Cinnamon Cream Cheese Ice Cream

Happy Shrove Tuesday! Today I am sharing with you a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Ice Cream filled with the flavors of a King Cake. A sweetened milk and cream base is thickened with eggs, then mixed with cream cheese, vanilla, and cinnamon. I paired the ice cream with a cinnamon brown sugar syrup.

I originally planned for the cinnamon brown sugar topping to be layered with the ice cream when transferring to the freezer to create a swirling effect. After freezing, most of the swirl sank to the bottom or just wasn’t as pronounced as I would have liked, so I used it as a topping instead. It was still quite delicious. The ice cream would also be great topped with some purple, green, and gold sprinkles for the holiday.

It’s ok if some of the cream cheese doesn’t completely mix in. Just get the mixture as smooth as you can.

I usually skip this step, but to help get a creamier texture and chill the mixture faster you can place the bowl of custard over an ice bath for a few minutes right after it is removed from the stove and strained. Be careful not to get water into the custard. I generally just place the the bowl straight in the refrigerator and allow to chill overnight. Stir occasionally if you want to speed up the process a bit.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Cinnamon Syrup
Adapted from Sew You Think You Can Cook, topping from The Way to His Heart

Ice Cream:
2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature and diced
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Syrup:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and sugar over medium heat, stirring often to dissolve the sugar.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs.

Once the milk mixture is steaming, but not yet at a boil, slowly pour about 1/4 cup into the eggs while constantly whisking. Once tempered, slowly pour the eggs back into the pan while constantly whisking the milk. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens slightly. Be careful not to overcook or it will curdle.

Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Whisk in the cream cheese until melted and smooth, then stir in the vanilla and cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 6 hours to overnight.

While the mixture is chilling, prepare the cinnamon topping.

In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water, butter, cornstarch, and cinnamon over medium heat. Cook, constantly stirring, until the butter has melted and the mixture has thickened slightly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Transfer the chilled cream mixture to the ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer instructions. Transfer to freezer safe bowl and freeze to desired consistency.

Serve chilled with prepared cinnamon topping.