Sprinkles Ice Cream Recipe

By Max Falkowitz
Updated Apr. 15, 2020
ice cream with sprinkles
Photograph: Max Falkowitz

Most sprinkles ice creams just add colored sprinkles to a plain, unflavored sweet cream base. That's pretty boring. This recipe uses candy-colored, delightfully artificially flavored cereal (Fruity Pebbles, specifically, but Trix and Froot Loops would work well) to make something that's far more fun and deserving of the sprinkles that go into it.

Why this recipe works:

  • "Fruit"-flavored cereal adds color and vibrant flavor to pretty but bland sprinkles.
  • Soaking hot dairy in cereal for just 20 minutes adds a strong flavor to the base without absorbing too much liquid.
  • Starch from the cereal leaches into the ice cream, which makes for an especially creamy texture.

Recipe Details

Sprinkles Ice Cream Recipe

Active 60 mins
Total 7 hrs
Serves 6 to 8 servings
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

  • 2 2/3 cups heavy cream

  • 1 1/3 cups whole milk

  • 2 cups fruit-flavored cereal (recommended: Fruity Pebbles; see head note)

  • 6 large egg yolks

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 cup sprinkles

Directions

  1. In a large, heavy saucepan, bring cream and milk to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off heat, stir in cereal, cover, and let steep for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until the mixture lightens in color and is fully combined.

    homemade ice cream

  2. Pour cereal-dairy mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. Push on cereal mush with a spoon to extract as much as much dairy as possible, but don't press flakes of cereal through the strainer. Discard cereal. Strained dairy should yield 3 cups; measure out that amount, adding more cream and milk in a 2 to 1 ratio if needed.

    straining homemade ice cream

  3. Quickly pour dairy into saucepan with egg yolks and sugar, whisking rapidly to completely combine. Place pot over medium-low heat and cook, whisking frequently, until a custard forms on a spoon and a finger swiped across the back leaves a clean line, or until custard temperature reaches 170°F. Stir in salt to taste.

  4. Strain custard through a fine mesh strainer and either chill in ice bath or in refrigerator until it is very cold, about 40°F. Churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions, adding in sprinkles during last minute of churn, then transfer to an airtight container and chill in freezer for at least 4 hours.

Special Equipment

Ice cream maker

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
553 Calories
40g Fat
41g Carbs
9g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 553
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 40g 52%
Saturated Fat 21g 105%
Cholesterol 256mg 85%
Sodium 184mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 41g 15%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 35g
Protein 9g
Vitamin C 1mg 5%
Calcium 123mg 9%
Iron 1mg 6%
Potassium 185mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)