enjoy the remaining on its own or topped on cones.
This post was originally published on August 9, 2018. It has been updated with improvements to the recipe and instructions as of May 26, 2019.
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