The other day, we were all listing our favorite breakfasts. One of my kids mentioned how much they love cinnamon rolls and how long it had been since we had them. When they requested that we make them, we knew exactly what that would mean. We would definitely be having them for breakfast sometime this week, but we would also definitely be having them as a dessert too. An ice cream dessert, of course.
The trick was, we wanted it to really taste like a cinnamon roll, not just cinnamon ice cream with a few chunks of cinnamon roll thrown in. So, we decided to make our cream cheese base (the same one we used in dirt), but instead of oreos, add cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon. Of course, we couldn’t neglect the best part of the cinnamon roll either, so we made sure to swirl in some maple cream cheese frosting. The result: an ice cream that tastes EXACTLY like a cinnamon roll! You are going to love it!
Cinnamon Roll
The most important meal of the day meets the most important dessert of all time.
Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar (brown or white)
2 eggs
3 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 Tbs cinnamon
1/2 packet french vanilla pudding
About 1/2 carton whipped topping
Cinnamon roll chunks (ours were unfrosted)
Favorite cinnamon roll cream cheese frosting (We added the recipe to our favorite in the notes)
Directions
- Heat the heavy whipping cream and milk on low in a medium saucepan until it reaches 140° F, stirring occasionally. While the custard heats, using an electric mixer to whisk the 2 large eggs in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- While the cream is still heating, slowly add the sugar and french vanilla pudding mix into the eggs, whisking thoroughly to make sure the mixture doesn’t become grainy.
- After the cream reaches the target temperature, gradually pour it into the egg mixture, again whisking each time the cream is added to avoid cooking the eggs.
- Pour the entire mixture back into the medium saucepan and heat it to 170° F. While it heats, add the cream cheese. Whisk constantly so the cream cheese melts evenly into the mixture. (We ended up using an immersion blender to get rid of the chunks.)
- Add the cinnamon and mix well.
- Now pour the mixture back into the mixing bowl. Cover and chill for 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
- When ready, make in your ice cream maker based on the maker’s instructions.
- During the last 5 minutes in the ice cream maker (the ice cream should basically have the consistency of soft-serve ice cream), add in the cinnamon roll chunks. Don’t add it all in! Add handfuls at a time until you get your desired chunkiness.
- Allow the cinnamon roll chunks to mix evenly in the ice cream. Then scoop the ice cream into a medium-sized mixing bowl and fold in the whipped cream, making sure not to mix too much. You should still see some streaks of whipped cream.
- Start moving the ice cream to your chosen container. Add a layer at the bottom and layer some frosting on top of it. Continue alternating ice cream and frosting until you reach the top of your container.
- Freeze until hardened (at least 4 hours).
Notes
- To make our maple cream cheese frosting, we simply cream together 8 oz of cream cheese and 1/2 cup of butter. Add 1 tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of maple extract and mix well. Then, slowly add powdered sugar until you have added about 6 cups. If it is too thick at that point, add in whole milk 1 Tbs at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Refrigerate until ready to use, but make sure it is still spreadable when you add it to the ice cream.
