Turtle Ice Cream
Turtle Ice Cream is a decadent homemade ice cream recipe packed with chocolate chunks, toasted pecans, and swirled with caramel and chocolate fudge.
Equipment
- Set of 2 Reusable Ice Cream Tub Containers For Homemade Ice Cream 1.6 Quart
- Cusinart ICE-70P1 2-Quart Cool Creations Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt, Gelato and Sorbet Maker, LCD Screen with Countdown Timer, Makes Frozen Treats in 20-Minutes or Less, Stainless Steel
- KitchenAid KO117OHAQA Gourmet Ice Cream Scoop, One Size, Matte Aqua Sky
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 cup toasted pecans roughly chopped
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped
- ½ cup caramel sauce
- ½ cup fudge sauce
Instructions
- Chill the ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours or until solid. You should not hear any water sloshing around when you shake the bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until smooth and pale yellow in color.
- Add the milk and salt to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Be sure not to boil.
- Add about 1/2 cup of the hot milk to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk constantly until combined.
- Then, add the tempered egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
- Heat the saucepan on low. Stirring constantly, heat until the base has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes.
- Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove any pieces of egg that may have cooked.
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract and stir to combine.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base. This will help keep it from forming a skin while chilling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or until cold.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 20 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- In the last two minutes, add the chopped chocolate and all but one tablespoon of the toasted pecans. Churn until they are evenly distributed.
- Spoon half of the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan.
- Top with half of the caramel sauce and chocolate sauce and lightly swirl with a spoon.
- Repeat with remaining ice cream, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce. Top with remaining pecans.
- Press plastic wrap or wax paper to the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
- Let sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- This is a traditional, or french-style, ice cream which is made with a custard base that contains eggs.
- The almond extract gives the ice cream an extra boost of nutty flavor. You could omit if you would like, but I think it gives the base more of a turtle taste. Be sure to use a good quality almond extract. Also do not be tempted to add more almond extract, as it can taste artificial if you use too much. The vanilla extract helps round out the almond flavor.
- Toasting the pecans helps bring out the flavor. You can toast them in the oven or in a skillet. I like to place them in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly so that they don’t burn.
- You can use storebought sauces, or make them yourself if you prefer.