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This iconic Canadian tiger tail ice cream recipe is NO-CHURN so it can be made without an ice cream machine! You’ll love the orange ice cream mixed with black licorice. Don’t let another summer go by without trying this no-churn tiger tail recipe!
Please note: This post was originally published in 2017. I’ve since redone the text but the recipe remains the same.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! I’m so glad my usual day to post something new landed on this spooktacular holiday. Obviously, I had to do something Halloween-themed. You wouldn’t typically think of tiger-tail ice cream when you think of Halloween – but – it’s orange and black, so to me, it fit right in.
I’ve always been a big fan of tiger-tail, although I think it might be one of those flavors that you either HATE or LOVE. It really comes down to whether you’re in the black licorice camp or not. I’ve always been that weird kid who preferred black to red licorice, and would get pretty excited about my grandparents’ bowl of licorice allsorts.
What flavor is tiger tail ice cream?
I know it sounds weird, but tiger tail ice cream is a mix between black licorice and orange ice cream. It is seriously so good!!!
The licorice flavor in this no-churn ice cream (that’s right – NO-CHURN!!!) is thanks to pure star anise extract. It has a strong licorice flavor and you can buy it at almost any grocery store in the bakery aisle. The complementary orange flavor? Pure orange extract, of course. Also in the bakery aisle!
How do you make the black and orange colors?
To achieve that signature orange and black coloring, I used a few drops of gel color from Wilton’s line. I find gel colors are so much easier to use when you’re trying to get a strong shade without an entire bottle of food coloring! The gel also incorporates into icings and (ice cream) very well, without making it too runny. Funny, but I really should have listened to my own advice when I tried to make Oscar a red fire truck cake and ended up with a hot pink one. SO – I highly, highly recommend using gel coloring for this recipe!
These Wilton Gel-Based Food Colors are my favorite!
How do you make no-churn tiger tail ice cream?
No-churn ice cream couldn’t be easier to make!!
BUT – just because it isn’t summer, it doesn’t mean you can’t indulge on the cold creamy stuff! Especially when it’s this easy to make. Whip up some cream, fold in condensed milk, freeze, and voila! Ice cream. Of course, if you want tiger-tail, you’ll need to add in the colors and flavors 😉
Once the condensed milk is folded into the whipping cream, you’ll want to divide the mixture into 2 equal parts: one for black coloring and the star anise, and the other for orange coloring and orange flavor.
To swirl them together, first layer half of the orange ice cream into a freezable container (I like using a loaf pan), and drop spoonfuls of the black ice cream on top. Use a spoon to swirl the two together, and then repeat.
The ice cream will need to be frozen for 5-6 hours before it’s ready. If you’re reading this on Halloween morning, you’ll have just enough time to make a batch of this for a special Halloween dessert! And still have time to sew some spider legs onto a giant black onesie for your husband to wear. 😉
Happy Halloween guys!! Today we’re handing out some Halloween cake pops to Oscar’s pre-school class and going for a quick trick-or-treat run around the neighborhood after dinner. I can’t wait to do a quality check on the kids’ candy bags once they’re in bed…
And then follow up with a scoop of this tiger tail no-churn!
If you’re as big of a fan of no-churn recipes as me, then you HAVE to try these other ice cream flavors:
PrintNo-Churn Tiger Tail Ice Cream
- Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 pint 1x
Description
ice cream made without an ice cream machine! Delightful orange ice cream mixed with black licorice. The best tiger tail recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream, cold
- 1 – 300 mL can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tsp pure orange extract
- 2–3 drops orange gel food colouring*
- 4 tsp pure star anise extract
- 3–4 drops black gel food colouring
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or using an electric handheld mixer, whip the heavy cream on high speed until stiff peaks begin to form, about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, fold in the sweetened condensed milk until incorporated.
- Pour half of the mixture into another large bowl. In one of the bowls, add the orange food colouring and orange flavouring, using a spatula to combine until the mixture is fully saturated with orange. Do the same with the other bowl, using the black colouring and anise extract.
- Pour half of the orange mixture into the bottom of a freezer-safe container, such as a standard loaf pan. Drop half of the black mixture in spoonfuls on top of the orange. Using a spoon or a knife, create gentle swirls between the two colours. Repeat with the remaining orange and remaining black mixture.
- If using a loaf pan, gently press a piece of parchment paper on top of the ice cream. Freeze the ice cream for 5-6 hours. The longer the ice cream is in the freezer, the harder it will become.
Ice cream will last in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- I strongly, strongly recommend using gel food colourings for this recipe, rather than the liquid bottles you can buy at any grocery store. The gel won’t add additional liquid to the recipe and you need much less of it than the liquid version.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Category: ice cream
- Method: no-churn
- Cuisine: canadian
hi Katherine,
May I know if you ever made a video on this? I have no idea how to make swirl for the black stripe?
Hi Michelle! I do not have a video. For the swirls just drop spoonfuls of black ice cream on top of the orange, and then use a knife to swirl it around 🙂
Thanks so much for your reply.
Katherine, I have seen some other recipe that make the Licorice stripe in liquid then serves as drops onto the ice cream (instead of yours is more like making two parts of ice creams). May I know which way is more authentic?
Also, mind do I ask if you also share any other Canadian specialised dish or dessert recipes? Do you have any links to them please? Thanks
Hi Michelle! I can’t actually speak to the authenticity of the recipe, but I would think the traditional way would not involve two separate ice creams? I do it this way because it is a no-churn recipe 🙂 The only other truly “Canadian” recipe that I can think of would be my recipe featuring Girl Guide Cookies https://loveinmyoven.com/girl-guide-cookie-bars/
This ice creaam looks so yummy <3 Gonna try this recipe for sure <3
I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Our version from our local dairy was called Tiger Tiger. I loved the stuff! One day as I was a tween it disappeared. I am so grateful our Canadian friends enjoy it and it is still available. I have a hunch our dairy swiped the idea from Canada in the first place. 😉
Oh, so interesting!!! It’s a pretty great flavor so I can hardly blame them for swiping the idea 😉 Hope you get a chance to try out this no-churn version!
An interesting alternative, but after trying twice, with lots and lots of orange and black gel, it’s a mystery to me how you could possibly get those colors. And after three days in the freezer, it’s still a very soft (and poor) substitute to ice cream.
Hi Roger, I’m sorry to hear that. Did you use the liquid (dropper) food coloring rather than the recommended gel? I could see too much liquid dye being added as the reason for the problem.
Made this today; it is amazingly tasty! I am trying to figure out why the gentleman above (Roger) had issues. Perhaps he didn’t whip the whipping cream enough? Regardless, it should have frozen solid so that’s a real mystery.
I wasn’t as careful as I should have been with the division of the mixture, I’ll be more precise next time. I had to add several extra drops of the black gel food colour to get the dark colour I wanted; thankfully, it didn’t affect the taste at all.
Our local chain ice cream store, Baskin-Robbins used to make Black Licorice Voodoo ice cream every October. I loved it but it disappeared shortly after its debut in 1969. I found out about Tiger tail ice cream and can’t wait to try your recipe! No churn too!
Thank you!