Tiger Tail Ice Cream Recipe [Tiger Tiger] - Celebration Generation (2024)

Tiger Tail Ice Cream (Tiger-Tiger Ice Cream) - a beloved ice cream flavour in Canada. With my recipe, you can make it yourself, wherever you are!

Originally published July 30, 2012. Updated on 4/29/2021

"Favorite ice cream flavors" was recently the topic of discussion among a group of friends.

Once again, I had to lament the lack of "Tiger Tail" availability in the USA. It was my favorite flavor as a kid, and one of the uniquely Canadian food stuffs that I miss.

Tiger Tail - or “Tiger Tiger”, depending on what area you’re from - is an orange-flavored ice cream with a black licorice ribbon running throughout.

You might recognize the flavor from the Tiger Tail Cake recipe I created, inspired by it.

Well, not being one to just whine about what I can't have, I created a recipe for a homemade version.

Homemade Tiger Tail Ice Cream

Much like the Honey Garlic Cooking Sauce Recipe I created for the same reason... this really hit the spot.

The appearance AND flavors were just right, and the licorice ribbon was just perfect.

As a kid, I used to eat the ice cream from around the thickest parts of ribbon, leaving the best for last... and this homemade version did NOT disappoint, on that front.

Truth be told, I kind of shocked myself!

I know I can create recipes for pretty much anything, but I thought for sure that the sweet, sort of sticky, kind of crystalline texture of the ribbon would take some serious trial and error to perfect.

Nope!

Now, while I realize that this tiger tail ice cream recipe will be heartily welcomed by many of my Canadian readers, I also realize that it will sound weird - or outright disgusting - to most of my American readers.

If you don't have anything against black licorice, I encourage you to give it a try!

It may sound a little wacky to people who haven't been exposed to it, but seriously - even kids love this stuff back home.

A Note on the Licorice Caramel

Due to the way caramel is made, this recipe makes a bit more of the licorice ribbon than you'll actually need.

Save some for a future batch, or heat it up slightly as an ice cream topping. It's good stuff!

This recipe is one of many fantastic Canadian recipes in my cookbook, "More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from my Home and Native Land”. "More than Poutine" is a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional home cooking recipes, as well as accurate homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada! Order your copy here on this site, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller!

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4.89 from 35 votes

See Also

Violet ice-cream, blueberry, vanilla cream and meringue recipe, Brent Savage, Gourmet Institute

Tiger Tail Ice Cream Recipe (AKA Tiger-Tiger Ice Cream Recipe)

As weird as it may sound to some, this is a beloved ice cream flavour in Canada... and has been for decades! You can make it at home, wherever you are!

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

8 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Dessert

Cuisine: Canadian

Servings: 8 Servings

Calories: 406kcal

Author: Marie Porter

Equipment

• Ice Cream Maker

Ingredients

Orange Ice Cream

• 8 Large Egg Yolks
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 2 Cups Milk
• 2 Cups Heavy Cream
• 2-3 teaspoon Blood Orange Extract
• Orange Food Colouring

Licorice Ribbon

• ⅓ Cup Water
• 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
• ½ Cup Butter
• ½ Cup Milk
• 3 teaspoon Anise Extract
• Black Food Colouring

Instructions

Orange Ice Cream Base

• In a large pot, beat egg yolks together with sugar and salt until fluffy. When thoroughly combined, add a little of the milk at a time, whisking until fully incorporated and smooth – you don’t want any unblended chunks of egg mixture. Add remaining milk and heavy cream, whisk until well combined.

• Heat just to the boiling point, whisking constantly. Once mixture begins to boil, remove from heat. Add orange extract, stir to combine. Color to desired tint with food coloring, and allow to cool.

Licorice Ribbon Sauce

• Combine water and sugar in a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil, allow to simmer just until it starts to take on a golden color.

• Remove from heat, add butter carefully – it will steam and may boil up. Stir until completely melted and well combined. Add milk and anise extract, stir to combine. Tint to deep black with food coloring, allow to cool.

To Make The Ice Cream

• Once both the ice cream mixture and the ribbon mixture are cooled to room temperature, move them to the fridge to chill overnight.

• Prepare orange ice cream according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Once ice cream is finished processing, it’s time to create the striping effect:

• Place a few scoops of ice cream randomly in whatever container you’ll be storing it in. Drizzle a scoop of licorice ribbon mixture over it, alloing it to pool in a few areas.

  Add a few more scoops of ice cream, pressing down lightly in a few areas to remove air pockets. Drizzle some more licorice ribbon, add more ice cream, etc.

  Continue to use up the rest of the ice cream – you’ll likely have some licorice ribbon left over.

• Cover and freeze your ice cream container for at least a few hours, to firm up.

• Store any leftover licorice ribbon in the fridge – pour it over ice cream, or save it or your next batch.

Nutrition

Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 284mg | Sodium: 210mg | Potassium: 165mg | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 1258IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 1mg