1901 Irn Bru Ice Cream

A batch of homemade ice cream, flavoured with 1901 Irn Bru (the original recipe). A Scottish classic turned into a creamy frozen dessert!

For this batch of homemade ice cream we’re taking our vanilla ice cream recipe and flavouring it with 1901 Irn Bru (the original recipe Irn Bru)! If you’re a fan of the super sweet, classic Scottish drink, you’ll definitely enjoy this ice cream. It’s creamy, tangy & surprisingly, it’s not overly sweet.

Irn Bru has a unique flavour that’s creamy with notes of vanilla, citrus and bubblegum. It’s almost like a tangy, fruity cream soda. The exact flavour of Irn Bru is widely debated in Scotland, where it originates from but whatever the flavour is, it works fantastically in ice cream!

We’re always looking for new flavours of ice cream to make, so feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments below! And to see our other ice cream flavours, take a look at our ice cream recipe collection.

Original Recipe Irn Bru

Irn Bru is an iconic, Scottish soft drink! First released in 1901, this sweet, bright orange carbonated drink contains 32 flavours & is made to a secret recipe. The flavour of Irn Bru is often described as “indescribably” but if you haven’t tried it, it’s sweet & tangy.

In 2018 a sugar tax was introduced in the UK which saw AG Barr (the owner of Irn Bru) reduce the amount of sugar in Irn Bru by almost half, to much outrage! So much so, that in 2021 they started making 1901 Irn Bru, using the old recipe.

The Technical Stuff

Adding Irn Bru to a batch ice cream isn’t without it’s challenges! Here’s how I adjusted my vanilla ice cream recipe, to incorporate enough Irn Bru to flavour the ice cream adequately.

• Reduce the Irn Bru first – To reduce the amount of water in the Irn Bru we reduce it into a syrup before adding it into the custard base. We do this so that our churned ice cream isn’t coarse & icy. Reducing the Irn Bru into a syrup also concentrates its’ flavour.
  After reducing, we top the syrup up with 150g of Irn Bru (from the bottle), so that we have 210 grams in total (this equates to half of the milk content in the original ice cream recipe).
  Due to the acidity in the Irn Bru, we add it to the custard just before churning to avoid breaking down the dairy.
• Replace half of the milk with Irn Bru – Replacing half of the milk in the original recipe with Irn Bru gives a strong enough flavour without negatively affecting the texture & scoopability of our finished ice cream.
• Increase the amount of skimmed milk powder – Because we are replacing half of the milk with Irn Bru, we need to make up the milk solids with skimmed milk powder. The MSNF of whole milk (milk solid not fat) is around 9% so we need to increase the amount of milk powder by 20 grams (9% of 210 = 18.9, which I’ve rounded up to 20 for simplicity). Milk powder absorbs water, so adding it to our ice cream is crucial if we want the smoothest texture possible. Not too much though because it will turn our ice cream gritty!
• Reduced the amount of sugar – Original recipe Irn Bru contains roughly 11 grams of sugar per 100ml. We’re using 650ml of Irn Bru which means that we need to reduce the amount of sugar in the original ice cream recipe by roughly 70 grams.

What You’ll Need

• 1901 Irn Bru – We’re using original recipe Irn Bru for this ice cream. This is available in some supermarkets or online & gives our ice cream the best possible flavour. This recipe was developed using this version of Irn Bru, as it contains more sugar than the new recipe.
• Milk & Cream – Whole milk & double/heavy cream are used in this recipe. These contain the right amount of fat to make our ice cream richer & easier to scoop.
• Sugar – Caster sugar & glucose syrup are used for this batch of ice cream. Both of these add sweetness & the glucose helps prevent ice crystals forming. 
• Skimmed Milk Powder – Milk powder absorbs water & helps emulsify the ice cream which in turn, adds creaminess. Using the right amount is crucial as too much milk powder will turn the ice cream gritty. For this recipe, I’ve used Marvel skimmed milk powder.
• Vanilla – We only need to use a small amount of vanilla paste for this ice cream. A high quality vanilla works best!
• Egg Yolks – Using egg yolks in our custard base adds fat & richness to our ice cream. For this recipe, we need 85 grams of yolks which is roughly 5 egg’s worth.

How To Make Irn Bru Ice Cream

Making ice cream with Irn Bru is surprisingly easy! You make an egg custard base like normal and reduce Irn Bru into a syrup to remove excess water & intensify the flavour. Both components are chilled overnight then mixed together and churned.

1. Reduce Irn Bru Into A Syrup

First we pour 500 grams of Irn Bru into a saucepan then place over a medium-high heat. This is then brought to a boil & reduced into a syrup. This will take around 30 minutes & we should end up with 60 grams of syrup. We then top the syrup up with 150g of Irn Bru (from the bottle) so that we end up with 210 grams in total.

2. Custard Base

To make the custard, we first heat cream, milk, sugar, glucose, milk powder, vanilla & a pinch of salt in a saucepan, until steaming hot. We then temper egg yolks with a third of the warm cream then whisk them back into the pan. Now, we cook the custard over a low heat, stirring regularly until it reaches 82°c/180°f (egg yolks are fully cooked at this temperature).

3. Overnight Chill

Once the custard is cooked, we give it a blitz with a stick blender then pass through a sieve. We leave this to cool then refrigerate both the custard & Irn Bru overnight. It’s key to keep the 2 components separate until just before churning, otherwise the custard may split.

4. Mix Custard Then Churn

The next day, we whisk the cold custard & Irn Bru together then pass it through a sieve, into a jug. Then you can pour the Irn Bru custard into an ice cream machine and churn until it reaches the consistency of soft scoop. If you take the temperature of the churned ice cream, it will be -5°c/23°f when ready. Depending on the machine used, the churning step will take 20-30 minutes.

5. Set In Freezer

Once churned, the ice cream needs to set in the freezer for at least 4 hours before serving. Then you can scoop and serve! This ice cream sets soft enough to scoop incredibly easily.

Homemade Ice Cream Tips & Tricks

• Chill your custard overnight for a better flavour & texture.
• Make sure to use original recipe Irn Bru (1901), as it contains more sugar than the new version.
• Reduce the Irn Bru into a syrup, to remove excess water & to intensify the flavour. This step prevents the ice cream having an icy texture.
• Mix the Irn Bru syrup into the custard just before churning.
• Dip your scoop in hot water for easier scooping!
• Set your freezer to 18°c/-1°f for the best set.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Ice Cream Recipes To Try

• Turkish Delight Stracciatella Ice Cream
• Roasted Cherry Stracciatella Ice Cream
• Amaretto Tiramisu Ice Cream
• Mango & Coconut Ice Cream
• Coffee Stracciatella Ice Cream
• Raspberry Ripple Stracciatella Ice Cream

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