This creamy horchata ice cream sings with the cozy flavors of cinnamon and toasted rice. Made with 8 ingredients & 30 minutes active time! Enjoy it solo, or atop any favorite dessert.
My Very Original Horchata Ice Cream Recipe
I first shared this recipe back in 2009, the first year that TBG existed. At the time, there were no horchata ice cream recipes online, and I'd never seen one in an ice cream shop or grocery store. But I imagined that the flavors of toasted rice and cinnamon would make a dreamy ice cream flavor using the ice cream base I learned while working as a pastry cook at a Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurant. I was so happy with the results!
Now if you do an internet search for "horchata ice cream" a bunch of recipes come up. This version has stood the test of time, become a reader favorite, and has been in regular rotation in my kitchen as well. I hope you love it too!
Here's what one happy reader had to say about this horchata ice cream recipe:
5-Star Reader Review
“This is FANTASTIC! The ice cream was a HIT at the dinner I brought it too and the recipe is written so clearly! Thanks so much for the recipe and your help!”
—Da Weez
And here's an IG reel from Mauricio's Kitchen making this recipe so you can see how easy it is!
The search for the perfect horchata recipe
Horchata, the traditional Mexican rice-based beverage flavored with cinnamon, can be the perfect drink for putting out the fire in your mouth while you put away a spicy taco or chile relleno. Imagine those sweet, delicate flavors conveyed in a buttery soft scoop of ice cream, and you'll know what's currently taunting me in my freezer.
I made a batch of coconut milk horchata a couple years ago, from a recipe clipped from a magazine, and found it quite satisfactory. But when I gave a sample to a Mexican friend, he balked at the flavor of 'raw rice.' When I tried to wrangle a recipe from him, all he would divulge was the toasting of the rice in a skillet.
I recently asked another coworker, who knows everything about the cuisine of his culture, how to make the stuff; he only shook his head, saying it was 'muy complicado'.
I still have yet to make a classic horchata, although I did share a ginger pumpkin seed horchata, which is dreamy. But I decided to make something I know a lot about instead: homemade ice cream.
Contrary to what you may think, ice cream is one of the easiest desserts to make. All you need is an ice cream maker (this is the one I use) and a few techniques which I break down in the recipe instructions below.
Ingredients
This ice cream comes together with just 8 ingredients.
- Uncooked rice gives the ice cream its signature flavor. Make sure to use regular raw white rice (medium or long grain, such as Jasmine or Basmati) and *not* rice that's been parboiled, like Uncle Ben's, as this will absorb too much liquid while steeping in the milk (I'm guessing this was the reason that some readers had trouble with this recipe when I first posted it)
- Cinnamon sticks and ground cinnamon steep in the cream mixture, adding spicy goodness.
- Whole milk and heavy cream form the base of the ice cream. You can replace the milk with half and half if that's what you have on hand for a richer ice cream. I'm guessing you could replace both the milk and cream with full-fat canned coconut milk for a dairy-free version, though I haven't tested this!
- Egg yolks stabilize the base. I don't recommend swapping these. Although if you're allergic to eggs, you could try omitting the eggs (and skipping the tempering step) and making a Philadelphia-style (eggless) ice cream instead.
- Sugar sweetens the ice cream. I use organic granulated sugar, but any granulated sugar will work. Other sweeteners such as maple syrup/sugar and coconut sugar will work (best to sub by weight), but they would need to be added with the cream since they contain more acidity and can make the ice cream curdle while cooking.
- A pinch of salt sharpens the flavors – a trick I learned in my pastry chef days!
Method
This recipe makes about 6 servings (3 cups) of ice cream. Feel free to increase the recipe as your ice cream maker will accommodate if you like! It takes about 30 minutes of active time, plus some chilling time to make.
Ideally, make the ice cream base a day ahead and let it hang out in the fridge until the next day. This will make a super-smooth ice cream.
For this horchata ice cream recipe, the rice gets toasted in a skillet until golden, then steeped in milk with a cinnamon stick. The custard gets cooked briefly with sugar and egg yolks, mixed with heavy cream, strained, chilled, and spun into ice cream.
This ice cream tastes like Frozen Creamy Rice Pudding
I am fascinated by ice creams and custards which, though frozen, taste of warming flavors. In this horchata ice cream recipe, the toasty rice and spicy cinnamon accomplish just that, making it welcome on either a hot summer day or chilly winter night. A spoonful reminds me of classic rice pudding.
As an added bonus, the rice starch, which soaks into the custard base, works as would gums or stabilizers in commercial ice creams, or cornstarch in gelato. It stabilizes the custard and lends a voluptuous mouthfeel, making the cream soft and pliable right from the freezer.
Some favorite pairings
This ice cream is delicious served on its own, with a bit of cinnamon grated over the top, especially after a hot and spicy meal. But here are some other ways to enjoy it:
- Sandwich it with gluten-free brownie cookies for divine ice cream sandwiches
- Serve scoops over warm paleo apple pie or almond flour apple crisp
- Scoop it over warm gluten-free brownies made with rice flour
- Pair it with gluten-free snickerdoodles for double cinnamon goodness
Got egg whites to use up after making this? Try these recipes:
- flourless pistachio chocolate cake – ground pistachios and 100% chocolate combine with whipped egg whites for a simply delicious cake.
- gluten-free coconut macaroons with almond and brown butter – with chewy middles and crispy edges
- buckwheat flour cake – brown butter and ground hazelnuts combine with buckwheat flour for the most richly flavorful cake ever
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this horchata ice cream recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
Homemade Horchata Ice Cream
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- ⅓ cup (65 g) uncooked medium or long grain white rice
- 1½ cups (350 ml) whole milk
- 2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches each), plus an extra one for grating over the finished ice cream (optional)
- 4 large egg yolks
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 1¼ cup (300 ml) heavy cream
Equipment
- mesh strainer
- saucepan
- heat-proof silicone spatula
Instructions
Infuse the Milk
- In a dry, medium saucepan, toast the rice and cinnamon stick over medium-low heat until the rice is fragrant and barely golden, 2-4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and carefully pour in the milk (it will bubble furiously when it first hits the hot pan). Return to medium-low heat until the milk is hot and steamy, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat, cover and steep for 20 minutes.
- Strain the infused milk through a mesh strainer into a bowl and reserve the hot milk; you should have 1 ⅓ cups. If the rice has absorbed more milk, add more milk to make 1 ⅓ cup. Discard the rice and cinnamon stick.
Make the Ice Cream Base
- Pour the cold heavy cream into a metal bowl and set a fine mesh strainer over the top. Prepare an ice water bath and place the bowl with the cream in it into the ice water bath.
- When the milk has steeped, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl to combine.
- Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the milk mixture back into the pan and cook over medium-low heat. Stir continuously with a wooden spoon or heatproof silicone spatula, until the mixture just starts to thicken on the bottom of the pan and/or reaches 165-170ºF on an instant-read thermometer.
- Immediately strain the mixture into the cold cream, stirring to combine. Stir occasionally until the mixture is cold.
- Refrigerate the ice cream base for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.
Churn the Ice Cream
- Churn the cold ice cream base in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions (this is my preferred ice cream maker because it attaches to my stand mixer) until the ice cream reaches the consistency of a very thick milkshake.
- Scrape the churned ice cream into a container and freeze until firm enough to scoop, 2 - 3 hours or up to several weeks. Grate a bit of cinnamon stick over the ice cream to serve, if desired.
Notes
- Ideally, start this recipe at least 1 day before you want to serve it to allow for chilling and freezing. This will create the smoothest ice cream consistency.
- Ice cream base should be chilled for at least 4 hours before churning, but chilling it overnight will yield a smoother, creamier texture and improved flavor.
- The ice cream needs to 'cure' in the freezer for a few hours after churning. Unless you'd rather put the ice cream maker on the table, with spoons, and let your guests eat out of it like pigs feeding from a trough (my personal preference!).
- In place of milk and cream, use full-fat canned coconut milk for dairy-free horchata ice cream
- In place of sugar, use an equal weight of coconut sugar, or 1/2 cup maple syrup, for refined sugar-free
Tom says
Hey,
I'm pretty interested in making this recipe (my lady friend has a horchata obsession), but being a completely neophyte in the kitched, I have a few questions.
1) Are there any good substitutes for egg yolks in this recipe? I'm terrible at separating them.
2) What's the function of the salt in this recipe? Does a 'pinch' add anything to the flavor?
3) Is it necessary to chill the base in the ice bath before sticking it into the fridge?
Thanks!
alanna says
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your questions!
As for the yolks, there isn't really a substitute, though you could try a couple tablespoons of cornstarch (which is how traditional gelato is thickened) or omitting the yolks all together for a Philidelphia style ice cream. Nothing gives the smoothness and stability of egg yolks, though. If you decide to face your fear, eparating eggs is easier with fresher eggs, which have a firmer, less breakable yolk. If you can score some from a farmer's market (or a friend!) those are the best. Having the eggs at room temp can help too, as the whites are runnier. An easy method is to crack all the eggs into one bowl, then simply lift the yolks out with your fingers. Don't be scared, it just takes a bit of practice!
The pinch of salt bumps up the flavor a bit. I put salt in everything, though I've tasted delicious salt-free ice cream, too. (At Farallon, we even put salt in our whipped cream!)
Since the hot custard is poured into cold cream, I don't feel the need to chill the custard. I learned this technique at a restaurant I used to work at. I use super fresh eggs from happy chickens, and cook the yolks thoroughly, so I'm not worried about bacteria growing. To speed the chilling process though, you can certainly ice bath it.
Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes. : )
carodoeseuro says
Hi!I just wanted to say I loved this recipe--had to make a second batch for my dinner party b/c I had too many "taste tests" on the first one..oops :) I served it with a Mexican chocolate torte, so it was a nice compliment.I just have 1 question: why is it necessary to put the ice cream mixture in an ice bath before going in the fridge? When I strained the horchata custard into the heavy cream, it's already at about a room temp (b/c of the cold cream). I had it in the fridge for 24 hrs before churning. Does it have something to do with the chemistry, or is it OK to just stick in the fridge for future?Thanks!Caroline
alanna says
Thanks for the blog props on your blog- that totally made my day! I'm so glad that you're enjoying the ice cream recipe and the blog. That Mexican chocolate torte sounds delicious - where can I find the recipe?
Thank you for your question. I've updated the instructions to omit the ice bath. The reason to ice bath is a food safety issue - to get the custard base down to 40º as quickly as possible to avoid the possibility of growing bacteria. But since the eggs are cooked to 170º first and since the base *probably* cools down within 2 hours in the fridge, this step is *probably* not necessary. So if you want to be extra safe, you can ice bath, but if you're using fresh eggs from happy chickens, you've cooked your custard properly, and your cream is nice and cold, you're probably in the clear.
ragtimerye says
I just made this and it was excellent! Your blog is really cool and I look forward to making some of the other recipes.
Alanna says
I'm so glad you enjoyed the ice cream, and thank you for the kind words!
da_weez says
This looks delicious! Quick question though: you start with uncooked rice, correct? So we're toasting uncooked rice?
Thanks!
Alanna says
Exactly. :)
da_weez says
This is FANTASTIC! The ice cream was a HIT at the dinner I brought it too and the recipe is written so clearly! Thanks so much for the recipe and your help!
Alanna says
Ha ha, except for the uncooked rice bit. ; ) I'm so glad it was enjoyed! Cheers.
Jennifer Ng says
my number one fan has been demanding a horchata (or something similar to ricanelas from Bi-Rite). glad to find something made from scratch!
Alanna says
Mmm, that ricanelas is amazing! I think this ice cream would take well to having bits of snickerdoodles folded in, too.
Amy says
Oops, I accidentally bought short-grain rice (koshihikari Japanese-style rice). Will that work OK?
Alanna says
I've never heard of that sort of rice - I'll have to check it out. I think it'll work just fine, though. :)
Amy says
It's short-grain white rice, grown in California, and used in Japanese cuisine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshihikari When cooking it, before cooking, the rice needs to be rinsed multiple times until the water is clear. I'm assuming that I can just skip that step for this recipe? Google tells me that the shorter the grain the starchier the rice. Rinsing it would get rid of all the excess starch. What do you recommend--rinse or not rinse? Or if I go get some medium-grain rice, do you rinse or do you use it straight out of the bag?
Alanna says
Oh, cool - thanks for the link! I usually rinse rice to dispense with any dust, but in this case, since you're toasting it in a dry skillet, I think that would just make a mess, esp. with starchier short-grain rice. So I would say, don't rinse it.
I think I specified medium or long-grain in the recipe because that's what the horchata recipes called for that I looked at for inspiration, and because jasmine and basmati rices tend to be more aromatic. But again, I think the short-grain rice should work fine, too. Let me know how it goes! :)
Amy says
Thanks! I'm making it for a "south of the border"-themed work potluck. I will be sure to report back to you! It looks delicious.
Alanna says
Fun! I hope it goes swimmingly. :)
Amy says
Hmmm, made this over the weekend. It tastes DELICIOUS but the yield was really, really small. The rice absorbed a LOT of the liquid in the process. I wonder if I heated it for too long, or if the short-grain rice had some effect.
I'll try the recipe again with long-grain rice and see how that goes. In the meantime, my co-workers get a teeny portion--but I decided to make some Mexican wedding cookies to go along with it, and those turned out awesome. I have not baked cookies in years, and this was a new recipe for me.
Thanks!
Alanna says
Hm, I don't remember my rice absorbing much liquid, so I'm guessing that the short grain would be the culprit, or, like you said, heating the rice and milk for too long. Sorry about that. :| Glad the cookies turned out well, though. (I LOVE Mexican wedding cookies!)
Amy says
The ice cream was GREAT--really great! Just not enough of it :-) I will definitely try again with long-grain rice and not as much heat. Thanks for all your speedy feedback!
Alanna says
It's my pleasure, Amy! So glad you liked the ice cream. Thanks for being my recipe tester. :)
Amy says
I'm trying this recipe again for Thanksgiving, to go with the pumpkin pie. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Alanna says
If there's one thing I like more than horchata it's pumpkin pie. Sounds like a winning combo! Please let me know how it goes.
Linda says
That's "leaches," not "leeches" !!!!!
Alanna says
But Linda, I really like my ice cream filled with bloodsucking parasites. Doesn't everyone? Or perhaps you'd prefer "lech ice cream?" Changing it now and firing my editor. Gotta love the English language.
Seriously, THANK YOU for catching that!
Anonymous says
Be sure to put the rice into the trash, not the garbage disposal, to avoid a plumbing issue. Rice can swell in the pipes!
Alanna says
Yikes - good to know!
Jorge Zapata says
HORCHATA IS NOT MEXICAN BUT FROM SPAIN.
Mexican HORCHATA is different and the original and better version is from Spain
Horchata says
No, it's from Mexico, and the spanish version is fake and sucks balls.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Ha! Thanks for sharing.
Tulea says
Hi there! This sounds so yummilicious! Couple of questions about possible substitutions..
1.) Would full fat coconut milk in place of whole?
2.) Can agave or honey be used instead of sugar?
Alanna says
Aw thank you! I don't think honey will be a great flavor for this ice cream, and I'm not sure about agave - it might mess up the texture. I don't know if coconut milk could work in place of whole milk, but you could certainly try it! Please let me know if you experiment. :)
Alanna says
Hi Natalie! Thanks so much for trying my recipe. I'm sorry you're having this problem! A couple of things you can try: add more milk in step one (1/4-1/2 cup more). Or add the cream with the milk in step one, then after you strain the mixture, set it into an ice water bath to chill. I think the milk and cream can both be increased by 1/4 - 1/2 cup. I've been meaning to revisit this recipe since it's an old favorite. I'll try to do that asap and make any necessary updates. Stay tuned!
james says
absolutely loved the recipe. thank you for sharing. if i wanted to make double the amount, can i just double the ingredients?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad you loved it! Yes, you can absolutely double the ingredients for a larger batch as long as your ice cream maker is big enough. Let me know how it goes!
Evan W says
I made this and it had an incredible creamy flavor! Would recommend!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay! I'm so glad you liked it :)
Erin says
Noticing the imperial to metric conversion and the recipe calls for 1½ cups whole milk and, later, 1¼ cups heavy cream, but both also say 300ml. 1½ cups is actually 355 ml so wondering which measurement is correct for the whole milk?
I’m looking forward to making this!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Erin,
Thank you for catching my typo - I fixed it! Please let me know if you try the ice cream.
-Alanna
Erin says
Whoops, i think you corrected the wrong ingredient. ;)
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
OMG thank you - fixed for real this time!
Koreena Getchell says
This tastes so good, just like a snickerdoodle. I would recommend doubling it, as it doesn't yield enough to even serve four people. I made it to bring to a friend's dinner tonight, but I'll have to make something else in addition to this and serve it a la mode with the ice cream. I don't even want to wait because it's so good, and I just want to eat it all!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw yay, I'm so glad you love it, and thanks for the tip on doubling the batch. Too much ice cream said no one ever! :D
Stephanie says
Hi there,
Your recipe looks awesome! I made some homemade horchata that is came out great. Im a total novice at making ice cream though. Do you have advice starting with horchata, cream, eggs and salt?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
That's a great question! I think you could use horchata instead of the milk, decrease the sugar a little depending how sweet the horchata is, and skip the step of steeping the rice and cinnamon sticks. I would keep in the ground cinnamon for flavor. Please let me know if you try it!
Kelly says
Hi there - we subbed the cream and milk for full fat coconut milk to make this dairy free and it was fabulous!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Brilliant - I'm so glad that worked well! I bet the coconut flavor pairs nicely with the cinnamon and rice too. Yum!