Cinnamon Ice Cream

Name: Easy Homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 255 min
Ingredients: 2 cups cream; 1½ cups whole milk; ⅔ cup light brown sugar, divided; 1 tbsp cinnamon flowers (or use 2 cinnamon sticks instead); 5 egg yolks; 2 tsp ground cinnamon

A double-infused cinnamon ice cream that’s rich in flavor yet simple to make ahead—ideal for holiday gatherings, hosting and everyday treats.

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Two bowls with three scoops each of creamy cinnamon ice cream in a white fluted bowl, garnished with cinnamon sticks, on a red-star tea towel.

Three scoops of creamy cinnamon ice cream in a white fluted bowl, garnished with cinnamon sticks, on a red-star tea towel.

Meet your new favourite Christmas dinner dessert: cinnamon ice cream!

It’s light enough to find room for after a big dinner, sweet enough but not excessively so, and a super easy make-ahead option to keep holiday overwhelm to a minimum.

It’s your new secret weapon to take out some of the stress of a very busy holiday, look effortlessly prepared and elegant, while still enjoying the day yourself — you earned it!

Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Ice Cream Recipe

Versatile & Holiday Ready Cinnamon ice cream fits in seamlessly with any other Christmas flavors that might appear in your kitchen. It’s special enough for hosting Christmas dinners and cozy enough to enjoy with your loved ones once the holiday rush settles down.

Simple & Satisfying Holiday dinners are rich and indulgent. You want to honor them with a special dessert but not make anyone feel weighed down and heavy. A light scoop is just the right amount of special but won’t make anyone feel uncomfortable.

Make-Ahead Dessert Ice cream is the best option to take stress out of a busy holiday. Make it a week in advance, make as much as you need, and on the big day, you just pull out your containers and scoop away.

Two white fluted bowls, each with three scoops of cinnamon ice cream, alongside a container holding a scoop and another scoop on a spoon, placed on a red-star tea towel.

A container holding an ice cream scoop with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream on it, placed on a red-star tea towel.

Tools You May Need

Digital Kitchen Thermometer (Optional) If you’re new to cooking ice cream custard or want to make extra sure to avoid overheating and curdling the ice cream custard.

Ice Cream Maker If your model requires it, make sure to freeze the bowl 24 hours in advance!

Ingredients & Substitutions

Cinnamon Besides adding ground cinnamon, we’ll also infuse the cream before cooking the custard. Depending on the ingredients available to you, you can use either cinnamon sticks (easy to get everywhere) or dried cinnamon flowers — they’re harder to source but lend a beautifully pure cinnamon flavor without the woodiness.

Sugar Light brown sugar will add an extra cozy layer of flavor that almost reminds me of cinnamon rolls. Regular white sugar will work in a pinch.

Eggs This cinnamon ice cream gets its creaminess from a classic custard base cooked with egg yolks. The eggs won’t be cooked all the way, but the custard will be heated enough to pasteurize the yolks. Use the freshest eggs you can for best taste anyway.

How to Make Cinnamon Ice Cream (Step-by-Step)

If your ice cream maker model requires it, make sure to freeze the bowl 24 hours in advance!

01

Infuse Cream

Cream and milk in a stainless steel pot, being infused with black cinnamon blossoms or dried cinnamon flower buds.

In a medium pot, whisk together half of the brown sugar, milk, cream, and cinnamon flowers (or cinnamon sticks).
Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mix is steaming hot. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 20-30 minutes.

02

Whisk Eggs and Combine

Egg yolks, light brown sugar and ground cinnamon being whipped to light and frothy, ready to be tempered.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, cinnamon and the other half of the brown sugar, until the mix is pale and frothy and the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Remove the cinnamon flowers (or sticks) from the steeped cream mix and slowly pour it into the eggs while you whisk. Once fully combined, pour everything back into the pot.

03

Cook Custard

Thick and creamy cinnamon ice cream custard cooked thick to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Return the pot to medium low heat and cook the custard until it reaches 77-80°C (170-176°F) and thickens to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove the pot from the heat and keep stirring to cool down and stop cooking.
If your machine requires it, chill the custard until completely cool.

04

Churn Ice Cream

Creamy churned cinnamon ice cream sitting in the metal container of a stainless steel ice cream machine.

Churn according to your machine’s instructions. Serve straight away (at soft serve consistency), or transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for at least two hours (or until set).
Set out 15 minutes before serving for a creamy scoop.

Tips & Troubleshooting

Cook the custard low and slow. It’s better to stay and stir for a while than to end up with curdled custard.
If you cook the custard over higher heat, you will need to set the pot in a bowl with cold water, to stop the cooking process, and to prevent curdling. When cooking over medium low heat, it’s usually enough to stir the mix for a few minutes off the heat after it’s done cooking.
If your ice cream maker requires pre-freezing the bowl, make sure your custard base is chilled completely before churning. (My machine chills as it churns, so I can use the mixture at room temp. It just takes a little longer.)
Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two weeks.

How to Serve Cinnamon Ice Cream

Think of this as vanilla ice cream’s holiday-cousin.

It’s an elegant, versatile, goes-with-everything kind of ice cream that’s full of coziness without being distracting:

Use it on everything from warm apple pie to steaming hot waffles.
Or serve it with leftover cranberry sauce, stewed fruit or an oven-baked mapled fruit compote, or crushed gingerbread cookies.

Recipe FAQs

Yes. If you have neither cinnamon sticks nor cinnamon flowers at hand, you can add an extra teaspoon of ground cinnamon instead.
I wouldn’t add a lot more beyond that though. Too much cinnamon might give a chalky mouthfeel.

It’s possible, but the mixture will need to be stirred every 30–45 minutes as it freezes, to reduce iciness. The texture won’t be quite the same, but still delicious.

As long as it’s just a few bits of curdled egg, it can still be saved! Pour it through a fine-mesh sieve before churning to remove any larger curdled bits. The rest should be smooth enough to churn.

No, but it really helps for beginners. It can be hard to tell what “coating the back of a spoon” really looks like until you’ve actually done it. And while you’re wondering, the custard might get too hot and curdle. So if you’re a total beginner, either invest in a thermometer or keep the heat really low, so things cook slowly.

If you make this Cinnamon Ice Cream…

I’d love to hear how it turned out! Did it make your holidays less stressful?

Let me know in the comments below.
Leave a star rating.
Or save it for later on Pinterest!

happy churning!

Prep Time:15

Churning and Freezing:4

Total Time:4 15

Servings:8 people

Calories:314kcal

Equipment

Ice Cream Maker
Digital Kitchen Thermometer

Ingredients

2 cups cream
1½ cups whole milk
⅔ cup light brown sugar, divided
1 tbsp cinnamon flowers - or use 2 cinnamon sticks instead
5 egg yolks
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

Infuse the Cream

In a medium pot, whisk together half of the brown sugar, milk, cream, and cinnamon flowers (or cinnamon sticks). Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mix is steaming hot. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 20-30 minutes.

Make the Custard

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, cinnamon and the other half of the brown sugar, until the mix is pale and frothy and the sugar is mostly dissolved.
Remove the cinnamon flowers (or sticks) from the steeped cream mix and slowly pour it into the eggs while you whisk. Once fully combined, pour everything back into the pot.
Return the pot to medium low heat and cook the custard until it reaches 77-80°C (170-176°F) and thickens to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove the pot from the heat and keep stirring to cool it down and stop the cooking.
Move the custard to the fridge until completely cool, if your machine requires it.

Churn Ice Cream

Churn according to your machine’s instructions. Serve straight away (at soft serve consistency), or transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for at least two hours (or until set).
Set out 15 minutes before serving for a creamy scoop.

Notes

Cook the custard low and slow to avoid curdling.
If you cook over higher heat, set the pot in a bowl with cold water, to stop the cooking process.
If your ice cream maker requires pre-freezing the bowl, make sure your custard base is chilled completely before churning.
Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two weeks.
Serve on top of warm apple pie to steaming hot waffles, or top with leftover cranberry sauce, oven-baked mapled fruit compote, stewed fruit, or crushed gingerbread cookies.