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Birthday Cake Homemade Ice Cream

Birthday cake ice cream that tastes like creamy vanilla cake batter, with a pale golden custard base and rainbow sprinkles in every scoop. Cook the custard to 175°F, chill 4 hours, then churn and freeze for a firm, scoopable sprinkle-packed treat.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 minutes
Total Time 34 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 340
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Ice cream base
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp butter extract
  • 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.25 tsp almond extract
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup rainbow sprinkles

Equipment

  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 ice cream maker

Method
 

Cook the custard base
  1. Heat the heavy cream and whole milk in a saucepan until steaming, then slowly whisk the hot dairy into the egg yolks and granulated sugar. Keep whisking to combine smoothly with no lumps.
  2. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook to 175°F while stirring constantly. The custard should thicken slightly as it reaches temperature.
Flavor, chill, and churn
  1. Strain the custard, then stir in butter extract, vanilla extract, almond extract, and salt. Mix until fully smooth, then cool completely.
  2. Refrigerate the custard for 4 hours until thoroughly cold. Cover it to prevent a skin from forming.
  3. Churn in an ice cream maker until thick and softly frozen, then fold in rainbow sprinkles during the last 2 minutes. This keeps the sprinkles bright and evenly dispersed.
Freeze and serve
  1. Freeze the churned ice cream until firm, then scoop and serve with more sprinkles. Add extra sprinkles on top for a festive, confetti look.

Notes

Pro tip: For the creamiest texture, whisk the hot dairy into the egg yolks slowly and keep the custard at a steady 175°F with constant stirring. Refrigerate the finished custard (before churning) up to 24 hours, then churn the same day; churned ice cream keeps frozen up to 2–3 weeks. Freezer yes—freeze leftovers in an airtight container. Dietary swap: replace whole milk with an equal amount of lactose-free milk for similar flavor and texture.