Here’s a fun fact I bet you’re not familiar with… Ghosts make the best ice cream. In fact, if you really want to get technical, they were the original creators of the culinary treat, and originally named it ice scream and made it not with cream, but with ectoplasm and plasma.
Go ahead and laugh, but once you’re done chuckling, sit back and really think about it. When you claim to have been visited by an apparition from the beyond, what’s one of the defining clues? That’s right, a sudden drop in temperature. Ghosts are naturally icy cold, and a generous scoop of their plasma, combined with just the right amount of sweetness and aeration, creates a smooth, silky custard-like treat that is sweet, icy-cold and has the added bonus of faintly glowing (which makes eating it in the dark much easier.)
Unfortunately, through the centuries of sharing recipes and the slow appropriation of ice scream by mortals, the basic recipe and name have changed and you end up with modern ice cream…also good in its own way, but I miss the original.
Of course, getting good ectoplasm and plasma up here topside is a bit difficult, but luckily there is a fairly reliable substitute that, while not perfect, comes close enough to the original ingredients to tic at least 90% of the “ice scream” boxes.
I’m talking, of course, about the avocado.
Hang on…before I lose you, yes, I know. Avocado ice cream sounds weird, but it actually makes perfect sense when you stop and think about it. It’s rich and fatty, it’s soft, and when you properly blend it, it results in a similarly smooth, thick consistency that is absolutely divine on a spoon…and has the added benefit of being the same green color as some types of ectoplasm.
Now, while they do share some of the same characteristics of ectoplasm, I’m pretty sure (depending on where you specifically source your fleshy fruits) that glowing is not a standard feature of most avocados, which is why we’ll be adding a secret ingredient to our version here. On top of that, we’ll make our final product fizz and pop in your mouth, recreating that electric tingle that only comes with the gentle caress of icy cold supernatural fingers on the back of your neck.
Have I freaked you out enough yet? No? Excellent! Let’s get started.
To make your own green glowing avocado ice scream with fizzing green topping, you will need:
- 2 medium ripe avocados
- 1 whole lime
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon, divided
- 1 teaspoon citric acid
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup coconut cream
- Neon green food coloring
- 2 B-2 vitamins, crushed
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
You’re also going to need:
- Medium pot
- Wooden spoon
- Knife and cutting board
- Large bowl
- Food processor
- Zester or small grater
- Ice cream maker
- Plastic food grade wrap
- Small Ziplock bag
- Mortar and Pestle or an alternate way to grind up B-2 tablets
- Plastic resealable Tupperware tub
- Blacklights (optional, but makes everything way more awesome!)
Start by first slicing your avocados in half.
Remove the pits and scoop out the meat. Transfer this to a bowl and mash into a thick paste using your wooden spoon.
Slice your lime in half and squeeze both halves over your mashed avocado and mix well to combine.
Using your zester or small grater, zest the outside of your lime rinds and set aside for later. We’ll be going back to this in a bit.
Over medium heat, combine your milk, heavy cream, coconut milk, and your sugar.
Stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved. The point here is to ensure that the sugar is completely incorporated into the mixture, but not to overheat the milk…so whatever you do, do NOT let the milk boil. You want it to just come to a bare simmer.
While you’re waiting for your mixture to come to a simmer, let’s crust up our B-2 vitamins. I accomplished this with a small mortar and pestle, but you could just as easily crush them by placing them between two pieces of wax paper and lightly tapping with a meat tenderizing hammer or a heavy wooden spoon.
Once the sugar is completely dissolved, add your crushed B-2 vitamins.
Mix in your grated lime zest and any food coloring you’d like at this point. I added a few drops of neon green to just really kick up the electric color, but this is completely optional.
Allow to simmer (but NOT boil) for about 2 minutes.
At the two-minute mark, mix in your avocado paste and continue to simmer for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, allow to cool, and add in your coconut extract.
In your food processor, blend your mixture until completely smooth. You should end up with a thick, creamy liquid.
Transfer this creamy avocado awesomeness to your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s directions to churn up a batch of the creamiest, smoothest, most interestingly complex flavored soft serve ever (mine took about 30 minutes to achieve scoopable perfection!).
While that’s churning, let’s make our topping.
In your Ziplock bag, combine your teaspoon of sugar with your teaspoon of citric acid and your ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. Add a few drops of green food coloring and knead the bag to distribute the coloring while you also mix the ingredients.
What we’re doing here is a little culinary science magic. The citric acid and baking soda on their own won’t do much, but when they come into contact with the moisture in the ice cream (and later the saliva in your mouth) they react by chemically changing, forming sodium ions, citric acid ions, carbon dioxide, and water. This chemical reaction creates a fizzing and popping sensation. The sugar just makes it taste better.
Boom. Knowledge drop.
By now your ice cream should be soft serve ready. Scoop up two healthy portions and pop into the bowl of your choice.
Sprinkle on a little of our fizzing green topping, turn off the overheads, flip on the black lights and be ready to be brought to your knees by our very own smooth, creamy, avocado-lime-coconut-poltergeist-in-a-cup glowing ice cream. That’s right…it’s GLOWING!
The ice cream on its own won’t glow, which is why we added the crushed B-2 vitamins. B-2, otherwise known as riboflavin, glows bright yellow under a blacklight. When exposed to the ultraviolet (UV) range, molecules within the riboflavin get so excited they emit their own wavelength of energy as light. Who knew making ice cream was also going to include a science lesson?
If soft serve isn’t your thing and you’d like your ice cream a little harder, simply transfer it to your Tupperware tub. Press a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream before sealing the tub, and pop it into your freezer for at least 4 hours.
Bone appetite!
Looking for more ‘cool’ recipes to help you beat the summer heat? Why not try out a scoop of pitch black cherry chocolate chunk ice scream or whip up a zombie-inspired undead brain freeze milkshake?
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