Brown Butter Ice Cream
Servings:
6 servings
prep time:
45 mins
cook time:
11 hours 15 mins
Total time:
12 hours 0 mins
Ingredients
-
Vermont Creamery Unsalted Cultured Butter - 82% Butterfat
4 oz
-
2 cups heavy cream
-
1 ½ cups whole milk
-
½ cup brown sugar
-
⅓ cup granulated sugar
-
½ tsp salt
-
6 egg yolks
-
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
-
1 cup pecans, chopped
-
2 tablespoons egg white
-
3 tablespoons sugar
-
⅛ tsp salt
-
½ cup finely chopped dark chocolate
Directions
- Place butter in a medium skillet and melt completely over medium high heat. Cook the butter, stirring gently, until the milk solids start to turn light brown. The milk solids will brown quickly, so don't be afraid to pull the pan off the heat to slow the browning down if you're unsure how quickly they're toasting. The butter will give off a nutty, toasty, and slightly caramelized scent when browned. Pour the browned butter into a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, bring the cream and the whole milk to a light simmer. Remove from heat.
- In a separate bowl, whisk both the brown and white sugars with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add in the egg yolks and whisk well. Add the browned butter to the sugar and egg mixture.
- Gradually whisk the warm cream into the sugar and egg mixture. Work in small batches at first to help warm the eggs but not scramble them. Return this mixture to your saucepan and heat on medium for 5 minutes. Pour into a heat safe bowl or mason jar and add in vanilla extract. Let cool on counter slightly before storing in the refrigerator to fully chill at least 6 hours or overnight.
- While the ice cream custard is chilling, make the candied pecans. Heat oven to 300ºF. In a small bowl combine the pecans, egg white, 3 tablespoons of the sugar and 1/8th tablespoon of salt. Stir well to coat the pecans, then spread mixture onto a nonstick cookie sheet or parchment-lined pan. Bake, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes or until evenly toasted. The nuts will be done when they're lightly toasted, and the egg white mixture is almost fully dry. Give the nuts one more toss after removing them from the oven to keep them from sticking to the cookie sheet, and then let cool fully.
- Once your ice cream base/custard has cooled completely, process in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Layer the thickened ice cream with the chopped chocolate and candied nuts before freezing the ice cream for a few hours to firm up before serving.
