When fall is on the way but summer temperatures are holding steady, brown sugar cinnamon ice cream with a graham cracker ripple comes to the rescue! Just like my cinnamon banana bread, homemade cinnamon ice cream is sweetened with brown sugar and flavored with cinnamon. This cinnamon graham ice cream also has a salted graham cracker ripple that stays crunchy and perfectly balances the sweet cinnamon frozen custard!
I was inspired to make this recipe after having a brown sugar cinnamon ice cream from Handel’s, and I’m happy to say this homemade ice cream is just as good—if not better—than it! It also inspired my homemade Biscoff ice cream.
The best part is the crunchy graham cracker ripple: Each of my friends asked me, “How did you get the graham cracker to stay crunchy in the ice cream?” My secret to is to add melted butter and a little granulated sugar, then freeze the mixture. When carefully layered into the brown sugar ice cream, the centers of the graham cracker crumbs stay nice and crispy!
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Ingredients for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream
These are the ingredients I use to make my favorite cinnamon frozen custard. The graham cracker ripple adds a few extra ingredients, but it is worth it for the extra texture and perfectly balanced flavor! I’ve listed what each ingredient does and common substitutions where possible below:
- Brown sugar. The hint of molasses in brown sugar complements the cinnamon really nicely, and I don’t recommend reducing the sugar content in ice cream.
- Heavy cream. The fat in heavy cream is essential to give us creamy frozen custard with a perfectly scoopable consistency.
- Whole milk. This is the place for indulgence—whole milk contains enough fat to make ice cream creamy. Using lower fat milk will give you an icier result.
- Cinnamon. A full two teaspoons in the base and a little more in the graham cracker ripple is just the right amount!
- Salt. A pinch enhances flavors and balances the sweetness.
- Egg yolks. By slowly cooking the egg yolks in the cream, we end up with a really rich but simple cinnamon custard base.
- Vanilla bean paste or extract. Either one will work well here. You won’t be able to tell the difference between cinnamon and vanilla speckles, anyway!
- Graham crackers. I used cinnamon graham crackers, but you can use honey-flavored grahams, too. Gluten-free graham crackers should work pretty well, if needed.
- Granulated sugar. A little sugar helps add some grittiness to the graham cracker ripple for a nice, crunchy texture.
- Salted butter. By coating the graham cracker crumbs in fat, you can prevent them from absorbing any extra liquid. That helps keep them crispy in the ice cream! Salted butter will give you the best flavor.
My Favorite Equipment for Making Homemade Ice Cream
You will need to use an ice cream maker for velvety smooth frozen custard. I use Cuisinart’s 1.5-quart ice cream maker, but you can also use the KitchenAid ice cream bowl or a fancier compressor model. It is possible to make traditional cinnamon ice cream recipes in a Ninja Creami, but I don’t have one myself to test them.
I like to store my ice cream in long, reusable ice cream containers with silicone seals. The seal keeps the ice cream fresh, and the length makes it easy to get picture-perfect scoops of ice cream for cones and bowls. And, as a bonus, these ones come with stickers to label your ice cream!
If you don’t already have an ice cream scoop you like, my husband found this heavy-duty ice cream scoop a few years ago, and it’s been our go-to ever since.
Quick Tips to Make Cinnamon Frozen Custard
If you’ve never made a custard before, you’re in good hands! This section will provide an overview of how to make homemade cinnamon ice cream so that you feel prepared going into it. I recommend at least skimming these instructions for the best chance of success.
You can watch a quick rundown of how to make this cinnamon graham ice cream on my YouTube channel below:
Make the Cinnamon Custard Base
First, combine heavy cream, whole milk, cinnamon, salt, and half of the brown sugar in a medium pot over medium heat. Stir occasionally while the mixture heats up and the sugar melts.
The cinnamon will float on the surface of the mixture rather than mixing in completely; that’s okay. The cinnamon will dissolve once you add the rest of the sugar and egg yolks. When the cream mixture is steamy, remove from heat.
Next, whisk together egg yolks and the remaining brown sugar in a large, heat-safe bowl. The mixture will turn an unappetizing shade of yellow-brown at the start, but it will get lighter as you whisk more air into the batter. After about 2-3 minutes of whisking, the mixture should be light brown and airy.
Most recipes don’t call for whisking the yolks to the ribbon stage for frozen custard, but I find that it insulates the eggs a little more. That insulation can make all the difference for beginner ice cream makers who don’t want their custards to curdle!
Tempering the Egg Yolks
Next, pour the warm cinnamon cream mixture into the ribboned yolks one or two Tablespoons at a time, whisking constantly. Once that splash of cream has been fully incorporated, add another splash of the cinnamon cream, and stir until combined.
You’ll want to repeat this process until you’ve added at least half of the cinnamon cream to the yolk mixture. Then, pour the tempered yolk mixture from the bowl into the pot with the rest of the cinnamon cream. Scrape the bowl with a spatula to remove any remaining cinnamon and liquid, then return the pot to medium heat.
Cook the brown sugar custard over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened slightly. You can test this by seeing if it coats the back of a spoon or using a thermometer. The thermometer should read 170°F/75°C.
Immediately remove the custard from heat to prevent it from curdling.
Chilling the Cinnamon Custard
Add the vanilla to the cinnamon custard and stir to combine.
I usually chill my ice cream custards overnight in the fridge. Recently, though, I’ve started using ice baths to allow me to churn the ice cream the same day I make it. By nesting my mixing bowl in a larger bowl with ice water, it rapidly cools my custard in about an hour (compared to the 4+ hours it takes in the fridge).
How to Make the Graham Cracker Mix-In
Using a food processor (or a plastic bag and a rolling pin), crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs. I used cinnamon graham crackers to keep on cinnamon theme, but honey-flavored grahams also work. (You may want to add another ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, though.)
Add the sugar, salt, and cinnamon to the graham cracker crumbs and process until combined.
Stream in the melted butter until fully incorporated, then turn out the graham cracker mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Spread out the mixture evenly, until it’s about ¼” (6 mm) thick. Depending on the size of your pan (I used a quarter sheet pan), this may or may not reach the edges. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent the grahams from drying out, then freeze for up to two days while the ice cream chills.
In the last couple minutes of churning, you’ll want to break up the slab with a spatula or clean hands into bite-sized pieces.
How to Churn Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream
Right before adding the chilled custard to your ice cream maker, place the ice cream container you plan to use in the freezer. Having a chilled container will prevent the ice cream from melting directly on contact when you transfer it later!
Pour the custard into your ice cream maker, and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until the ice cream forms rounded domes above the sides of the paddle. This ice cream usually takes my ice cream maker about 20 minutes to churn completely.
A Secret for Scoopable Homemade Ice Cream
Non-compressor ice cream makers tend to get loud as the ice cream churns. If your ice cream maker operates similarly to mine, it will start to make more noise once the ice cream gets thick. You will be able to tell that the ice cream is fully churned if you can see large, rounded domes above the paddle of your ice cream maker. See the image below for an example.
How to Make a Graham Cracker Ripple in Homemade Ice Cream
Retrieve your now-chilled container and graham cracker mix from the freezer, and break the graham slab up into bite-sized pieces (either with your hands or a fork/spatula).
Then, with everything ready, transfer about a third of the cinnamon ice cream into the container. Sprinkle a handful of the graham cracker pieces over the cinnamon ice cream, then add another layer of ice cream.
Add another layer of graham cracker pieces, then scrape any remaining ice cream out of the bowl and into your container. The very sides of the bowl may take a little extra effort to scrape off, which is why I prefer using a heavy-duty spatula.
Spread the ice cream evenly across the top, then use a knife to swirl the graham cracker pieces side to side and up and down the container a couple of times. Cover the container and freeze for at least four hours (preferably overnight) to ensure that the ice cream has set completely. Then, enjoy!
FAQs about Brown Sugar Ice Cream
You could, though I think the flavor of the brown sugar adds a little something extra!
This recipe makes about 1.5 quarts with the graham cracker pieces.
I think that would be fine! I’d recommend keeping the addition to about ¼ cup.
Yes, they do! The key lies in coating the graham cracker pieces in fat and then freezing them. That prevents the graham cracker pieces from absorbing the ice cream, and as a result, they stay crispy!
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
I’m a frozen custard girl through and through. For more fall ice cream recipes, try my pumpkin pie frozen custard.
For more cinnamon-centric desserts, you might like my cinnamon sugar-topped banana bread, apple cinnamon layer cake, caramel chai streusel muffins, or mini apple pies.
Dish Cleanup: Dish Mountain
I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.
This cinnamon brown sugar ice cream has a cleanup rating of a 5. It’s rare that a recipe other than a layer cake gets a 5, but I think it’s warranted with the addition of the food processor. You’ll have the ice cream bowl, the mixing bowl, a medium pot, the food processor bowl, and various other bowls and utensils for your ingredients.
But don’t worry: I wouldn’t wash all of these dishes multiple times—even twice in the same week!—during testing if I didn’t think this was one of the best ice creams you can make at home, much less eat.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frozen Custard Recipe
Thanks so much for stopping by!
If you make this cinnamon ice cream recipe and love it, please don’t forget to rate the recipe five stars—even better if you get a chance to leave a short, written review!
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream
This brown sugar cinnamon ice cream with a graham cracker ripple was inspired by Handel's cinnamon graham cracker ice cream. The sweet cinnamon custard is perfectly balanced by a salted graham cracker ripple that stays crunchy!
Ingredients
For the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Ice Cream
- ¾ cup brown sugar, packed (160 g)
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream (350 ml)
- 1 ½ cups whole milk (350 ml)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon (6 g)
- pinch of salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract (5 ml)
For the Graham Cracker Ripple
- 7 sheets graham crackers (115 g)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (8 g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (1 g)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter, melted (42 g)
Instructions
Making the Brown Sugar Custard Base
- In a medium pot over medium heat, stir together half of the brown sugar (about ⅓ cup or 80 g), heavy cream, whole milk, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally for 8-10 minutes, until the cream mixture is warm and steamy. Some of the cinnamon will float at the top rather than incorporating; that's okay.
- Meanwhile, whisk together four yolks and the remaining half of the brown sugar in a large heat-safe bowl. Whisk for about a minute until the yolk mixture thickens to the ribbon stage (where the mixture falls off the whisk in ribbons that are clearly visible on the top of the batter before disappearing back into the mixture).
Tempering the Egg Yolks
- Remove the warm cream mixture from heat and carefully pour about 1-2 Tablespoons (15-30 ml) into the yolk mixture at a time, whisking vigorously until incorporated. Repeat 1-2 Tablespoons (15-30 ml) at a time until you've added about half of the cream mixture.
- Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream mixture and return to medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon or reaches 170°F/75°C, about 5-10 minutes. Do not let the custard boil.*
- Pour the custard into a large heat-safe bowl. (I always use the same one the egg yolk mixture was in, but you're welcome to use a clean bowl.)
- Stir in the vanilla bean paste or extract, then cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for at least four hours or up to one day, until the mixture is cold to the touch.
Making the Graham Cracker Ripple
- Finely crush the graham crackers in a food processor (or plastic bag with a rolling pin). Mix in the granulated sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
- Pour in the melted butter, and process until thoroughly combined.
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the graham cracker mixture in a thin layer over it. You don't have to spread it all the way to the edges, just until it's about ¼" (6 mm) thick for nice, bite-sized pieces.
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze.
Churning the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Custard
- Place the container in which you'll store the ice cream in the freezer.
- Once chilled, pour the custard into a ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions, until the ice cream forms rounded domes over the paddle. It usually takes around 20 minutes.
- In the last few minutes of churning, remove the graham cracker mixture from the freezer and break it up into bite-sized pieces with a spatula or clean hands.
- Transfer the brown sugar cinnamon ice cream to your chilled container in stages: Layer about a third of the ice cream on the bottom of the container, then top with a few handfuls of the graham cracker pieces on top. Add another layer of ice cream, followed by another few handfuls of graham cracker. Add the remaining ice cream, then top with any leftover graham cracker pieces. To swirl the filling, run a spoon or knife side to side and up and down the length of the container.
- For cinnamon graham soft serve, enjoy right away. For traditional brown sugar cinnamon ice cream, cover and freeze for at least four hours to allow the ice cream to firm up before serving.
Notes
*If the custard boils, the egg yolks may curdle. However, if it happens, it's recoverable: Simply pass the ice cream through a fine mesh strainer to catch any lumps before chilling.
This ice cream and the graham cracker ripple will have the best flavor and texture when eaten within a week. Store in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Machine, 1.5 Quart Sorbet, Frozen Yogurt Maker, Double Insulated, White, ICE-21P1 -
Set of 2 Reusable Ice Cream Tub Containers For Homemade Ice Cream 1.6 Quart - Stackable Storage Containers, Stickers, And Lids
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Spring Chef Heavy Duty Ice Cream Scoop
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Cuisinart Silicone Whisk, 10-Inch, Black
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Pyrex Prepware 2-1/2-Quart Glass Mixing Bowl
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 scoopAmount Per Serving: Calories: 268Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 124mgSodium: 174mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 5g
The nutrition facts are estimated and may vary based on specific ingredients used.
I’d love to see how your cinnamon brown sugar frozen custard turns out: Take a photo and tag me on Instagram @floralapronblog to share with me, or use the hashtag #floralapronbakes.