For a long time, I wondered why more people are not obsessed with malted milk balls. And I’m not talking about the fake ones. When I was young, it seemed like the real chocolate malt balls I craved would show up randomly and then just when I wanted one, disappear off the shelves. I have also been on multiple quests over the years to procure Brach’s speckled malted eggs at Easter- and even these continue to be difficult to obtain. They have also changed recipes over the years-and so even when I was able to get them in a recent year, I ended up disappointed.

Once the internet hit full speed, I discovered that there is indeed a core group of people like me who are completely obsessed with malted milk balls. They do things like attempt to source the inside ball- the light and sweet crunchy malt part under the chocolate coating. There are even people who have found recipes for malt balls, bless them. I think that this is going to continue to be an ongoing quest for those of us who love malt balls. But in the meantime, I am here to add my idea for satisfaction of the malt ball craving that I continue to have from time to time.

This is a malted ball ice milk that has the added benefit of not being too rich or too sweet—and as an extra bonus, it doesn’t require a chilling period for the mix. The consistency of this ice milk actually reminds me of the Italian ice I used to buy in Brooklyn at the Carrol Gardens bakeries many years ago- it is a light and flaky almost frozen slush type consistency- and you could probably also serve this as a slush/milkshake drink. Usually ice cream has to have a lot of sweetener because the cold lessens the sweetness of the taste and the sugar helps with freezing texture. Also, fat in a frozen dessert gives it a creamy texture. But I have always loved ice milk- and I don’t need it to be super sweet. And I also get that it is usually preferable to heat everything together for the perfect consistency -especially so that the sweetener and any powders mix in evenly before the mixture is taken back down to a cold temperature to prepare for freezing.

So I’m calling this a hack because it’s something that can be thrown together in a few minutes and doesn’t need a chilling period- but it may not be quite as smooth and beautifully incorporated as your favorite ice cream. It also is not a good long term freezing mix- it will get hard and icy—but there’s really no reason to save any for later, especially if you have a friend or partner around to share. If you are craving a malted milk ball, you can have this ice milk ready to dump into your ice cream maker in minutes.

The ice milk is made with a vanilla almond milk, which is given a quick stir with some Carnation malted milk powder and sweet syrup. Then, once the ice milk is frozen and the machine is still turning (and I find with my Cuisinart, I have to take a fork and stir/agitate it while it is turning for it to continue freezing the ice milk mixture once it gets somewhat frozen to get the consistency I want—although this might damage the bowl so I am not advising anyone try it)- the finishing touch is to drizzle in semi-sweet chocolate melted with coconut oil for a straciatella-like smattering of melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chips.

Ingredients

2.5 cups refrigerated vanilla almond milk (sweetened)- I use Blue Diamond
5 T Carnation malted milk powder
1 T sweetener (I use cassava syrup or maple syrup)
1/8 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use my giant Costco bag of Nestle chips- they come in handy and I don’t taste a big difference between them and the super-premium chocolates-just call me a heathen)
1 tsp. coconut oil

Combine pre-refrigerated almond milk, malted milk powder and syrup, whisking with a fork. Throw it into the ice cream maker (if using the Cuisinart, you have pre-frozen the bowl-I just keep mine in the freezer when not in use). While the ice milk is churning, put the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl with 1 tsp. coconut oil and melt for about 60 seconds. Take out the chips after every 30 seconds to stir- coconut oil has a low burn point so be careful. Once the ice milk is almost frozen, start drizzling in the melted chocolate, which has cooled a bit as well. If the ice milk is not turning well, or it’s difficult to get your drizzle spread around well enough, you can also transfer the ice milk to a bowl and mix in the melted chocolate by hand. That’s it, you’re done. Get some cups or cones and dish it out. If you want to freeze some for later, you may want to try putting a tablespoon of alcohol into the mix (something without a strong taste like vodka) to keep it from totally freezing into an ice block. I prefer to eat it before it can get that frozen…