Palmer House Ice Cream
Palmer House Ice Cream was originally created for the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago and its one of the five flavors on the iconic rainbow cone! It’s a vanilla ice cream with cherries and walnuts.
If you’re looking for more homemade ice cream recipes, check out other recipes like Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Without Eggs, Cookies and Cream Coffee Ice Cream, Organic Rocky Road Ice Cream, or Salted Caramel No Churn Ice Cream.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Palmer House Ice Cream
- Ready In: 1 day
- Makes: 12 servings
- Main Ingredients: heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, cherries, walnuts
- Flavor Profile: sweet cherry with buttery, toasted walnuts
- Dietary Info: no seed oils, eggless, gluten free
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: one of the five flavors in the iconic rainbow cone
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Eggless: This is a no churn ice cream recipe that uses heavy whipping cream as the base. No eggs are needed!
- No Artificial Colors: Many traditional store bought ice creams contain artificial colors, this is free of artificial colors and flavors.
- Buttery & Rich: I have a little secret ingredient in this ice cream to give this vanilla ice cream baes a bit more flavor! That secret is my homemade caramel sauce. It adds a buttery and rich flavor, while keeping the flavor profile of this classic treat.
- Uses Fresh Cherries: I use fresh organic cherries instead of maraschino cherries for a more true and real flavor here.
What is Palmer House Ice Cream?
Palmer House Ice Cream is a vanilla ice cream base that has cherries and walnut pieces throughout. It was originally created for the historic Chicago Palmer House Hotel. But, most Chicagoans, including myself, know it as one of the five flavors in the iconic Original Rainbow Cone.
The legendary Rainbow Cone Ice Cream Shop was within walking distance to my house growing up. We’re talking about the original location (in Beverly) in the bright pink building guys, not one of the many franchise locations they now have. So, this ice cream was a special treat we got during the summer, as they also used to only be open in the summer months!
But, since going organic, I haven’t had a classic rainbow cone in probably twenty years! The last time was when I took my husband home to meet the family and dot him around Chicago to all my favorite places.
While the iconic Rainbow Cone will always have a special place in my heart, the ingredients are not a part of my lifestyle anymore. So, this summer I have made it my mission to make an organic rainbow cone at home to enjoy the nostalgic treat.
The iconic rainbow cone is made up of five flavors: chocolate, strawberry, pistachio, Palmer House, and orange sherbet. It’s not scooped, but spaded (or sliced) so it looks like a rainbow on your ice cream cone.
Now, I can easily buy organic chocolate and strawberry ice cream, Straus Creamy makes some of our favorites, so those are easy. It’s the last three I can’t buy organic. So, that’s my mission to make them this summer—Palmer House, pistachio and orange sherbet. And, I just got a huge bag of fresh cherries from my friend’s tree. So, today is all about the Palmer House Ice Cream flavor!
Ingredients
- Heavy Whipping Cream: I use organic heavy whipping cream that we whip into whipped cream. This aerating process is what is going to bring air into this ice cream and keep it creamy without eggs.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: This ingredient is essential for no churn ice cream because it lowers the freezing point which helps keep this ice cream creamy
- Walnuts: I use organic regenerative toasted walnuts to give this a toasty and nutty flavor. If you don’t have toasted walnuts, you can toast raw walnuts on a baking sheet at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Cherries: I use real cherries here as I prefer the flavor. But, if you want to use maraschino cherries, you can do that too. If you want to use frozen cherries, you can also do that but you want to thaw them in the fridge for 24 hours before using. Then be sure to strain off excess liquid as you don’t want that in the ice cream as it will make it icy.
- Caramel Sauce: Now, caramel sauce is not traditionally in Palmer House Ice Cream. However, the Rainbow Cone version always tasted “buttery” to me and it also has a light yellow color. This is because it's traditionally made up of New York vanilla ice cream, which is a custard base ice cream using egg yolks. So, that's where the buttery, rich flavor and slightly yellow color come from. So, while this is a no churn ice cream without eggs, I’m using a tiny amount of my Homemade True Caramel Sauce to get a light, buttery color as well as a buttery and richer flavor. You can use store bought caramel sauce, but I think it’s so much better when you can make your own!
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Tips for Palmer House Ice Cream
- If you’re making my Homemade True Caramel Sauce, make it a day in advance so it has time to cool completely.
- You can use store-bought caramel if you prefer, but it’s just not as good!
- I use fresh organic cherries for this, but you can also use maraschino cherries if you prefer. I like the flavor of real cherries better, but either works.
- I use toasted walnuts, but if you only have raw, then you can toast them in the oven at 350°F for about 5 to 10 minutes for that toasted flavor.
- Be sure to store ice cream in an airtight container or ice cream tub to prevent freezer burn.
How to Make Palmer House Ice Cream
- First, chop the walnuts. Then, pit the cherries and chop into small pieces.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract.
- Mix, starting on low to avoid splattering, then gradually increase the speed until you are full speed. Whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce to the whipped cream.
- Fold together to combine completely until you have a smooth ice cream case.
- Transfer a third of the ice cream base into a loaf and spread it out evenly. Add in a third of the cherries and walnut pieces. Top with another third of the ice cream base and add in more cherries and walnuts. Repeat one last time with the remaining ice cream base, cherries and walnuts. Transfer the ice cream to the freezer to set overnight.
Ways to Enjoy
- I made this Palmer House Ice Cream so I can make the iconic rainbow cone at home, with organic ingredients. So, I’ll be scooping mine with chocolate, strawberry, pistachio and orange sherbet!
- Enjoy with your favorite soft cookies and make ice cream sandwiches, try it with Eggless Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies, Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies, Eggless Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Use it as the middle ice cream in my Olive Oil Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches or Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches.
- Scoop it on top of Cherry Chocolate Chip Pie, Peach Crumble Pie, or Old Fashioned Dutch Apple Pie.
- Make it into a milkshake or blizzard!
Recipe FAQ's
Palmer House Ice Cream is a vanilla ice cream base that has cherries and walnut pieces throughout. It was originally created for the historic Chicago Palmer House Hotel. But, most Chicagoans, including myself, know it as one of the five flavors in the iconic Rainbow Cone.
It's called Palmer House Ice Cream because it was created for the historic Palmer House Hotel in Chicago. Ironically, it's made up of New York vanilla ice cream (ha!) with cherries and walnuts.
No, you don't need an ice cream maker for no churn ice cream. You just need a stand mixer or a hand mixer, either works.
No churn ice cream uses heavy whipping cream as the base. It's whipped up into whipped cream, which adds air into the cream. Then, combined with sweetened condensed milk, the ice cream base becomes a sweet blank canvas you can add other flavors to. The sweetened condensed lowers the freezing point and the whipped cream provides air, so the ice cream is easily scooped and incredibly creamy!
You don’t need to if you don’t want the best buttery, rich vanilla ice cream base. This doesn’t make it taste like caramel, but it adds depth of flavor. It will be more one note vanilla without the caramel addition.
Yes, if you prefer. Though, I always think homemade is best!
Yes, if you want to use frozen cherries you can. You will need to thaw them in the fridge for 24 hours beforehand. Then drain off excess liquid as we don't want that as it will cause the ice cream to be icy. Then you can use them! This can be a good trick if you don't want to pit cherries.
Yes, if you want a sweeter cherry flavor, you can use maraschino cherries too.
You can, but traditionally this is made with walnuts.
Store in an airtight container or ice cream container in the freezer. It is best eaten within 3 months.
This is ice cream, so really, it will last for up to 3 months in your freezer, it's best eaten within the first few weeks.
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Palmer House Ice Cream
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer (or hand mixer)
Ingredients
- 1 cup toasted walnuts (chopped)
- 1 cup diced cherries
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon caramel sauce
Instructions
- First, chop the walnuts. Then, pit the cherries and chop into small pieces.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract. Mix, starting on low to avoid splattering, then gradually increase the speed until you are full speed. Whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce to the whipped cream and fold together to combine completely until you have a smooth ice cream case.
- Transfer a third of the ice cream base into a loaf and spread it out evenly. Add in a third of the cherries and walnut pieces.
- Top with another third of the ice cream base and add in more cherries and walnuts. Repeat one last time with the remaining ice cream base, cherries and walnuts.
- Transfer the ice cream to the freezer to set overnight.
- Be sure to store ice cream in an airtight container or ice cream container in the freezer.
Video
Notes
- If you’re making my Homemade True Caramel Sauce, make it a day in advance so it has time to cool completely.
- You can use store-bought caramel if you prefer, but it’s just not as good!
- I use fresh organic cherries for this, but you can also use maraschino cherries if you prefer. I like the flavor of real cherries better, but either works.
- I use toasted walnuts, but if you only have raw, then you can toast them in the oven at 350°F for about 5 to 10 minutes for that toasted flavor.
- Be sure to store ice cream in an airtight container or ice cream tub to prevent freezer burn.
- High Altitude — Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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Incredibly nostalgic and so easy to make!