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Being a kid today is so different than back when I was growing up. While things like Barbie, Disney, and My Little Pony are still around (although modernized), so many things have changed since we were kids. Which is why I was thinking the other day about all the things my 6-year-old daughter says to me that I never anticipated coming out of her mouth at such a young age.
“Mommy, take my picture!” (As she poses when I pull out my phone in the grocery line. Oh, and the fact I have a phone in my purse.)
“Will you upload that to Facebook?” (After I’ve taken the requested picture.)
“Who was that texting you?”
“Why can’t we fast-forward this commercial??!!” (Because, shock of all shocks, we are watching live TV.)
“Mommy, I know how to get to pbskids.org. You don’t need to help me.” (Uttered when she was barely 5.)
“What’s a VCR?”
“Why can’t you just play the Selena Gomez song I want in the car?” (Uh, ‘cuz radio is LIVE.)
“I want to have a blog too someday.”
And then there are the constant recipe requests, like this one:
“Mommy, can you make some cupcakes and somehow make frosting using ice cream?”
Which led me to this recipe.
She asked me that question a few weeks ago. I initially thought she meant for me to use ice cream as the frosting but I was wrong. She wanted ice cream in the frosting. As just a component of it. I figured, why not?
The beauty of this frosting is that you can make it whatever flavor you want. I used mint chip because I liked how the green would show for photography purposes. Also, mint chip ice cream has a very distinct flavor and I wanted to be able to see if I could actually taste the ice cream. And you can. It’s amazing! I can’t wait to make this frosting with other flavors of ice cream.
I thought it would be cute to serve them in ice cream cone wrappers. I used this template, printed it on brown card stock and used a crayon to make the sugar cone marks. Then tape the wrapper into a circular shape and place your cupcake inside.
Make sure to taste your frosting as you are adding the powdered sugar (I’ve made note of this in the recipe instructions). Some ice cream flavors or brands are sweeter than others. You also need to chill this frosting for awhile before attempting to decorate your cupcakes. Otherwise it’s too runny to hold up.
Ice Cream Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 12 ounces (about ¾ cup) melted ice cream, any flavor (I used 2 single serving size cups of mint chip)
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cups mini chocolate chips or other garnish to reflect your ice cream flavor
Instructions
- Using a hand mixture in a large bowl, beat butter and ice cream until lumps are gone. Slowly beat in powdered sugar, starting with 3 cups and working up to 4 depending on the sweetness of your ice cream. Here’s the hard part – chill for at least one hour before frosting cupcakes. Sprinkle with garnish.
1cup is 8oz. How can 3/4 cup be 12oz?
Just wondering, how well does the frosting hold up on the cupcakes once frosted? I’m thinking about making a rootbeer float cupcake and am looking for an ice cream frosting, but these guys need to travel and it would not be good if they melted everywhere!
Great entry!!
The frosting is thinner than a normal frosting, because the ice cream is melted. If it’s stored in the refrigerator, it’s good. But after it’s out for awhile it will get soft. I would say, for traveling, to be safe, maybe go with a super vanilla-et creamy frosting to pair with the root beer cupcake! My favorite recipe is 1 cup of butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, and 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Wonderfully vanilla and fluffy!
I had a crazy idea that maybe someone has come up with a frosting using ice cream so I could use it on orange dreamsicle cupcakes that I wanted to bake inside an ice cream cone. Thank you for making my crazy idea a reality. My cone cakes came out great! My grandchildren thought they were the best thing they had ever eaten. Probably because their Mom and Dad won’t let them normally eat something made with so much sugar. (Poor babies good parents)
Yay!! I’m so glad! What a great idea too, the orange dreamsicle. YUM!
Your frosting looks beautiful! Did you strain out the chocolate bits that were already in the mint n chip ice cream? I don’t see any chips mixed in. Can’t wait to top my brownie cupcakes with this!
I didn’t strain them out, now that you mention it I’m wondering where they went, lol. I used a small single-serve container, they must have been small chips and they blended themselves up when mixing. 🙂 Enjoy!
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