Perhaps it’s the latent scientist in me, but I find the process of making ice cream fascinating. Taking something from a liquid to a solid state is just so cool. (pun intended).I adore the flavour of malted milk powder. It adds caramel, toasty, roasted notes to all sorts of desserts. But what exactly is malted milk powder? I wasn’t really sure where it came from, so I did a bit of research. Turns out that malted milk powder is a derivative of barley.

The process involves taking sprouted barley, drying and grinding it up into a powder. During this process, the starches in the grain are converted to sugar, producing a sweet dried grain powder. Dried malt becomes the base for beer, whiskey and malt vinegar.

When dried malt is mixed with wheat flour and milk powder, it becomes malted milk powder. This stuff is a flavour bomb. I love adding it to cookies and brownies. The addition of milk powder to the blend adds a creamy rich dairy note, which is why I love it added to ice cream. You need to read the label of the brand you are using. Some brands, like Ovaltine, add sugar and cocoa powder. Other brands, like Hoosier Hill Farm, keep it pure.

I made this ice cream with Ovaltine, as I liked the hint of chocolate it added to the ice cream from the cocoa powder in the mix. If you prefer a more intense malted flavour, use a brand without any added cocoa.

This recipe comes from the King Arthur website. They added a swirl of chocolate fudge sauce to theirs. I left that out, but added some chopped Mars Bars during the last few minutes of freezing my ice cream. I like the little surprise of chocolate malted nougat bits studded throughout the ice cream.

Click here to print recipe for Malted Milk Ice Cream.