Carnival In A Cone: Homemade Cotton Candy Ice Cream Recipe

I had some leftover cotton candy from the DIY candy nests I made the other week. So I thought I would use the leftovers for a fun recipe: cotton candy ice cream.

Eeeee. It’s like a carnival in a cone, which is pretty much my new favorite thing. Well, after funnel cakes that is. Somebody hold me bake before I make funnel cake waffles or something.

Want to make a batch of homemade cotton candy ice cream? Here’s what you’ll need…

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp vanilla extract
cotton candy

Youll also need:

Ice cream maker (I like this one from Amazon) // 2 quart sauce pan // Freezer-safe pans or containers // Whisk // Heat-safe spatula // Bowl (large enough to fit the sauce pan in with ice) // Ice // Thermometer

Instructions:

1. Freeze the ice cream freezer bowl for 24 hours in advance. The bowl must be thoroughly frozen before beginning. Keep the freezer bowl in the freezer until the churning step.

2. Combine 2 tbsp of the whole milk with the corn starch and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stir until smooth and set aside.

3. Combine the rest of the whole milk with the heavy cream, granulated sugar, and salt in the sauce pan. Set aside.

4. In the bowl, prepare an ice bath for the sauce pan. This will be used to chill the ice cream base afterwards.

5. Move the sauce pan with the milk mixture to the stove and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Once the mixture is at a steady simmer, heat the mixture for 6 minutes, stirring with a whisk.

6. Reduce heat to low and, while stirring, add corn starch mixture.

7. Increase back to medium heat and cook for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

8. Remove from heat and submerge the sauce pan into the ice bath. Keep stirring! This will help cool the ice cream base more quickly and evenly.

9. Once the mixture registers 45 degrees Fahrenheit, add the mixture to the ice cream maker and turn it on. This step will take between 35 to 45 minutes (depending on how cold the base was before starting). Wait for the ice cream to begin developing a soft serve-like texture and starts pulling away from the sides of the freezer bowl before stopping the churning process.

This is where you can start adding in pieces of cotton candy (long strands work best, if possible, almost like ribbons. OR you can wait to add it into the last step, if it’s easier. Up to you.

10. Once ready, stop the machine and scoop the ice cream into freezer-safe pans, cover with airtight lids, and freeze overnight.