Birthday Cake Ice Cream
This birthday cake ice cream is buttery and creamy with hints of butter toffee swirled with rainbow sprinkles. It’s buttery and creamy with hints of butter toffee swirled with rainbow sprinkles.
You don’t need an ice cream maker for this recipe, it’s a no-churn ice cream. This homemade ice cream can be made using simple ingredients without an ice cream maker.
It’s super creamy and smooth with heaps of flavor and will become one of your new favorite things!
Equipment
For this ice cream, you will need a stand mixer or electric hand mixer. Everything is mixed together in one bowl to make things easy.
Ingredients
The ingredient amounts are listed in the recipe card. You will need –
- Salted butter (this is going to be turned into brown butter.)
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla paste
- Funfetti sprinkles
Brown butter ice cream
Brown butter is the magic ingredient in this brown butter funfetti ice cream. It turns a sweet vanilla ice cream into the most spectacular delicious ice cream ever. Meltdown salted butter and simmer until the milk solids in the butter caramelize.
They take on a toasted caramel flavor and bring so much flavor to the ice cream. The buttery vanilla flavor is what brings those flavors reminiscent of cake batter ice cream.
If you’re using unsalted butter, add in a pinch of salt.
Funfetti sprinkles
Isn’t ice cream always so much fun when it’s covered in colorful sprinkles? The funfetti sprinkles (also known as rainbow jimmies) are what this into rainbow ice cream.
They too are what makes this ice cream an ode to a birthday cake. Add the sprinkles to the ice cream base, and sprinkle some on top.
Condensed milk in ice cream
When making ice cream, it’s all about texture. You need enough ice crystals to form in the ice cream so that it’s scoopable and holds its shape. However, the key is to create a texture where there aren’t so many that the ice cream becomes too hard and icy. An ice cream machine avoids this by churning the ice cream continuously to avoid large water crystals forming.
Luckily, there’s a solution if you have no ice cream machine. The answer is to use some ingredients higher in milk solids and fat and lower in water. This is where condensed milk comes in.
Sweetened condensed milk is milk that has been simmered down with sugar until about 60% of the water has been removed. The end result is a thick milky syrup that’s high in milk solids. These milk solids contain lactose (milk sugars.) It’s both the reduction of the water in the milk and the presence of the sugars that means fewer ice crystals form in the ice cream.
This recipe uses just under half condensed milk to heavy cream. You can’t use only condensed milk or too much-condensed milk, or it won’t freeze properly and the texture will be off.
Heavy cream in ice cream
The heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) in this ice cream has an important role too, for a few reasons. It brings some water into the mix, which forms ice crystals to keep the ice cream firmer. It brings fat which creates a smooth ice cream. Lastly, it brings air bubbles to the mixture to create a light and creamy ice cream.
The ice cream mixture is whipped which creates the air. It’s the fat particles in the whipped cream that hold on to the air.
Some ice cream recipes call for whipping the heavy cream first until stiff peaks form and then folding in the condensed milk. This isn’t a necessary step, though, it’s easier and less clean up to whisk everything in one bowl!
Method
Begin by browning the butter. This must cool down completely to room temperature before adding the remaining ingredients.
In a small saucepan melt down the butter. Avoid using a dark pan as you will struggle to see the caramelization of the butter and run the risk of burning it.
Once melted, let it cook further for another few minutes, stirring occasionally or swirling the pan until the milk solids in the butter have caramelized into a deep golden amber color and the butter smells nutty. Pour the butter and all the solids into a small bowl and let it cool.
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl, add the condensed milk, vanilla extract or paste, and the cooled brown butter and whisk to combine.
Pour the heavy cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture. Turn the mixer on low (or use an electric hand whisk) and whisk slowly to avoid splattering. Slowly increase the mixing speed to medium-high and whisk until soft peaks form.
Fold through the funfetti sprinkles.
Scoop the mixture into an airtight container or loaf pan in an even layer and sprinkle with a little bit of extra funfetti sprinkles. Freeze the ice cream for at least 6 hours until frozen through.
Serving
Serve the no-churn funfetti ice cream in a bowl or cone, or sandwich it between your favorite cookies to make funfetti ice cream sandwiches.
The ice cream can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Wrap it in plastic wrap or cover the container with a lid to avoid freezer burn.
Related recipes
For more ice cream recipes or sweet recipes, check out these!
- Black forest ice cream
- Raspberry chocolate ice cream
- Biscoff cookie butter ice cream
- Strawberry cinnamon rolls
- Chocolate hazelnut truffles
- Raspberry mascarpone cake
Brown Butter Funfetti Ice Cream
This brown butter Funfetti ice cream tastes like birthday cake ice cream, only so much better
Ingredients
- 55g (1/4 cup) salted butter
- 1 can (395g / 14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 500ml (2 cups) heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 100g (1/2 cup) funfetti sprinkles
Instructions
- In a small saucepan melt down the butter. Avoid using a dark pan as you will struggle to see the caramelization of the butter and run the risk of burning it.
- Once melted, let it cook further for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally or swirling the pan until the milk solids in the butter have caramelized into a deep golden amber color and the butter smells nutty. Pour the butter and all the solids into a small bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or a large bowl, add the condensed milk, vanilla extract or paste, and the cooled brown butter and whisk to combine.
- Pour the heavy cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture. Turn the mixer on low (or use an electric hand whisk) and whisk slowly to avoid splattering. Slowly increase the mixing speed to medium-high and whisk until soft peaks form.
- Fold through the funfetti sprinkles.
- Scoop the mixture into an airtight container or loaf pan in an even layer and sprinkle with a little bit of extra funfetti sprinkles. Freeze the ice cream for at least 6 hours until frozen through.
- The ice cream keeps well, frozen for up to 2 weeks. Wrap it in plastic wrap or cover the container with a lid to avoid freezer burn.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 392Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 99mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 0gSugar: 28gProtein: 5g
