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–+ servings
a scoop of crumb cake ice cream on top of a square of crumb cake

crumb cake ice cream

Rebecca Eisenberg
A cinnamon and nutmeg ice cream with real crumb cake topping stirred right in for lots of crunchy textural goodness. Serve a scoop on top of a slice of actual crumb cake for layers of crunchy, creamy, fluffy texture.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Chill Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings 1.25 pints

Ingredients
  

Ice cream base

  • 240 grams heavy cream (1 cup)
  • 120 grams whole milk (½ cup)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon (use 2x if you don't have cinnamon sticks)
  • ⅛ teaspoon whole nutmeg (freshly grated)
  • pinch salt
  • 3 egg yolks (OR: 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk)
  • 75 grams sugar

Crumbs

  • 60 grams all-purpose flour (½ cup, loosely packed and leveled off)
  • 50 grams brown sugar (¼ cup, light or dark)
  • 15 grams powdered sugar (2 TBSP)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 40 grams unsalted butter (3 TBSP, melted)

Instructions
 

Crumbs

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
  • Combine dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Break up any lumps of brown sugar with your fingers. Mix melted butter into the dry ingredients with a fork until the mixture forms large crumbs.
  • Pour the crumbs onto the prepared sheet pan in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, then use a food processor to pulse the crumbs several times until the largest crumbs are about the size of peas.
    (If you want to be finicky about it, you can sift the crumbs through a wire spider so you're only putting the really big crumbs in the food processor. It's up to you!)
  • Store crumbs in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to use.

Creme Anglaise Ice Cream Base

  • Scald the milk and heavy cream. Combine milk, heavy cream, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean paste, ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, and salt in a small sauce pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. When you start to see bubbles around the edges of the milk, tilt the pot forward. When you see lots of bubbles on the bottom of the pot, turn the heat off and let the mixture continue steeping for an additional 10 minutes.
    If you tilt the pot forward and don't see lots of bubbles, keep stirring over medium heat and repeat until you do. Do NOT boil.
  • Ribbon egg yolks and sugar together. In a heat-safe bowl, vigorously whisk together egg yolks and sugar until slightly pale and creamy.
  • Temper milk into egg mixture. Remove the cinnamon stick from the milk mixture. Place the bowl on top of a folded kitchen towel to hold it in place. With the whisk in your dominant hand, slowly drizzle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs don't scramble.
  • Cook to thicken. Once all the milk has been added, whisk for about 20-30 seconds, then transfer the mixture back to the pot over low-medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture reaches "nappe" consistency, meaning it coats the back of the wooden spoon.
    Do NOT boil. Keep it at a gentle heat and be patient, it will thicken after a few minutes.
  • Strain out any lumps. Pour the creme anglaise through a wire mesh strainer into a heat-safe container.
  • Chill. Immediately place the container in an ice bath to bring the temperature down enough that you can put a lid on it (stir it occasionally to speed up this process), then place it in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight, before churning.
  • Churn. According to your ice cream maker's instructions.
  • Add crumbs. When the ice cream is almost finished churning, add the frozen crumbs. If this isn't possible with your ice cream maker, stir the crumbs in by hand when it finishes churning. Then transfer ice cream to freezer to firm up for at least 2 hours before scooping.