Fried Horlicks ice cream bao
These fried Horlicks ice cream bao are an utterly delicious Taiwanese ice cream sandwich. Toasty, malted milk-flavoured ice cream is sandwiched between a crunchy and fluffy deep-fried bao. The round bao dough recipe makes 20 bao, but you will only need 4 for this recipe. Any leftover bao can be steamed on a medium-high heat for 15 minutes or deep-fried, and then stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days or they can be frozen for up to 1 month.
This recipe is taken from BAO by Erchen Chang, Shing Tat Chung and Wai Ting Chung (Phaidon, £29.95). Photography courtesy of BAO.
Ingredients
Horlicks ice cream
- 250ml of double cream
- 10g of Horlicks
- 150ml of milk
- 60g of caster sugar
- 3 egg yolks
Tangzhong
- 100g of plain flour
- 500ml of filtered water, cold
BAO dough
- 420g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 90g of caster sugar
- 40g of milk powder
- 2.5g of fast-action dried yeast
- 5g of baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 80ml of milk, at room temperature
- 80ml of water, at room temperature
- 10ml of vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing
For deep-fried BAO
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Method
Make the ice cream at least a day in advance. Combine the cream and malted milk powder in a saucepan and heat gently over a low heat
- 250ml of double cream
- 10g of Horlicks
When the cream starts to simmer and the powder is fully dissolved, remove from the heat and leave to cool
Pour the flavoured cream and the milk into a heatproof bowl and set it over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Add 45 g of the sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove the bowl from the pan
- 150ml of milk
- 45g of caster sugar
Prepare an ice bath and set another bowl on top of it. Put the egg yolks and remaining sugar into the top bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Using a ladle, spoon some of the hot cream mixture onto the cold yolks (the ice bath will prevent the eggs scrambling). Keep mixing in the cream mixture until you have incorporated about half of it. The egg and cream mixture should be thick, smooth and lump-free
- 3 egg yolks
- 15g of caster sugar
Slowly pour the egg mixture into the heatproof bowl with the remaining half of the hot cream mixture, whisking until fully combined. Cook the custard gently over a medium heat, whisking regularly, for about 25 minutes until it is about 78°C/172°F, coats the back of a spoon and you can run your finger across the spoon without creating drips. Remove the custard from the heat, transfer into an airtight container and allow to cool to room temperature with the lid ajar. Close the lid before chilling in the refrigerator overnight
The next day, pour the custard into an ice-cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions until the ice cream is smooth and aerated.
There will be more ice cream than is needed for this recipe, but it can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, transfer to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to let it soften very slightly, which will make it easier to scoop
To make the tangzhong, put the flour into a small saucepan, pour in the cold water a little at a time, and mix in the flour until smooth. Slowly warm over a low heat until it becomes gluey and you can draw a line on the surface. Remove from the heat, cover tightly with cling film so that the film touches the surface of the tangzhong and leave to cool
- 100g of plain flour
- 500ml of filtered water, cold
The tangzhong can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.
Any leftover mixture can be used to make more baos
Put 100 g of the tangzhong and all the bao dough dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Start mixing on a low setting and then slowly add the milk and water. Finally, add the oil and continue mixing until the dough is smooth. Cover with a damp cloth or cling film and leave to prove somewhere warm for 2–3 hours depending on the temperature, until doubled in size
- 420g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 90g of caster sugar
- 40g of milk powder
- 2.5g of fast-action dried yeast
- 5g of baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 80ml of milk, at room temperature
- 80ml of water, at room temperature
- 10ml of vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes – it will gradually become more elastic and the surface of the dough will become smooth. You can now use this dough to make Round baos
Divide the dough into 40g pieces. Give each a strong knead, then roll into smooth balls
Cover with baking paper to prevent them drying out while you roll the rest
Place each bao on a square of baking paper a little bigger than the size of the bao, then transfer to a large tray
Cover with a sheet of baking paper and leave to prove somewhere warm for 15–20 minutes until the baos have doubled in height. They should look relaxed, puffed up and the surface should no longer be damp. Imagine touching a smooth baby’s skin
To deep fry the baos, heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based saucepan to 180°C/350°F, or until a cube of ginger sizzles and browns in 10 seconds
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Carefully add 4 of the unsteamed round baos to the hot oil and deep-fry for about 2 minutes until golden, flipping them over like a doughnut halfway through cooking. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels
To assemble, cut each of the deep-fried baos in half and make a depression in the bottom half with a teaspoon. Place a scoop of Horlicks ice cream in the depressions and top with the other half of the baos
Go to Comments
Fried Horlicks ice cream bao
