Caramel Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Recipe

This post and recipe were created for #SummerDessertWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.

What’s Great About This Recipe

I shall tell you:

• A creamy, no-churn ice cream base with just a touch of cream cheese in it for easy scooping and delicious, smooth texture.
• Homemade Cinnamon Caramel Sauce layered in with the base.
• Short-cut cinnamon rolls made with Hawaiian rolls. But feel free to use your favorite cinnamon roll recipe or even use store-bought cinnamon rolls for your mix-in

And once you make the caramel sauce, you can pour it on other ice cream or on cake or even stir it into your coffee.

How To Make It

As with any ice cream with mix-ins and swirls, there are a few components to make, but I promise there are no hard-to-source ingredients or weird procedures.

Here’s what you’ll need and what to do:

Ingredients

For the Caramel Sauce

• sugar: Provides sweetness and the caramel flavor once it caramelizes
• corn syrup: Helps prevent crystallization. It is optional, but it does provide a bit of insurance so you don’t end up with grainy caramel. You can substitute a liquid sugar like maple syrup or honey if you prefer.
• water: Just enough to get the sugar wet so it melts evenly. All the water will cook off since temperatures reach well above the boiling point of water
• butter: for body and to help carry flavor
• cinnamon: for flavor
• salt: brings all the flavors into focus and counteracts any bitterness you might get from the caramel

For the Ice Cream Base

• heavy cream:
• sweetened condensed milk: heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk are at the heart of almost every no-churn ice cream. They provide the bulk, the dairy, the body, and the sweetness
• cream cheese: Use at room temperature and whip it until it’s completely smooth. Cream cheese provides extra scoopability and creaminess as well as a subtle tang
• cinnamon: for flavor
• vanilla: nicely tempers and rounds out the cinnamon
• salt: brings the flavors into focus

And of course, you’ll need 3 Hawaiian rolls to use for the base of your quickie cinnamon rolls, assuming you aren’t making yours from scratch or purchasing them.

What’s the Hardest Part To Make?

The caramel is the trickiest part, but it’s not hard to make. Since you’ll be working with sugar that reaches temperatures around 330F, you’ll want to take some precautions, but don’t be deterred from making it. It’s so good, I promise.

Safety When Working with Caramel

• Use a pan that is much larger than you think you need. The sugar will bubble up vigorously once you add the cream, so make sure the pan can contain that.
• Don’t stir until the sugar begins to take on color. Even then, it’s better to swirl the pan than to stir, but nothing bad should happen.
• Do not stir with a metal utensil. The heat will shoot right up the handle. Use a wooden spoon or a heat-resistant spatula.
• Have a bowl of ice water handy. If some sugar does splatter on you–highly unlikely if your pan is large enough and you stand back once you add the cream, immediately dunk the burned part in the ice water.
• If sugar does splash on you, resist the urge to stick your finger in your mouth. You’ll just end up with a burned mouth.

Do I Need a Thermometer to Make Caramel?

No–the color of the sugar will be enough to tell you when the caramel is ready. That does not mean there aren’t many other times you will need an instant read thermometer.

I use mine for everything from checking the temperature of oil for deep frying to making Italian buttercream and marshmallows to checking the internal temperature of bread and cake to make sure they’re fully baked.

Please consider getting an instant-read thermometer if you don’t already own one.

How to Make Mini Caramel Cinnamon Rolls

I thought of a few different ways to make the cinnamon rolls for my ice cream, and I finally settled on a short cut using Hawaiian rolls. They actually turned out so well, I’m showing you how to make them because they’d make a nice, sweet snack all on their own.

• “Butterfly” Hawaiian rolls by making cuts so they open up into thirds.
• Using a rolling pin or clean hand, press the unrolled roll a bit to flatten it.

• Spread each flattened roll with some cinnamon caramel sauce, and then roll up.
• Freeze for 30 minutes to firm up the caramel and then slice. Slice each slice into bits.
• Layer cinnamon roll bits, caramel sauce, and ice cream base together, and then freeze for at least 6 hours before serving.

See? Easy!

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Caramel Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream (No Churn)

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Jennifer Field

This cinnamon roll ice cream uses a sneaky shortcut for the cinnamon roll pieces and has swirls of cinnamon caramel throughout. It’ll be the hit of the party!

4.60 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Freezer Time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Ice Cream Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 16 servings

Calories 243 kcal

Ingredients

1x2x3x

For the Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons corn syrup
• ¼ cup water
• ⅔ cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Ice Cream Base

• 2 oz cream cheese softened
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Cinnamon Rolls

• 3 Hawaiian rolls

Instructions

 

For the Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

• Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy bottomed sauce pan, and stir to combine and to make sure all the sugar is wet.
• Bring to a boil. Place the lid on the pan and boil for 2 minutes.
• Remove lid and cook the sugar mixture over medium to medium-high heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until a deep caramel color. The mixture should smoke just a little and be a very dark amber color.
• Immediately remove from the heat and carefully pour in the cream all at once. The mixture will bubble up and sputter, so be prepared.
• Stir until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the butter, salt, and cinnamon and whisk to combine.
• Set aside to cool to room temperature.

For the Ice Cream Base

• In a bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until completely smooth. Add half the cream and mix to combine.
• Add the rest of the cream and all of the sweetened condensed milk, the cinnamon, vanilla, and salt.
• Whip until the mixture reaches soft peaks.

For the Cinnamon Rolls

• Take a Hawaiian roll and cut it so it opens out into thirds (see photos). Press to flatten slightly.
  
• Spread some of the cooled caramel sauce onto the flattened roll and then roll up like a jelly roll. 
• Repeat with the other 2 rolls, then freeze for 30 minutes.
  
• Slice each roll into thirds and then cut into small pieces.

To Finish the Ice Cream

• Scatter a few pieces of cinnamon roll in the bottom of a 9"x5" bread pan. Top with a liberal drizzle of caramel sauce and then layer on about 1/3 of the ice cream base. Spread to cover the rolls and sauce.
• Repeat layers of cinnamon roll bits, caramel sauce, and ice cream base twice more.
• Press any remaining cinnamon roll bits on top of the ice cream along with drizzles of the remaining caramel sauce.
• Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 6 hours before serving.

Did You Make Any Changes?

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Notes

Nutritionals based on 16 1/2 cup servings. I can guarantee you I eat more than 1/2 cup at a time!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 243kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 2gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 92mgSugar: 18g

Keyword cinnamon roll ice cream, no churn cinnamon ice cream

Did you make this recipe?Please tell us what you loved!

More Summer Dessert Week Recipes

Make the rounds and grab these other fantastic Summer Dessert recipes, friends!

Ice Cream Recipes:

• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Bites from Big Bear’s Wife
• No Churn Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream from Pastry Chef Online (you’re here!)
• Green Tea Ice Cream from Mildly Meandering
• Cream Puffs from For the Love of Food

Pies of Summer:

• Mini Lemon Meringue Pies from Forking Up
• Lemon Lavender Chess Pie from The Spiffy Cookie

Sweet Summertime Cakes:

• Cinnamon Oatmeal Cake from The Food Hunter’s Guide To Cuisine

No-Bake Treats:

• Lemon Chiffon Raspberry Parfait from Desserts Required
• S’mores Mousse Parfaits from Daily Dish Recipes
• Strawberry Pretzel Salad Parfaits from 4 Sons ‘R’ Us

Baked Desserts:

• Strawberry Glazed Donut Bites from Eat Move Make
• Mixed Berry Fruit Pizza from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Strawberry Cake Donuts from The Beard and The Baker
• Lemon Doberge Squares from Southern From Scratch
• Mini Blueberry Galettes from Me and My Pink Mixer
• Chocolate Churros from My Sweet Zepol
• Key Lime Fudge from The Domestic Kitchen
• Chocolate Strawberry Eclairs from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars from A Blender Mom
• Fruit Pie Jars from A Southern Soul
• Sweet Tea Bread Pudding from Sweet ReciPEAsc

Sweet Sips:

• Cherry Lime Bellini from Comfortably Domestic
• Strawberry Lassi from Shockingly Delicious