Our kids are pretty picky eaters. If it were up to them, they would probably eat macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets for every meal. That being said, if they had to pick their all time favorite is anything they can smother in buttermilk syrup: pancakes, waffles, French toast, crepes, anything like that. That being said, I’m pretty sure it’s not about what they are putting the syrup on, but rather the syrup itself. And maybe that’s not just true about my kids. It may be the whole family that can’t get enough.

After a recent French toast breakfast, we had some leftover syrup and, shockingly, the thought came to us to make a buttermilk syrup ice cream. The concept was easy: simply replace the sugar in the base with the syrup! The really trick became what do you put in the ice cream to compliment it perfectly. We settled on cinnamon butterscotch sauce soaked cake pieces with a cookie butter/cinnamon swirl. And oh. my. word. It tastes like the best kind of breakfast imaginable! It may not be the healthiest way to start your day, but hey, who am I to stop you from eating ice cream for breakfast? And maybe lunch…

Sticky Buttermilk Syrup

The real sticky situation here is trying not to eat it all in one setting.

Ingredients

  • 4 large egg yolks

  • 1/4 cup powdered milk

  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbs buttermilk syrup (see recipe)

  • 2 Tbs sugar

  • 2 cups heavy cream

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • Dash of salt

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • Buttermilk Syrup
  • 1 stick (8 Tbs) butter

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp vanilla

  • Cinnamon Butterscotch Sauce (adapted from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home)
  • 1 cup sugar

  • 2/3 cup honey

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 1/2 cup half and half

  • 4 Tbs butter

  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

  • Cake Pieces (also from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home)
  • 3 Tbs melted butter

  • 1/2 Tbs vanilla extact

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 egg yolks

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 1/4 tsp salt

  • 3/4 cup flour

  • Cinnamon Cookie Butter Swirl
  • 1/4 cup cookie butter

  • 1/4 cup honey

  • 1 tsp cinnamon

  • 1 tsp vanilla

Directions

  • Buttermilk Syrup
  • Add the butter, sugar, and buttermilk to a medium saucepan. Stir while the ingredients melt together. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  • Remove from the heat. Add the baking soda and vanilla and stir (be prepared, it will foam up quite a bit).
  • Allow to cool completely before adding it to your base. (This will make more than you need just for the ice cream, but is delicious over any breakfast food).
  • Buttermilk Syrup Base
  • Whisk the egg yolks until they are light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the syrup and sugar until the color turns lighter and the consistency is smooth, about 2 minutes more. Add the powdered milk and whisk again until well blended.
  • Add the egg/sugar mixture to a sauce pan along with the milk, cream, and salt. Heat on medium low heat until it reaches 162, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom with a spatula to avoid cooking the eggs. 
  • Turn the heat on low once it reached temperature and stir constantly, letting the mixture reduce, for about 10 minutes.
  • Add base to a plastic gallon bag, and put in a prepared ice bath until cooled (about 15-20 minutes).
  • Add the prepared base and the vanilla to the ice cream maker. Make in your ice cream maker based on the maker’s instructions. 
  • See instructions at the bottom of the recipe on how to put the ice cream together.
  • Cinnamon Butterscotch Sauce
  • Add the sugar and honey to a medium saucepan over medium heat and stir just until the sugar melts and it begins to boil.
  • Stop stirring and allow it to bubble up for a bit, until the mixture turns a deep brown color (about 5 minutes).
  • Once it reaches your desired color, remove from the heat. Add the half and half and heavy cream gradually until the sauce is uniform in color.
  • Cut the butter into 1 Tbs size pieces and stir in to the hot sauce until melted. Finish off with the cinnamon and a pinch of salt if desired.
  • Pour the sauce over the cake pieces (see recipe below) and allow to cool. (This will also make more than you need, so you can just save the leftovers).
  • Cake Pieces
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a square 8×8 pan. Combine the melted butter and vanilla together and set aside to allow the butter to cool slightly.
  • Add the eggs, yolks, and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Turn the mixer on and allow it to mix for 8-10 minutes, until the substance turns a lighter yellowish color and is smooth in consistency (scraping the sides a few times to make sure you get all of the ingredients mixed well).
  • Gently fold in the flour, followed by the butter/vanilla mixture. (You want to keep as much air in it as possible, so be gentle).
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes until cooked through completely.
  • Allow to cool completely. Cut it up into cubes. Freeze half of the chunks for a later ice cream, and pour some of the cinnamon butterscotch sauce over the rest of the pieces. Set aside until you are ready to add them to your ice cream.
  • Cookie Butter/Cinnamon Swirl
  • Add all of the ingredients into a microwave safe bowl.
  • Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until it is all melted and uniform. Allow to cool before adding it to your ice cream.
  • Assembling the Ice Cream
  • Add a thin layer of the base to the container. Top that with a layer of soaked cake pieces.
  • Add another thin layer of the base on top of that. Add the cookie butter/cinnamon swirl.
  • Repeat ice cream, cake, ice cream, cookie butter cinnamon swirl, until your container is all filled.
  • Move to the freezer until hardened (at least 4 hours).