How to make homemade dinosaur ice cream: easy fossil fuel, 2 ways
Dinosaurs and ice cream – is there a more perfect combination? We’ve got a simple recipe for no churn homemade ice cream to share and two different ways to dino-fy your ice cream and turn it into real fossil fuel. So why not make some homemade dinosaur ice cream with your little dinosaur fan?
Dinosaurs and ice cream – is there a more perfect combination? I probably do not have to suggest twice that you make some of our homemade dinosaur ice cream with your little dinosaur fan. But I will say it twice because we have two simple, no-churn homemade dinosaur ice cream ideas for you to try. So why don’t you make some homemade dinosaur ice cream with your little dinosaur fan?
Rex’s recipe rundown
TITLE: Homemade dinosaur ice cream, AKA fossil fuel
FOOD: Dinosaur ice cream
DINOSAUR: Gummysaurs
BEST FOR: Dinosaur-themed party, warm summer days, watching your favourite dinosaur movie
EASE: 5 out of 5 – our LDA loves making dinosaur ice cream!
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Why you need to make this homemade dinosaur ice cream
The concept of dinosaurs and ice cream is not a new one. Between 2005 and 2010, famous ice cream makers Ben and Jerry produced Fossil Fuel, which had fudge dinosaurs, chocolate cookie pieces and fudge swirls. Southern California has an ice cream shop named after dinosaurs, where kids can even ride on a dinosaur. Purbeck of Dorset developed a Jurassic range, including Skull-Diggery and Dig-a-Saurus. For every tub they sell, Purbeck donates 5p to the Jurassic Coast Trust to conserve the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Even Disney has Dinosaur Gertie at Hollywood Studios.
Unfortunately, unless you live in Dorset, there does not seem to be a ready supply of dinosaur ice cream. So why not make some homemade dinosaur ice cream yourself?
This no-churn fossil fuel is simple, fun and tasty. Why wouldn’t it be, it’s basically homemade vanilla ice cream with a few chunks of prehistoric fun. This easy recipe is designed for kid involvement, so why not make some with your little dinosaur fan?
Two types of fossil fuel
The big question is, what type of homemade dinosaur ice cream will you make?
Both a simple, both are no-churn dinosaur ice creams with a vanilla ice cream base and both are fun to make and eat.
We came up with two alternatives for you and, to be honest, we’re not sure which one is our favourite.
1. Colourful kid-approved dinosaur landscape ice cream
This version is inspired by our dinosaur bark and the magical unicorn ice cream on our sister site, Tea with Mum.
The key is to pick colours and additives that invoke a sense of dinosaur landscape. We tried to pick colours that represented the sky (blue), grass (green) and sand (we would have preferred a mustard colour but couldn’t work out how to mix it (FYI: it’s 4 yellow drops, 2 red and 1 black)).
Normally we recommend gel colours for vibrancy. If you want less vibrant colours, or want to mix mustard or something similar, use liquid food colours so you can count the dots – though you will need more if you want vibrant colours.
It’s then only a case of layering in some cookies, crumbs, etc to resemble parts of a dinosaur landscape:
- a few butter or wheat cookies (graham cracker), bashed with a rolling pin or blitzed in the blender to form crumbs. You can even use graham cracker crumbs and avoid the mess (and fun) if you wish.
- mini cookies to resemble stones. We had some tiny cookies (1cm diameter) that were actually cake decorations. We recommend chocolate or choc-chip cookies for this purpose.
- gummy dinosaurs. Interestingly, most of the gummy dinosaurs I can find are from Haribo – we have a Haribo factory in our town.
- If you can’t find gummy dinosaurs (these things are known to happen), use dinosaur sprinkles such as these or these. Many Dino-Moms will already have some on hand for just such dishes.
2. Fossil fuel ice cream
This version of homemade dinosaur ice cream is inspired by Ben and Jerry’s Fossil Fuel and the La Brea tar pits (Yes, I know the dinosaurs were extinct long before the La Brea tar pits started trapping animals).
Chocolate fudge sauce or chocolate syrup is a great replacement for tar with a similar brown, sticky consistency. Save time – buy some ready-made. But treat yourself and buy your favourite.
Add some fossils in the form of pretzels covered in white chocolate.
As an option:
- Mix chocolate ice cream with vanilla. Mix 2 tablespoons of cocoa with 3 teaspoons of pouring cream or milk and stir to form a paste. Place half of the vanilla mixture in your freezer container then add the cocoa paste to the remaining half. Mix until well combined. Add some of the chocolate bones and chocolate fudge sauce to the freezer container, then layer the chocolate ice cream mix on top.
- Add rocks in the form of mini chocolate biscuits or peanuts, for example.
- Include some gummy dinosaurs, just for fun.
Want dinosaur ice cream but don’t have time?
Make a dinosaur ice cream sundae!
- Chocolate and/or vanilla ice cream
- Your favourite chocolate fudge sauce
- Pretzels
- White chocolate
- Brown M&Ms and/or small chocolate cookies
Melt the white chocolate using your preferred method. Dip your pretzels into the melted chocolate and lay them on a tray or plate lined with baking paper and place the tray somewhere cool to let the chocolate set.
Scoop your ice cream into a bowl (or sundae glass). Add some of your pretzels and M&Ms/chocolate cookies between layers of ice cream. Pour chocolate hot fudge sauce over the top and add some more pretzels and M&Ms. Serve with a long-handled spoon.
Dinosaur ice cream
Does your dinosaur fan also love ice cream? Ours definitely does! Are you looking for a simple dessert that will make their eyes sparkle and their imagination run wild? Try these 2 simple and delicious no-churn dinosaur ice cream recipes – they can even help you make it!
Ingredients
- For the basic ice cream
- 400 mL pouring cream
- 375 mL double cream
- 397 mL can of sweetened condensed milk (1 can)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 pinch salt
- Add for the rainbow dinosaur ice cream
- Approx. 1/4 tsp. gel food colouring for each colour you wish to use
- 4 butter biscuits
- mini cookies
- gummy dinosaurs
- Add for the tar pit dinosar ce cream
- 100g white chocolate
- 12-15 pretzels
- 2 tablespoons cocoa (optional)
- 1/4 cup milk or half & half (optional)
- chocolate fudge sauce
- gummy dinosaurs (optional)
Instructions
For the basic ice cream
Add the cream(s), condensed milk and vanilla and salt to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined and soft peaks start to form.
For the rainbow dinosaur ice cream
- Separate the mixture into the number of bowls to match the number of colours you want to use. Add the food colouring, one colour per bowl, and stir until well combined. Use as much food colouring as needed to achieve the vibrancy that you want. We used 3 colours: green, yellow and teal (a mixture of blue and green).
- Put the butter biscuits into a ziplock bag, zip close and bash the biscuits with a rolling pin to form even-sized crumbs, like sand.
- Spoon some of the coloured creams into a freezer-proof container, to create a layer of colour spots. Sprinkle with biscuit sand, mini cookies (rocks) and gummi dinosaurs.
- Repeat for 2 to 3 more layers, adding extra gummy dinosaurs to the top.
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours, or until the ice cream has set.
For the tar pit dinosaur ice cream
- Melt the white chocolate using your preferred method. Roughly break the pretzels into uneven (not so small) pieces, leaving a few pretzels whole. Dip each piece of pretzel into the chocolate to cover, shake of the excess and place the chocolate-dipped pretzels on a tray lined with parchment paper. Place somewhere cool to allow the chocolate to set.
- Pour approximately half of the basic ice cream mix into a freezer-proof container. Sprinkle some of the chocolate-dipped pretzels over the ice cream mixture. Add some brown M&Ms and chocolate biscuit crumbs if you like. Squeeze or spoon some chocolate fudge sauce over the mixture.
- Mix the cocoa powder and milk in a cup until it forms a smooth, thick paste. Add it to the other half of the ice cream mixture and mix until well combined. Carefully layer the chocolate mixture over the vanilla ice cream and pretzels. Take a spoon and swirl the mixture together.
- Top the mixture with the whole chocolate-dipped pretzels, a few squirts or spoonfuls of chocolate fudge sauce, and gummy dinosaurs if desired.
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours, or until the ice cream has set.
Notes
Freezing time is an estimate and will vary depending on your freezer and freezer container. If you need your ice cream in a hurry, use a glass or metal container as plastic will insulate and slow the freezing process.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 16 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 646Total Fat 35gSaturated Fat 21gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 108mgSodium 622mgCarbohydrates 75gFiber 2gSugar 39gProtein 11g
Nutrition information is a guide only as it will depend on the specific products and brands you choose to use for this recipe.
A special dinosaur treat
Next time your little dinosaur fan wants ice cream, surprise them with this homemade dinosaur ice cream.
Which of these no-churn dinosaur ice creams will you make first?
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i love the looks of the colorful one but i think i would devour the tar pit 🙂
I know! I loved the little bits of salt on the pretzels of the tar pit ice cream while our LDA was just in love with the colours…