I think Cotton Candy is the ultimate flavor of summer! It reminds me of the county fair and theme parks! So why not bring that flavor home and make some homemade Cotton Candy Ice Cream? This ice cream is so good and I have the full printable recipe for you below so you can make this insanely delicious ice cream yourself!
Can you believe it’s July! Luckily, July is National Ice Cream Month! The first half of the year is done and gone (and it by so quickly!), so let’s just celebrate summer with ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream.
I love making homemade ice cream! It’s so much better than the store-bought stuff!
I think making homemade ice cream is pretty easy. I use an ice cream maker so it only takes me about 30-40 minutes to make ice cream from scratch (and some of that is time spent waiting while the ice cream maker churns – perfect for cleaning up the kitchen so when you’re done, you’re done!), and then you get a batch of delicious, creamy ice cream to share with family and friends!
I know a lot of people are making ice cream at home right now and the above ice cream maker might be sold out, so here are a few other ice cream maker options. I don’t have them, so I cannot personally recommend them, but they look cute!
Cotton Candy Ice Cream Recipe
If you want to make this insanely delicious ice cream yourself, the full printable recipe is below, but here are the needed ingredients:
Ingredients:
- Milk
- Heavy cream
- Granulated sugar
- Pink Cotton Candy Syrup – here’s the link to the flavoring syrup I used!
- Salt
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla Extract
- Optional: pink food coloring
- Optional: cotton candy floss
I always plan to make my ice cream the day or night before I “need” it so that it has time to harden more in the freezer. You can definitely eat it right out of the ice cream maker, but it will have a better “ice cream” consistency and texture and will scoop better onto a cone if you allow it to firm up in the freezer overnight.
I use either this ice cream container or this larger 1.5 quart size ice cream container, but I’ve also previously just lined 13×9 baking pans (see photo below) with parchment paper and then covered the ice cream with more parchment paper before sticking it into the freezer.
I like to use colorful ice cream cones! But you can also use regular ice cream cones, waffle cones, waffle cups, or waffle bowls!
I didn’t add any extra cotton candy into my ice cream, I used the cotton candy syrup to flavor it, but I did serve the cotton candy ice cream with a little cotton candy on top!
Just in case you can’t purchase the cotton candy syrup I linked to above, here are a few others that will work as well:
Cotton Candy Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup cotton candy syrup
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla
- optional: pink food coloring
- optional: add cotton candy floss to ice cream while churning
Instructions
- Combine the milk, whipping cream, salt, vanilla, and only half the sugar in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking intermittently.
- While heating, combine the egg yolks and the other half of sugar in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Then add the cotton candy syrup and mix.
- When the milk mixture has come to a boil, pour ⅓ of it into the egg mixture and stir. Then pour another ⅓ and stir, and then the final ⅓ and stir.
- Next, pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes, but do not let it come to a boil. If you want to add pink food coloring, add it now.
- Then transfer the mixture to a new bowl, allow it to come to room temperature, and then refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- After the mixture is chilled, follow the manufacturer's instructions on your ice cream maker to make the ice cream.
- Optional addition: add cotton candy floss into the ice cream during its last 3 minutes of churning.
- Then transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container for storing.
- When serving, top with extra cotton candy as a garnish.
- Enjoy!
Trisha James
Tuesday 8th of August 2017
I didn't read the directions thoroughly...but is it made with out an ice cream churned?
Andrea
Tuesday 8th of August 2017
No, it's made WITH an ice cream maker.
Greg Stewart
Monday 14th of November 2016
Where do you suggest that I find the Cotton Candy Syrup?
Andrea
Monday 14th of November 2016
Here's a link to it on Amazon, but if you Google it, you might be able to find it at a store nearby like Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Michael's. Let me know how the ice cream turns out!