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Cotton Candy Ice Cream

Cotton candy ice cream with vivid pink and blue swirls made from a cooked custard base for a creamy, scoopable texture. Flavor is built in with cotton candy extract, then colored and churned for a fun carnival-style frozen dessert.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Base custard
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp cotton candy flavoring or extract
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.25 tsp salt
Color + topping
  • 0.1 Pink and blue food coloring Use as needed for the shade you want.
  • 1 Cotton candy for topping Add on top just before serving for best texture.

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker

Method
 

Make the custard base
  1. In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream and whole milk until steaming, not boiling, stirring as it warms and watching for small steam bubbles at the edges.
  2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar, then slowly pour the steaming cream-milk mixture into the yolks while whisking to temper.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens to 175F, then remove from heat and strain to a clean bowl.
  4. Stir in the cotton candy flavoring or extract, vanilla extract, and salt until fully combined, then let the custard cool slightly.
Color, chill, and churn for swirls
  1. Divide the custard into two bowls and tint one pink and the other blue with food coloring until you reach a vivid color.
  2. Cover both bowls and chill completely in the refrigerator, about 4 hours total, until cold throughout and thickened.
  3. Churn the pink and blue bases separately in the ice cream maker, then alternate dollops during a brief refreeze step to create a pink-and-blue swirl.
Freeze and finish
  1. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm, then top each serving with cotton candy just before serving.

Notes

For the smoothest custard, keep the heat at a steady simmer and stir constantly until it reaches 175F; avoid boiling or the yolks can scramble. Refrigerate leftover ice cream for up to 1 week (kept tightly covered). Freeze leftovers for up to 2 months; texture is best within 6 weeks. For a lighter option, you can swap in half-and-half for the heavy cream, but the ice cream will be softer and less rich.