Fall

Brown Butter Cinnamon Ice Cream

November 23, 2015
4
3 Ratings
Photo by Mark Weinberg
  • Makes 1 quart
Author Notes

Based on the Jeni's Ice Cream recipe, this simple, sweet, nutty ice cream pairs well with cookies and pie and is a great way to upgrade from vanilla! —Jonah Ollman

Test Kitchen Notes

Super-duper creamy ice cream... I served it with apple crumble and it was amazing. I drizzled dark chocolate over it and it was amazing. I ate it alone... and it was amazing. The instructions might seem involved, but they are worth it for the finished product. Freshly ground cinnamon scented up the kitchen and made for a sweet aroma that played well at this time of year. This Brown Butter Cinnamon Ice Cream is amazing! It set up nicely in the ice cream maker and it is a winner for a dinner party dessert or just for one!

Editors' note: Full disclosure: Jonah Ollman is the lovely boyfriend of one of our team members. But this ice cream received rave reviews from recipe testers (and the lucky Food52-ers that wandered into the test kitchen while his ice cream was being made), and we'll be slurping it up as often as we can be convinced to pull out our ice cream machines. —JRH726

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 4 tablespoons cream cheese
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 pound unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1 piece cinnamon stick
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Directions
  1. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch to create a slurry. In another small bowl, mix the cream cheese and salt.
  2. Melt the butter over medium heat. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the butter is dark brown, but not burnt. Remove from the heat and let sit until the brown butter solids have accumulated in the bottom of the pan.
  3. Blend the cinnamon stick in a small blender until fully ground. Mix the ground cinnamon with the sugar in a small bowl.
  4. Slowly pour the butter into a container, making sure the solids remain in the pan; set aside the clarified butter—you won't need it for the rest of the recipe. Add the remaining milk, cream, sugar mixture, and corn syrup to the pan with the solids. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
  5. Bring the resulting mixture back to a boil and cook while stirring for 1 to 2 minutes.
  6. Whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Remove from heat and place in a gallon-sized zip-top bag and submerge the bag in a large bowl filled with ice water. Let sit for 30 minutes or more, until the mixture is cold.
  7. Pour the mixture into an ice cream machine and spin until thick. Place in freezer.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Allison Conant
    Allison Conant
  • Jonah Ollman
    Jonah Ollman

2 Reviews

Allison C. March 24, 2016
Could this mixture be refrigerated overnight?
 
Jonah O. March 25, 2016
Definitely! The mixture should be fine in the fridge for about 48 hours before churning.