Caramel Apple Ice Cream

This caramel apple ice cream is perfect for the time of year where it feels like fall, but is also still 80° outside.. This is a cinnamon custard ice cream base swirled with apple cider caramel and toffee chunks for the perfect combination of fall spices and sweet flavors.

What is Caramel Apple Ice Cream?

If you’re not sure what to think about this caramel apple ice cream, let me tell you where the idea came from.. When August rolls around I can’t help but start thinking all things fall (especially because with food blogging comes planning/shooting recipes in advance, so I’m working on fall content in the late summer). That’s why you’ll see things like pumpkin bread and pumpkin cinnamon rolls popping up in the early days of August here on the blog.

Well, unfortunately, August happens to be one of the hottest months of the year here in Alabama, so while I’m dreaming of fall leaves crunching under my feet, I’m really just drenched in sweat from standing outside for longer than 10 minutes! So, fall-flavored ice creams it is!

This is a caramel apple ice cream is a cinnamon custard cream base with homemade apple cider caramel swirled in along with tons of toffee bits (one of my favorite fall ingredients). If you’ve never made custard ice cream, don’t stress: the process is fairly simple and I’m going to walk you through it!

Why this recipe works

Like I said above, this caramel apple ice cream is a churned ice cream that we’re making from scratch using egg yolks. And while that can seem intimidating to some, I promise the results are well worth it. No-churn ice creams are quick and easy, but the creaminess and melt-in-your-mouth texture that you get from a churned ice cream is so beyond worth the extra effort.

Similar to making homemade pastry cream, we’ll start by cooking the eggs with the cream and milk over the stove, then we’ll let the entire thing chill before churning it in our ice cream machine. At the end we’ll stir in our caramel sauce and toffee bits before letting it freeze until it’s ready to serve.

I make ice cream all summer long (all year long honestly), and the base of this caramel apple ice cream recipe is what I use pretty much across the board for all of my custard-based ice creams. The recipe itself is nearly fail-proof!

Some equipment you may need…

Ice cream machine: you’ll need some sort of ice cream churning machine for this recipe. I have this one and it does a great job – you don’t even need any ice cream salt or ice.
Saucepan: this is the cookware I use at home, and the small saucepan that comes in this set is perfect for this recipe. You just need something to mix the custard base in, so use what you have on hand!
Measuring cups/spoons: I’ve been linking these in all of my posts because I love them SO much! They are beautiful and look just like some other expensive ones on the market (but wayyy cheaper).
Mixing bowls: I love these glass mixing bowls from Amazon. They’re especially perfect for food photography.
Wooden spoon: I use these for doing the “spoon test” on custards, I suggest you do the same!
Reusable ice cream containers: I use these all year long for all of my ice cream creations. This is a 2-pack of 1-quart containers and they’re perfect for most of the ice cream recipes on my site.

Ingredients for Caramel Apple Ice Cream

Cinnamon toast crunch cereal – what’s different about this cereal is that we’re going to steep the cream and milk in cinnamon toast crunch cereal before we make our ice cream base. This will yield a super-cinnamony flavor and it only infuses even more “fall” into our caramel apple ice cream.
Heavy cream – will be the majority of our base in this caramel apple ice cream
Evaporated milk – I think using evaporated milk instead of regular whole milk lends to an even smoother consistency. Read the below ingredient substitution options if you don’t have it on hand or you can’t find it in the grocery store.
Dark brown sugar – where the majority of our sweetness is coming from, and I think it pairs perfectly with the warmth coming from the homemade caramel sauce.
Granulated sugar – another ingredient we’re using for some sweetness
Egg yolks – the most important addition, and what makes this a true custard. Using egg yolks will help create that creamy texture we’re looking for!
Pure vanilla extract – the brand doesn’t really matter all that much, but make sure it’s pure vanilla extract and you’ll be good to go!
Ground cinnamon – this will be stirred into the base of our custard ice cream, so we’ll need quite a bit to really capture the cinnamon flavor.
Kosher salt – Diamond crystal kosher salt is the brand gravitate towards in my recipes.
1 batch of Homemade Apple Cider Caramel Sauce – read below for other optional substitutes!
Toffee bits – one of my favorite fall ingredients, and a staple in my house! If you’re also a toffee lover I’d recommend stirring them into this Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie 🙂

Optional Ingredient Substitutions

Whole milk

If you don’t have evaporated milk on hand, or you can’t find it at the grocery store, you’re welcome to substitute it with and equal amount of whole milk instead. I think evaporated milk yields a smoother, creamier texture in the final ice cream, but whole milk will work just fine here.

Store-bought caramel sauce

For this caramel apple ice cream we’re using a homemade apple cider caramel sauce in the base. It’s basically a caramel that’s infused with reduced apple cider to create a sour punch of apple flavor to offset the sweetness coming from the apple cider caramel. It’s what makes this ice cream “caramel apple” flavored, but if you don’t have the time to make your own homemade you can just use any store bought caramel sauce instead! You can also use plain homemade caramel if you don’t have any apple cider on hand.

Omit the cereal

We always have cinnamon toast crunch on hand (thank you, littles), but if you can’t find any or you don’t want to take the time to steep your milk and cream in the cinnamon cereal, feel free to skip this step. Just go straight to heating the cream and the sugar over the saucepan.

How to Make Caramel Apple Ice Cream

Step 1 – make the custard base

First you’ll start by whisking the cream and sugar in a saucepan and heating it over medium heat. Similar to making pastry cream, you’ll then temper your egg yolks by adding a little bit of the warm cream to the eggs before adding everything back into the saucepan together. This way, your egg yolks will heat up gently and you won’t be left with scrambled eggs in your creamy custard.

Then, you’ll cook the custard until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Step 2 – cool the custard

This is probably one of the most important steps. The custard is very hot, so you want to cool it down as quickly as possible to avoid scrambling the eggs. I like to place the entire bowl over a separate bowl full of ice water, that way while I’m mixing everything it will stay nice and cold.

Then you’ll place the entire custard in the refrigerator to cool completely before you churn.

Step 3 – churn your caramel apple ice cream

You’ll need an ice cream machine for this recipe so that you can churn your custard base. Make sure that your bowl is very cold when you pour the custard into it, otherwise you won’t get it up to the right texture.

You’re looking for the texture of soft-serve ice cream. Once you get there you’ll add in your toffee bits through the food chute and churn for about another 5 minutes to make sure everything is nice and combined.

Lastly, you’ll stir in your caramel sauce before freezing your caramel apple ice cream!

My Kitchen Tips

Use some sort of thermometer

You’ll notice in the recipe card below I say that you can tell your custard is done when it adequately coats the back of a spoon. But if you want to make extra sure you’ve nailed it, use a thermometer and wait until it reads 170°F.

Do NOT overchurn your ice cream

Ah yes, my arch nemesis. I hope I’m not the only one this happens to, but honestly it has happened a few too many times in my kitchen. You wouldn’t think that you could overchurn a batch of ice cream. But you’ll quickly realize that when you do, an oily film forms in your mouth after you’ve taken a bite. Not ideal. I’ve found that the instructions on the machine’s manufacturer’s manual usually take things a little bit too far. To mitigate this, I start checking my ice cream after about 10 minutes. You’re looking for the texture of soft serve ice cream – that’s when you know it’s finished. If you go too far you’ll end up with that unpleasant mouthfeel that no one wants!

If your custard splits…

If you notice when you pour the custard through the sieve that there’s still large chunks of solid bits, the custard may have split. Don’t worry though, it’s an easy fix. Just pour the whole thing into a blender (or use an immersion blender) and pulse, very gently, only a few times until it smooths out again. If you blend for too long you’ll ruin the custard.

Recipe FAQs

How to store?

You’ll store this toffee apple ice cream like you would any other ice cream – in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months or so. I have these reusable ice cream containers (1 quart), and also these pint-sized ice cream containers that I use to share with neighbors and friends.

Do I have to make the homemade apple cider caramel sauce?

While I do suggest it (because the caramel sauce is SO good), you can skip this step and substitute a store-bought caramel sauce instead. The toffee apple ice cream will be delicious either way.

This is such a fun recipe for transitioning into all things fall weather, and I hope you love this caramel apple ice cream as much as I do. It’s truly a year-round favorite in my house.

If you make this recipe, be sure to tag me on socials @sarahsdayoff so I can see it! I love seeing what you guys create in your kitchen, it truly brings me so much joy. If you have a question about this recipe or any others on my site feel free to email me at sarah@sarahsdayoff.com and I’d be happy to chat with you.

Love,

Sarah

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” -Matthew 7:7-

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