We recently stayed at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands Inn overlooking Big Sur. Their Sunset Lounge served me the biggest surprise ever, homemade cinnamon ice cream! It was absolutely delicious! I never thought of it before but after tasting it, I knew I had to create a cinnamon ice cream recipe for everyone to make at home. Choose between cinnamon gelato and cinnamon ice cream. Enjoy!
Flavoring
While the ice cream that I ate in Carmel looked just like vanilla ice cream, there were no speckles of ground cinnamon. I first tried steaming milk with cinnamon sticks, hoping they would flavor the milk, but it didn’t work. So, the restaurant must have flavored vanilla ice cream with something like Lorann Oils Cinnamon Flavoring.
Meanwhile, to keep costs down for you, I made a different recipe using ground cinnamon. I hope you enjoy it.
Ice Cream vs. Gelato
Gelato contains more fat such as cream and/or egg yolks. That’s what gives it that rich flavor. So, while the recipe below is a gelato, you can replace some of the egg yolks and/or cream with milk to reduce the fat.
What Does Guar Gum Do?
If you like your ice cream a little chewy, adding gum such as guar or xanthan creates that texture. It also thickens the custard more prior to freezing. Gum also reduces the number of ice crystals from forming.
This recipe is available to everyone.
Cinnamon Ice Cream or Cinnamon Gelato
Ingredients
- 2-1/4 cups nonfat milk or low-fat
- 2 cups 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 8 large egg yolks
- 3 large whole eggs
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon guar gum optional
Instructions
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Add the milk and cream to a medium size saucepan, bring almost to a boil, and lower heat.
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In a medium-size bowl using a handheld blender (or in a food processor, mixer, or blender), cream together egg yolks, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, and guar gum uar gum, if using, until light in color.
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Remove 1 cup of the hot cream/milk mixture and slowly add it to the egg mixture a little at a time while constantly mixing.
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Remove the saucepan from the burner and slowly pour in the egg mixture. whisking constantly.
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Return the saucepan to the heat and cook until the mixture coats the back of the spoon, while constantly stirring to prevent sticking, about 10 minutes.
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Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
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Chill in the refrigerator until cold.
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Then freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. In a 2-Quart Cuisinart Machine, this takes 25 minutes, depending upon how long the bowl has been frozen. I froze my bowl for about 16 hours. They recommend at least 4 hours, but that is not long enough at all. Alternatively, add to a leftover container and freeze, stirring and scraping the sides and bottom every 20 - 30 minutes.
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Remove the container from the freezer and allow to remain at room temperature for about 15 minutes prior to serving or microwave in 10 to 20-second intervals until soft. Scoop and serve.