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Browned Butter Pecan Ice Cream -With or Without an Ice Cream Maker |Cooking With Carolyn
Ingredients Yield: 1 Quart
· 6 to 8 Ounces Pecans, toasted
· 2 Cups Milk, 2% or Whole
· 2 Cups Heavy Cream
· 4 Tablespoons Regular Salted Butter**
· 8 Egg Yolks
· 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, firmly packed
· 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
· ¾ Teaspoon Kosher Salt OR ½ Teaspoon Table Salt
· 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Directions
**Notes: Salted butter was used for this recipe in addition to using a small amount of kosher salt. If unsalted butter is used, be sure add your choice of salt to taste once the custard is made.
Toast the pecans in a medium size skillet over medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Constantly toss and move the pecans around the skillet. Don’t burn them. Let them rest on a plate.
Combine the milk, heavy cream, and half of the pecans in a large sauce pan or pot and bring to a slight simmer over medium-high heat and then immediately turn the heat down to medium for about 5 minutes. Cover, turn off the heat and steep the pecans for 1 to 2 hours.
Just before the pecans are done steeping in the milk mixture, melt and brown the butter in a small skillet over medium heat just until it turns a golden color. It should only take 1 to 2 minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Next, combine the egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, COOLED browned butter and salt in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.
Drain the milk mixture into a bowl and discard the pecans. To temper the egg mixture, vigorously whisk it while slowly adding one third of the milk mixture. Once it’s combined, mix in the remaining milk mixture.
Now add the custard back to the pot, turn the heat to medium, whisk and stir the mixture every 2 to 3 minutes, and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the custard has thickened. (Note: The custard will be thickened once it coats the back of a spoon.) Turn off the heat.
Pour the custard from the pot into a large bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Create an ice bath. Fill a large bowl (This bowl must be larger than the one holding the custard) with cold water and ice to go half way up the outside of the custard bowl. Next, whisk in the vanilla extract. Keep whisking the mixture while still in the ice bath until the temperature comes down to 40 degrees.
Using an Ice Cream Maker
At this point, if you’re going to use an ice cream maker, cover and refrigerate the custard for a minimum of 2 hours up to overnight and then follow the manufacturer’s directions for your particular machine.
Not Using an Ice Cream Maker
Pour the cool custard into 9x9 baking dish and freeze for 45 minutes to 1 hour. After the 1st freezing cycle, whisk and stir the custard. Put the custard back into the freezer and freeze for another 1 hour. Do this for three 1-Hour cycles. Fold the remaining toasted pecans into the custard. The custard should resemble a loose soft serve ice cream texture once it’s stirred in the dish, if not, you may place it back into the freezer for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.
Finally, add the custard to one or two air tight containers and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours to overnight. (Note: If the ice cream becomes too hard to scoop you can allow it to sit for about 5 minutes and dip the ice cream scooper into hot water before serving.) Enjoy.