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Blue Moon Ice Cream

Blue Moon ice cream is a vivid electric-blue, almond-vanilla fruity frozen custard made with a cooked egg-yolk base, then churned and frozen until firm. The subtle citrus-almond flavor and recognizable blue color come from extract aromatics plus blue food coloring added to taste.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 395
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Heavy cream
  • 2 cup heavy cream
Whole milk
  • 1 cup whole milk
Granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
Egg yolks
  • 4 egg yolks
Almond extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
Vanilla extract
  • 0.5 tsp vanilla extract
Raspberry extract or blue raspberry flavoring
  • 0.5 tsp raspberry extract or blue raspberry flavoring
Lemon extract
  • 0.25 tsp lemon extract
Blue food coloring
  • blue food coloring Add a few drops at a time until the desired electric blue is reached.

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Make the custard base
  1. Heat heavy cream and whole milk in a saucepan until steaming, then slowly whisk the hot dairy into egg yolks beaten with granulated sugar.
  2. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring, until it reaches 175°F; strain the custard and let it cool slightly.
Flavor and color
  1. Stir in almond extract, vanilla extract, raspberry extract or blue raspberry flavoring, and lemon extract until smooth.
  2. Add blue food coloring a few drops at a time until the desired electric blue is achieved, stirring after each addition.
  3. Cool completely before refrigerating.
Chill, churn, and freeze
  1. Refrigerate the custard for 4 hours, until thoroughly chilled.
  2. Churn the chilled mixture in an ice cream maker until thickened and creamy.
  3. Freeze in a container until firm before serving.

Notes

Pro tip: Keep the custard moving while heating so it thickens evenly and doesn’t curdle; straining removes any tiny bits for a smoother scoop. Refrigerate churned ice cream up to 3 days; freeze for up to 2 months for best texture. For a dairy-free swap, use a plant-based heavy cream and whole-milk alternative plus an egg-free custard base method, but the classic texture will be different.