Tempura Ice Cream

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Tempura ice cream is a Japanese dessert with the perfect balance between hot and cold flavors. Frozen ice cream balls are covered in tempura batter, then fried until golden brown and crispy. Each bite will leave you craving more!

📖 What is tempura ice cream?

Tempura ice cream is a popular item on the menus of Japanese restaurants around the world. This deep-frying method originates from savory foods like prawns and veggies, but it has now spread to desserts like bananas and ice cream.

Most recipes begin by wrapping ice cream balls with pound cake, sponge cake, soft bread, or castella cake to act as an insulator.

Once the bread and ice cream are frozen together, each ball is dipped in tempura batter and deep-fried until golden brown. In some instances, the balls are also rolled in panko crumbs for an extra crunch!

Tempura ice cream is served warm on the outside, but the ice cream remains cold on the inside. This dessert offers a unique eating experience that truly invigorates your senses!

📜 History

Although there is much speculation as to the creation of fried ice cream, the method of deep-frying with flour batter (or tempura) is synonymous with Japan.

Fried ice cream is thought to have been invented in China in the 1800s, where the incredible flavors and uniqueness caught on and spread to other countries.

Mixing the tempura method together with ice cream became a popular Japanese way of serving this treat, and it is now probably the most common way to serve it around the globe.

Along with China and Japan, many other cultures enjoy a similar style of fried ice cream, not the least of which include Mexico, Korea, and America.

🍞 Tempura vs other fried food

Tempura refers to a variety of foods, often seafood or vegetables, that have been lightly battered and fried.

Typical tempura batter consists of water, flour, and sometimes eggs. Most importantly, the water must be ice-cold to slow gluten bonds from forming. Along with not overmixing, this method prevents the batter from becoming dense.

What separates tempura from other fried foods, like deep-fried Oreos, is this particular batter. The end result is light, crispy, and flaky with a signature “crunch” in every bite.

🍨 Tempura ice cream vs mochi

Mochi and tempura ice cream often get confused, but one is frozen and the other is fried! Here are the main differences between the two treats:

Mochi — A Japanese cake made from glutinous rice, which is pounded into a paste and molded into shapes. Common fillings include adzuki red bean paste, sweet potato, taro, and ice cream.

Tempura ice cream — As previously discussed, ice cream is covered in bread or cake, dipped in tempura batter, and deep-fried in hot oil.

🌱 Is tempura ice cream vegan?

While a typical tempura ice cream recipe contains dairy-based ice cream, it’s incredibly easy to substitute a vegan option. Nowadays, there are so many vegan brands like NotCo, Oatly, Daiya, and NadaMoo.

🛒 Ingredients & substitutions

Ice cream — We used vanilla bean in this recipe, but you can use any flavor you prefer! Try chocolate, strawberry, or even matcha if you can find some.

Loaf — To insulate the ice cream while it fries. Use vegan pound cake, sponge cake, castella cake, Hokkaido milk bread, or soft white bread with the crusts removed.

Tempura — Made up of water, corn starch, and all-purpose flour, this creates the crispy outer shell of the ice cream ball.

Panko — While it isn’t exactly necessary, we love rolling our tempura ice cream in panko bread crumbs for an extra crunch factor.

Oil — Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point like canola, sunflower, or peanut.

For a complete ingredient list and step-by-step guide, scroll down to our recipe card.

📝 Instructions

Step 1 — Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out balls of ice cream and lay them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet or plate. Place them in your freezer to harden. 

Step 2 — In the meantime, cut the crusts off the pieces of bread. With a rolling pin, flatten each one as much as you can.

Step 3 — Once the ice cream balls are hard, add one to a slice of bread and wrap it around tightly.

Note — If one piece doesn’t cover the ball fully, wrap another small piece of bread around the other side.

Step 4 — Cover with aluminum foil or cling wrap, and twist it closed until it is tight. Place back in your freezer for a minimum of 1 hour, or overnight.

Step 5 — Mix the flour, corn starch, and cold water in a shallow bowl and add panko crumbs to a separate bowl.

Step 7 — Remove one ball at a time and unwrap it. Dip the ball in the bowl of batter and roll it around until fully coated. Transfer it to the bowl of panko crumbs and roll it until fully coated. Place it back in the freezer while you repeat the same steps for the rest.

Step 6 — Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pot over medium. If you have a thermometer, the temperature should be at 370-375 degrees F.

Step 8 — Cook the ice cream balls for about 60-70 seconds each, or until the outside layer appears golden. Transfer to a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet to get rid of excess oil. Serve immediately while hot. Happy eating!

If you have questions about this fried ice cream recipe, check out our FAQs or leave a comment down below!

🥗 What to serve with fried ice cream

Serve your tempura ice cream balls as-is or with extra sauces and toppings like these:

• Powdered sugar
• Chocolate sauce
• Caramel sauce
• Fresh strawberries or raspberries
• Coconut whipped cream
• Cinnamon

🍽️ How to eat tempura ice cream

Serve your fried ice cream immediately after frying it for the perfect contrast between hot and cold temperatures. It’s best eaten with a spoon, but you can use a fork and knife if you’d like!

🌡️ Storage & reheating

Fried ice cream needs to be eaten immediately after frying it, but this recipe is great to prepare ahead of time.

Freezer — Once you’ve formed the balls, you can keep them wrapped in the freezer until you’re ready to fry them.

Heating — When you’re ready, all you need to do is dip the ice cream balls in batter and panko crumbs, then fry them until golden.

♻️ Variations

Gluten-free — Instead of regular bread and panko crumbs, replace them with gluten-free panko and bread or loaf.

Chocolate — Instead of vanilla cake or loaf, try a chocolate version to wrap the ice cream with.

Not fried — Make an unfried ice cream recipe by rolling the frozen ice cream balls in crushed pretzels, cereal, graham crackers, toasted coconut, or peanuts before adding other toppings.

Different flavors — Try different flavors of ice cream in this recipe. Some tasty options include mango, matcha, red bean, taro, or chocolate.

No tempura — Instead of tempura, just use a corn starch + water egg replacement followed by panko bread crumbs.

🧑‍🍳 Top tips

Use a thermometer — It’s important to maintain a consistent oil temperature when frying the ice cream. Use a deep-fry thermometer and keep the oil near 375 degrees F.

Cold batter — Make sure the water is cold, and mix the batter just before frying to help the batter stick and prevent a dense texture.

Don’t rush the steps — The ice cream needs to be hard before you fry it, so let it freeze for the recommended times to prevent a melted mess!

Keep them frozen — Place the pre-cooked ice cream balls in your freezer while you cook 1-2 at a time.

Use a slotted spoon — To help lower the ice cream balls in and remove them without burning yourself, use a slotted spoon.

🍴 More recipes like this one

If you enjoyed making this tempura ice cream, feast your eyes on some other tasty treats made plant-based:

• Churros: A classic Mexican dessert paired with chocolate sauce.
• Buñuelos: Crispy fritters sprinkled with a cinnamon-sugar mixture.
• Mueganos: Fried dough pockets held together with a sticky piloncillo syrup.
• Plátanos fritos: Sweet fried plantains served with your toppings of choice.