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Blue Moon Ice Cream

Blue Moon ice cream is an electric-blue, creamy custard with a fruity-floral citrus-almond flavor. We cook the base to 175°F, strain, chill 4 hours, then churn and freeze until firm for nostalgic, colorful scoops.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 610
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 tsp almond extract
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp raspberry extract or blue raspberry flavoring
  • 0.25 tsp lemon extract
  • 1 blue food coloring Use a few drops at a time until you reach electric blue.

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Cook the custard
  1. In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream and whole milk until steaming, then slowly whisk into the egg yolks beaten with granulated sugar.
  2. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches 175°F.
  3. Strain the custard into a clean container and cool slightly, until it’s no longer scorching hot.
Flavor and color
  1. Stir in the almond extract, vanilla extract, raspberry extract or blue raspberry flavoring, and lemon extract.
  2. Add blue food coloring a few drops at a time, stirring well between additions, until the color becomes electric blue.
  3. Cool completely at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.
Churn and freeze
  1. Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions until thickened.
  2. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm.

Notes

Pro tip: keep the custard at a gentle, steady simmer while cooking and stir the whole time so it thickens smoothly without scrambling the yolks. Refrigerate the finished churned-and-frozen ice cream up to 2 weeks in a sealed container; freezer storage is best for up to 2 months (freezing yes). For a dairy-swap without changing technique, use lactose-free whole milk and lactose-free heavy cream if you want similar richness.