Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Name: Rum Raisin Ice Cream
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

RECIPE: Excerpted from Ice Cream Queen: Flavors from Black America’s Past, Present, & Future. Copyright © 2026 by Lokelani Alabanza. Used with permission of the publisher, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. All rights reserved

Photo: Brittany Conerly

May 04, 2026

A classic boozy ice cream gets a 21st-century glow up.

“During Prohibition, bars gave way to sober ice cream saloons, and socializing over ice cream, not cocktails, was the thing to do,” writes Lokelani Alabanza in Ice Cream Queen. After the ban was repealed, the two joined forces in rum raisin ice cream. “A particular inspiration was the Italiana Màlaga gelato, which combined rum-soaked Sicilian raisins with vanilla gelato,” Alabanza adds. This modern iteration features dried fruit soaked in spiced rum, orange zest, cinnamon, and star anise. Alabanza opts for sun-dried and seedless flame raisins, but any variety will do. The longer you let them steep, the punchier and more flavorful the ice cream will be.

Ingredients

Yield:Makes 1 1/2 to 2 quarts

Rum Raisins
1 cup raisins, preferably flame raisins
4 oz. spiced rum
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
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Vanilla Ice Cream Base
2 cups heavy cream
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup tapioca syrup or light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
6 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp. Madagascar bourbon vanilla paste or seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean pod

Tools:medium heavy-bottomed pot, whisk, medium stainless-steel bowl, large bowl, fine-mesh strainer, heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, blender or immersion blender, ice cream machine, scoop, freezer-proof container
Glass:mason jar

Preparation

Prepare the Rum RaisinsCombine the raisins, rum, orange zest, star anise, and cinnamon stick in a mason jar. Cover the jar with a lid and shake. Let sit at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
Prepare the Ice Cream BaseIn a medium, heavy-bottomed pot, bring the cream, milk, sugar, syrup, and salt to a boil. Whisk occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.

Put a medium stainless-steel bowl in a large bowl filled with ice water. Set a fine-mesh strainer next to the ice bath.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl. Slowly add 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs while whisking. Remove the pot from the heat. Whisk in the egg mixture until combined.

Return the pot to the stove over medium-low heat. Using a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, stir until the mixture thickens slightly and reaches 160°F, making sure it doesn’t curdle.

Strain the mixture into the bowl set in the ice bath. Whisk in the vanilla. Cool, stirring from time to time, until it is cold, then remove from the bath. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight to let the flavor develop.
To Make the Ice CreamMix the ice cream base in a blender or with an immersion blender for 30 seconds. Pour into an ice cream machine and mix in the rum raisins and their soaking liquid, but leave out the star anise and cinnamon stick. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to freeze until the mixture thickens, 25 to 30 minutes depending on your machine.

Scoop the ice cream into a freezer-proof container. Cover with parchment paper or plastic wrap to prevent ice crystals from developing on the top of the ice cream and close with an airtight lid. Freeze for 4 to 6 hours or overnight before scooping.