Delicious gooey full flavoured pecan ice cream! Rich nutty-flavoured ice cream swirled together with some salted caramel and roasted pecan nuts.
If you have an ice cream machine, I have the BEST RECIPE for you!
This Salted Caramel Pecan Ice Cream is gourmet ice cream done right at the comfort of your own home!
Nowadays, ice cream charges a lot for real ice cream, but it's really easy to make! With a few ingredients, we are going to make fancy ice cream that will taste better than Handle ice cream!
Fun fact: did you know Dairy Queen soft serve ice cream is 70% air? That's what I call expensive air! Nowadays, even the inexpensive ice cream you can buy in grocery stores is also filled with more air than usual. Ever tried melting a pint of cheap ice cream? It quickly deflates into a soupy liquid of nothing!
Why Try This Salted Caramel Pecan Ice Cream
The taste is unbelievably delicious and packed with textures. The pecan is lightly toasted so you get more flour and have a darker roasted taste. Besides the taste, here are a few other reasons why you should try it:
- Cheaper - the cost of eating out is very expensive these days, and being able to make gourmet ice cream at home is very self-satisfying! Don't go emptying your wallet at an ice cream parlour when you can make it cheaper at home, and so much more fun!
- It's fun - watching your ice cream churn is fun to watch! And when you swirl the caramel into the ice cream with the toasted pecan, it's like watching a masterpiece of art come together!
- Delicious recipe - I'm not going to lie, there are a few more steps compared to other ice cream recipes, but it is well worth the effort. The taste is complex and you can taste the extra effort you put into making this ice cream!
- The perfect fall ice cream recipe - salted caramel pecan ice cream just screams fall flavour! This is the dessert I serve always after a Thanksgiving dinner because it has flavours that is the vest way to complete a full delicious meal.
Why Use an Ice Cream Machine?
The purpose of the ice cream machine is to freeze your ice cream base. It's a slow process making small ice crystals so the texture is Smoother & Tastier!
I don't have a lot of storage space in my kitchen, but my number one reason in buying an ice cream machine is health. Using an ice cream machine to make ice cream is a healthier reason because many store-bought ice creams are filled with preservatives.
Why Use an Ice Cream Recipe?
No-churn ice cream machine is trending these days, but no-churn recipes lack texture, flavour, and health. In order to make ice cream with a high-speed blender, you need to add more fat and sugar in order for it to have a similar texture and flavour to real ice cream. Simply put, it's not healthier.
If you're a person that likes to control the amount of sugar and fat in your ice cream, invest in an old fashion ice cream machine. Your body will thank you later for it.
Don't Like Dairy? No Problem!
I think the best part of this recipe is if you don't like to use full-fat dairy milk, you can switch it out with some nut milk like coconut milk, coconut cream, cashew milk, soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk!
Plus, many grocery stores lack no dairy ice cream options right now. Having your own ice cream machine to make your own non-dairy ice cream is a great way to eat all your favourite flavours without consuming dairy!
Ingredients
cream
milk
milk is also essential in some old-fashioned ice cream. Just regular whole milk is fine for the recipe.
I highly recommend organic, low-temperature pasteurized, grass-fed, no-hormone milk. Milk should be treated like a treat, and if consumed, I highly recommend to get the best milk available to you. I like the Horizon Organize Grass-fed Whole Milk.
For non-dairy options, you can switch this with your regular nut milk like cashew, soy, oat, and almond.
sugar
Sugar is needed for the recipe. Regular granulated sugar is fine.
egg yolk
To get the ultra smooth and silky ice cream texture, egg yolk is needed. We only need four. Save your egg whites for breakfast or to make other baked goods like meringue or shuffle pancakes.
Butter
To make the caramel, butter is essential. Try to get the more natural butter with no artificial flavouring. The butter will meet some hot temperatures and I find any artificially flavoured butter will taste a bit strange in this recipe.
I like Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter. I can also find it here in Mexico at Costco because the quality of their butter is top quality.
Pecan Nut
This ingredient is something we must have. Toasting chopped pecan is the best and an essential for this recipe. If you accidentally over-toast it by a bit, it's okay. For this recipe it is forgivable and the dark flavour does give it some extra depth of flavour.
Vanilla and Pecan Flavouring Extract
We will be needing both Vanilla and Pecan extract for this recipe. They both add more flavour to the ice cream. Of course the best is to get the real extract, but they can be pricy. Just regular artificial extract will be fine with this recipe.
Professional Tips
Pro Tip #1: Use an Ice Cream Machine
This recipe will not work in a high-speed blender. If you like frozen treats, getting an ice cream machine is a great investment. I am using the Cuisinart Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt Machine. I love it so far and has done amazing for all my frozen yogurt and ice cream recipes.
Pro Tip #2: Get everything ready before you start
There are three steps in this process before you combine everything together. To keep yourself organized and less stressed, read the recipe first and organize in such manner that you have everything ready.
PRO TIP #3: FREEZE IN A CLEAR PLASTIC CONTAINER
Are you like me and have a ton of stuff in your freezer? The best way for me to identify things is to store everything in clear plastic. I like to store mine in clear plastic containers with a lid. This way I can easily identify food in the freezer.
Salted Caramel Pecan Ice Cream
Equipment
- ice cream machine
Ingredients
Salted Caramel
- ¾ cup cane sugar
- 5 tbsp butter room temperature
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1½ tsp sea salt
Ice Cream Sauce
- 1½ cup heavy cream
- 1½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp pecan extract
- 4 egg yolks
Pecan
- ¼ cup chopped pecan
Instructions
Caramel Sauce
- In a medium sauce pan, add the sugar to the pan on medium high heat. Move the sugar around the sauce pan and eventually the sugar will start to melt. Using a metal whisk, move the liquid around for 3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
- Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the sugary liquid. Whisk the butter and sugar liquid together until fully incorporated. Then add the cream and vanilla. Whisk until the mixture comes together.
- Divide the caramel into two equal heat-proof bowls. Divide the salt and place it on top of the caramel. Set to the side to cool.
Ice Cream Sauce
- In a large sauce pan, heat the heavy cream, milk and sugar on medium heat. Once the liquid starts to boil, whisk in the salt, vanilla, and pecan extract. Take off the heat.
- In a separate bowl, separate the egg yolk and egg white.
- While whisking the hot milk liquid, slowly add the egg yolk and vigerously whisk the egg yolk into the warm liquid. Keep whisking until the egg yolk is completely incorporated into the liquid. Put the pan back on the heat on low heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add one of the bowl of the caramel into the liquid and keep whisking it. Simmer for another 3 minutes.
- Take the liquid off the heat, and scrap it to a heat proof bowl. Let the liquid cool completely to room temperature and place it in the fridge for 5 hours or overnight.
Pecan
- In a sauce pan on medium high heat, toast the pecans until brown or then it is fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Salted Caramel Pecan Ice Cream
- Plug in the ice cream machine and insert the freeze bowl into the machine.
- Have all three: caramel sauce, ice cream sauce, and toasted pecans on the table.
- Turn on the machine, and first add the ice cream liquid into the freezer bowl. Then add the toasted pecans. The machine will churn the liquid into ice cream in 25-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, take your ice cream vessel out. Put â…“ of the caramel at the bottom of the vessel.
- One the ice cream is done, scoop â…“ of the ice cream into the vessel along with the caramel. Alternate between the caramel and ice cream until it is finished. Place the ice cream into the freezer for 3 hours before serving.
