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Summer is a great time for ice cream. It’s cool, it’s creamy, and I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like ice cream. It’s the absolute crowd-pleaser when the temperatures climb. Add toasted marshmallows, salted butter chocolate sauce, and Graham crackers? I’m in, all the way.

Unlike others, I don’t have nostalgic memories that involved S’mores, so I’m making up for lost time. This S’more ice cream pie may not evoke childhood remembrances, but it gives me plenty of new, adult ones.

A summer challenge is melting ice cream. On the other side of ice cream challenge is one of my FAQs; Why does homemade ice cream get so hard in the freezer? For the former, I can’t control the weather (sorry!) so ice cream is gonna to melt.

For the latter, you can point a finger at home freezers, which are colder than freezers in ice cream shops, unless you keep opening and closing your freezer all day to dip your spoon into the ice that’s in there, which is something I’ve been known to do.

Whatever ails you, this S’mores Pie will be your savior for the summer. It’s a few steps to get the pie together, but each component can be done at your leisure. The crust can be made, and baked, in advance. The ice cream can be put into the crust whenever the mood strikes.

The marshmallow topping can be whipped up whenever you’re ready to rev up your stand mixer. And the salted butter chocolate sauce can be kept in a jar in the refrigerator, ready to spoon over the slices of pie, when served. (Unless you eat it all first, which is a real possibility.)

S'mores Ice Cream Pie with Salted Butter Chocolate Sauce

For do-ahead folks out there, here's your dessert! The entire ice cream pie can be made in advance, including browning the marshmallow topping, then frozen until ready to serve. Added bonus: the pie is easier to slice when the whole thing is frozen. To make Graham cracker crumbs, crush Graham crackers in a freezer bag or food processor. Outside the U.S., I've made my own Graham crackers (using the recipe in Ready for Dessert), or store-bought Biscoff/speculoos cookies, which are moister than Graham crackers, but work fine. I chose to fill my pie with coffee cajeta ice cream, since I was on a coffee ice cream bender, but you can fill it with any flavor of ice cream that you like. For tips on using gelatin, and other ingredients in this pie (and substitutions), I've included helpful links after the recipe.
Servings 8 servings

For the crust

  • 1 1/2 cups (180g) Graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons (55g) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling

  • 2 pints (1qt, 1l) ice cream, homemade or store-bought

For the marshmallow topping

  • 1 envelope (7g) unflavored gelatin powder
  • 1/4 cup, plus 1/3 cup (60ml, and 80ml) cold water
  • 1/3 cup (100g) light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
  • 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To make the crust

  • Mix together the Graham crackers, sugar and butter until the crumbs are thoroughly moistened. Press them into a 9-inch (23cm) pie tin or ovenproof pie plate (see Note at end of recipe), using a drinking glass to get the bottom of the pie crust flat, pressing the crumbs up the side with your fingers. Freeze the crust for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Remove the pie crust from the freezer and bake until the crust is browned, about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
  • When the crust is cool, let the ice cream soften a bit so it's spreadable, and carefully spread it into the prepared pie shell, being careful not to break the sides. (Tip: Sometimes it helps to beat the ice cream on medium speed in a stand mixer, fitted with the beater attachment, until it's smooth and soft enough to spread.) Return the pie to the freezer.

To make the marshmallow topping

  • Sprinkle the gelatin over the 1/4 cup (60ml) cold water in a small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes.
  • In a small saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the remaining 1/3 cup (80ml) cold water, corn syrup, and sugar over medium heat. Put the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment.
  • When the syrup reaches about 210ºF (99ºC), begin whipping the egg whites. When the syrup reaches 245ºF (119ºC), with the mixer on high speed, in a slow, steady stream, pour the hot syrup into the egg whites, aiming between the whip and the side of the bowl. (If the syrup hits the whip, it'll cling to the side of the bowl, rather than incorporated into the egg whites.)
  • Scrape the gelatin into the still-warm saucepan, stirring it until the gelatin is dissolved, then whip it into the egg whites. Continue to beat on high speed until the marshmallow topping is room temperature. Remove the ice cream pie from the freezer and spread the topping over the pie. (If you want to finish it later, you can return the marshmallow-topped pie to the freezer. Or you can broil the topping now and return it to the freezer as well, to serve later.)
  • To finish the pie, turn on the broiler of your oven. Place the pie on an upper rack of the oven and until the top is browned, watching it carefully so it browns evenly and doesn't burn.
  • Remove from the oven. To slice and serve, dip in a long, sharp knife in hot water and cut a slice of the pie, without wiping the blade: the hot water will prevent the marshmallow topping from sticking to the blade. For clean slices, you may need to rinse and wipe the blade of the knife clean between slices.

Notes

Storage: You can freeze the baked or unbaked crust for up to two months. Once the marshmallow topping is browned (step #8), you can freeze the pie for a few days. It can be sliced right from the freezer, using a knife dipped in very hot water.
Note: I've made this S'mores Pie a few times and never had problems with using a pie plate, however, some brands and materials may not be suited to going from freezer-to-oven. Metal pie pans work well. For this one, I used a pie plate made of borosilicate, which is thermal and shockproof, so can go from freezer to oven. If you're unsure if your pie plate can go from the freezer to a hot oven, check the manufacturer's website. (Disclosure: The pie plate I used was a gift from Oxo, who gave it to me to try.)

Related Links and Recipe

Salted Butter Chocolate Sauce

Pumpkin Pie with Marshmallow Topping

Tarte au citron

How to use gelatin and conversions

Ingredients for American Baking in Paris

Homemade Graham Crackers (Smitten Kitchen)

Ice Cream Recipes (Archives)

When to use, and not use, corn syrup

Baking Ingredients and Substitutions


25 comments

    • Shell

    As Peewee Herman said…”S’mores. Thats what girl scouts eat!”

    Happy National Ice Cream Day, everybody.

    • Pam

    I’m going to switch this to a chocolate crumb crust and bury my face in it.

    • Sue

    Do you think I could just use my kitchen torch to brown the marshmallow?

      • Sue

      By the way, it looks delicious!

      • Carolyn

      I’m no expert, but that’s what I do! No worries about a glass pie plate then, either.

    • Rafael

    Your advertisers should be like gyms, workout places, and running/triathlon events. You’d make a killing. I gained a pound just looking at these pictures.

    • Witloof

    Just wanted to tell you I made your gougeres recipe for a picnic in Central Park and they were gone before I set the container down.

    • Kathleen

    Where do I find the recipe for the salted butter chocolate sauce?

    • David
    David Lebovitz

    Kathleen: It’s linked to a few times in the post but I also added it at the end of the recipe (and in the links below that as well). Enjoy the sauce! (Thanks JanS for linking to it as well.)

    Witloof: Glad you liked the Gougères. They do make a nice picnic treat : )

    Sue: Sure. The marshmallow topping can be torched instead.

    Pam: Good swap out – more chocolate!!

    • Taste of France

    Something about salt with all that richness and sugar elevates this one above the pie crowd.
    Baked Alaska also is good–brownie or cake instead of pie crust.

    • Marylin

    DL you are the best! Funniest, most interesting food writer ever…thanks for your heart warming stories and great recipes that always turn out, depending on my own story that day of course. I first read “The Sweet Life In Paris.” It was such a good read, I was hooked! Thanks for putting it all down on paper for us!

      • Sarah

      Well said!

    • Emma Palmet

    This looks delicious and I am dying to make it but….

    In the instructions for the marshmallow top it says to heat water, corn syrup and sugar but I don’t see the amount of sugar listed in the marshmallow ingredients.

    Also could you put a link up for the chocolate sauce recipe please?
    In the meantime I will make your Iles Flottant which is such a great recipe!

    Thank you

    • Emma Palmet

    Oh I just saw the link for the sauce in the comments – thanks!

    • Theone

    Making this today! Anything S’mores is a family favorite. Happy to see the Gense Focus Deluxe in the photos!

    • David
    David Lebovitz

    Theone: I love the set! : )

    Emma: Oops, I added in the sugar amount. (I have to put every ingredient in a grid-like module for the print option, and it sometimes tricks me into thinking I got ’em all…) Thanks for letting me know.

    • Galia

    Oy, God bless you, Mr. Lebovitz! I just came back from a perfect family vacation in Paris, and am struggling to overcome a vicious emotional jet lag (and a heat wave from hell). This recipe looks like the best pill to sweeten my bitter mood:) By the way, since Graham crackers aren’t available in Israel, I visited two american food shops in Paris – unfortunately, they didn’t have any, too. I think I’ll just bake them, then. Thank you so much!

      • David
      David Lebovitz

      I’ve lived through a few of the withering heat waves in Paris, a challenge especially in restaurants and cafés without AC or fans (or open windows!) Thankfully having ice cream on hand, to cool down, is a good idea :)

    • sandra

    I just knew I shouldn’t have looked at this. How come you are not built like a hippo on steroids? Do you have a picture in an attic somewhere?

    • EMMA PALMER

    Thanks! Now I can have Iles and S’mores Pie.

    Re Graham Crackers I am from England and we sub Mcvite’s Digestive Biscuits for them in cheesecake bases etc. They aren’t quite as sweet but work well.

    • jillygirl

    I love stracciatella style ice creams…this chocolate one looks amazing – is it your recipe?

    Anyway the pie idea looks ridiculously great – can’t wait to try it!

    • Malika A. Black

    This is a great dessert choice for these hot summer days. Absolutely mouth-watering!
    And I love the marshmallow top! I know my daughter will love this!
    Thank you!

    • Ayu

    it’s so delicious !!! i want to make this at home.
    ice cream with chocolate, so great.

    thank you so much for sharing this great recipe.

    • Verna

    It’s a good time for making this icecream pie!
    Can I take a lazy-woman shortcut and use Marshmellow Fluff?

A

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