Apple Caramel Cinnamon Toast Crunch Ice Cream
Softened vanilla ice cream folded with crushed cinnamon toast cereal, fresh grated apple, and a caramel swirl, then refrozen. Fifteen minutes of work for a dessert that tastes like apple pie a la mode.
My wife asked me to make my famous apple caramel cinnamon toast crunch ice cream, so I might as well show you how to do it too. This is not a from-scratch, churn-it-for-an-hour situation. It starts with a tub of store-bought vanilla ice cream and gets doctored into something that tastes like apple pie a la mode.
The move is texture and flavor layered into a soft base. Crushed cinnamon toast cereal for crunch and warm spice, fresh grated apple for that real-fruit bite, and a caramel swirl running through it. You soften the ice cream just enough to fold everything in, layer it back into a container with caramel between the layers, and refreeze. Fifteen minutes of actual work and the freezer does the rest.
Soften the Ice Cream
- 01Take the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer so it softens slightly while you prep everything else. You want it scoopable and foldable, not melted into soup.
Crush the Cereal
- 02Put the cinnamon toast cereal in a bowl and crush it with the bottom of a jar.
- 03Keep crushing until it is crumbly. Leave some texture, you are after crunch, not dust.
Grate the Apple
- 04Peel the apple, then grate it on a box grater. Gather the grated pulp in your hand and squeeze it over a bowl or plate to wring out the liquid. That liquid is just apple juice, save it. Keep the pulp too.
Mix
- 05In a glass container, stir the softened ice cream together with the crushed cereal, the apple pulp, and about 2 tablespoons of the reserved apple juice until everything is evenly folded through. If you want a stronger apple flavor, go ahead and add all of the reserved juice.
Layer with Caramel
- 06Spread a layer of the ice cream mixture into the container, then drizzle caramel over the top.
- 07Add another layer and more caramel, finishing with a swirl on top. It is okay if it gets a little messy.
Freeze and Scoop
- 08Freeze until firm. An hour or two gets you a soft-serve texture. For a solid, properly scoopable ice cream, freeze it overnight. Then scoop and serve, on a cone or in a bowl.
- Soften, do not melt. You want the ice cream scoopable so you can fold the mix-ins through. If it turns to soup it will freeze back icy.
- The cereal is for cinnamon and crunch, not sugar. A sugar-free or low-sugar cinnamon toast cereal works great here, the vanilla ice cream already brings all the sweetness you need.
- Crush, do not pulverize. Leave some texture in the cereal so you get real crunch in the finished ice cream.
- Squeeze the apple. Wringing the water out keeps the ice cream from freezing icy, and stirring 2 tablespoons of that juice back in adds apple flavor without the excess liquid.
- Want more apple? You can add a second one, but know that more grated apple can loosen the base and make the ice cream a little less creamy and scoopable.
- Go easy on the caramel. Use as much as you like, but I recommend just 1 or 2 tablespoons. It can overpower the ice cream fast.
- Freeze overnight for a firm scoop. A couple of hours gives you soft serve. Overnight gives you a clean, solid scoop.
