No-Churn Carrot Cake Ice Cream
If you’re looking for a fresh twist on classic flavors look no further than this no-churn carrot cake ice cream! Silky carrot and cinnamon flavored custard ice cream married with chunks of carrot cake and swirls of cream cheese icing. It’s seriously enough to convert the most avid carrot cake hater – I speak from experience!
Not only is this carrot cake ice cream delicious but its relatively easy to whip up with some patience plus the carrot cake added in uses a simple recipe that can be enjoyed on its own and is fully “baked” in the microwave (yup you read that right) in a measly 90 seconds!
After trying this recipe you’ll find it hard not to go back for seconds (and thirds) and you may very well become the designated person to bring “that” ice cream at the next potluck so share it at your own risk!
tips for making your ice cream custard base
- Before starting your custard strain and then strain some more! To get a really punchy carrot flavor we start by blending carrots with our evaporated milk and cinnamon. After you have blended for at least a full minute, strain the mixture through cheesecloth – once the custard in finished it will prove very hard to separate the tiny bits of carrot giving the ice cream a grainy texture instead of a smooth and silky one with fun intentional chunks!
- If it’s your first time making a custard go slow. Bringing your custard mixture to a simmer too quickly increases the chances of your custard curdling and ending up with scrambled eggs – no one wants that!
If you start with cold ingredients (and are confident) feel free to bring the heat up (on a well whisked custard mixture) to medium-high until it is hot but not scalding to your fingertip. After this, bring your heat back down to medium and proceed as usual, whisking until custard coats the back of a spoon.
Fair warning – there is no way to fix a curdled or broken custard other than starting over with new ingredients so for beginners go slow, it’ll be worth it! - Just keep whisking. Just keep whisking. If you can’t tell by now, the key to a perfect custard is a creamy, silky-smooth texture. This is a result of the egg yolks helping to form an emulsion with the other ingredients and requires constant stirring/whisking to evenly distribute heat in the saucepan. If a custard mixture sits too long without being stirred it will cause some parts of it to cook faster resulting in – say it with me – “scrambled eggs.”
- Never let your custard come to a boil. My rule of thumb is that if I see any bubbles – even just one – I need to turn down my burner. Aim for the stage JUST before where you would see a single bubble – so cautiously increase your heat and whenever you start to see any indication of boiling bring it down just a smidge.
- Keeping the heat too low does more harm than good. Making a custard is a balancing act! If the heat it too high as mentioned before you will reach the “scrambled eggs” point of no return but on the other hand if you keep your heat too low, it is not enough for the egg yolks to coagulate and thicken the custard mixture. The end result will be a runny custard and a very hard ice cream that’s more like frozen milk.
more tips for a perfect carrot cake ice cream
- For the carrot cake finely grate the carrots. If carrots are too chunky they can cook unevenly, making the flavor less profound and the final texture of the ice cream more like an unpleasant obstacle course.
- If swapping out all-purpose flour for your favorite gluten free flour (this is mine) allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes before “baking” in the microwave. Gluten-free flours typically contain rice flour and allowing the batter to sit out allows the rice to absorb some moisture so that the final product isn’t gritty.
- Before covering the ice cream with the container’s lid press some plastic wrap to the surface of the ice cream. This will help prevent the formation of ice crystals.
- If only making the carrot cake as a quick treat, once out of the microwave, add a rum syrup (2 tsp dark rum with 2 tsp brown sugar) on top while its still warm! It adds another level of depth to the cake.
Opt out of this for the ice cream though as the flavor can get lost in everything else not making it worth your time. - For your meringue, makes sugar has completely dissolved before you start whipping it up. To makes sure, simply rub a little of the mixture between your thumb and index finger. It is ready to be whipped when it feels completely smooth!
Servings: 1 quart
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 mixer with whisk attachment
- 1 quart-sized air-tight container
- 1 fine mesh strainer or chessecloth
Ingredients
Ice Cream Custard Base
- 1 12 oz can evaporated milk set aside 3 TBSP for the carrot cake
- 10-16 oz heavy cream once you strain the evaporated milk/carrot mixture you'll add heavy cream until you have a total of 22 fl oz.
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar split in ¾ cup & ½ cup portions
- 4 oz carrots
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Carrot Cake
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 TBSP evaporated milk
- 1½ tsp unsalted butter
- 1 oz finely grated carrots about 3 TBSP
- ½ oz crushed pecans about 2 TBSP
- 3 TBSP dark brown sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- pinch salt
- pinch nutmeg
Cream Cheese Frosting Swirl
- 3 TBSP whipped cream cheese
- 2 TBSP granulated sugar
Instructions
- Take 3 TBSP of evaporated milk from the can and set aside for the carrot cake.
Ice Cream Custard Base
- Add the rest of the evaporated milk and cinnamon to a blender and blend for a full minute then strain through cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer. Make sure to get all carrot bits; you may have to strain it more than once.
- Zero a kitchen scale with an empty saucepan and set the units to fluid ounces (fl oz). Add strained evaporated milk to the saucepan then pour in heavy cream until the scale reads 22 fl oz.
- Add egg yolks and ¾ cup granulated sugar to saucepan, whisk well to incorporate then cook over medium-low to medium heat until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove custard from heat, transfer to a heat resistant bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until cold (at least 6 hours). You can make the carrot cake and cream cheese frosting during this time.
- Once custard has completely cooled, you are ready to make the meringue. Add egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the remaining ½ cup of sugar and whisk over hot water until sugar crystals have dissolved then use mixer to whip on high until the meringue forms stiff glossy peaks.
- Turn mixer down to medium speed and pour in custard until evenly incorporated. Assemble in layers along with carrot cake and cream cheese frosting as described below!
Carrot cake
- In a small microwave-safe bowl or mug, melt butter then add all other ingredients and mix.
- Microwave for 90 seconds and allow to cool. Cover and set aside until custard base is complete.
Cream Cheese Frosting Swirl
- In a small bowl, mix sugar with cream cheese and set aside until custard base is complete.
Assembly
- In your container layer the ice cream starting with the custard base, then sprinkling with cake crumbles then adding small dollops of the cream cheese frosting. Repeat this until everything is used then use a skewer or knife to swirl throughout the ice cream.
- Cover with plastic wrap and container lid and allow to freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.
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