Pralines and Cream Ice Cream
Homemade Pralines and Cream Ice Cream features freshly candied pecans in a creamy vanilla ice cream base with swirls of gooey caramel.
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
For the Pralines:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup pecans
For the Ice Cream:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup caramel 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.
- Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, heavy cream, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil and let cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Add the pecans and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, until the syrup thickens and coats the pecans.
- Pour out onto a baking sheet and spread with a spatula. Let cool completely before breaking into small pieces. Reserve for later.
- In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream, whole milk, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Whisk for 2-3 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved into the mixture. You should not feel any grit if you rub the mixture together between two fingers.
- Churn the ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions (mine took about 25 minutes), until it is thick and the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.
- In the last two minutes of the churn, add all but 2 tablespoons of the pralines, reserving those for later. Churn until evenly distributed.
- Spoon the ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Top with the caramel sauce and swirl with a spatula. Sprinkle with reserved pralines.
- 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
- Your ice cream base and ice cream bowl both need to be very cold in order for it to churn. If your base is not cold, place it in the freezer for an hour or so until it is chilled.
- It is important that the granulated sugar dissolves into the milk. This creates a smoother consistency in your final ice cream.
- It’s very important that your mixture is really cold before going into the ice cream machine to churn. If you find that it is not cold enough, let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before churning. If it’s not cold enough, it will not get thick.
- If you do not want to make your own pralines, you can use store-bought pralines.
- I used store-bought caramel sauce for this recipe, but you can use homemade instead. Salted caramel, butterscotch or dulce de leche would also be good alternatives in this recipe.