Sweets | Bourbon Pecan Praline Ice Cream

Posted on November 29, 2011

Okay, so my Thanksgiving inspired ice cream is late, but is there really a bad time for bourbon ice cream? My husband ended up picking the flavor. I had a few on the list, when I read them to him, he said "You had me at bourbon." The pecan pralines are a nod to pecan pie.

Yield: 2 pints / 1 quart

Ingredients

ICE CREAM

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream (divided 1 cup, 1 cup)

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste

6 large egg yolks

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons bourbon

3/4 cup Pralined Pecans coarsely chopped (or more, to taste)

 

PRALINED PECANS

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup whole pecans, untoasted

1/8 teaspoon coarse salt, preferably fleur de sel

 

Method

ICE CREAM

Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Add the vanilla bean paste.

Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla extract. And stir until cool over an ice bath.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. Just before freezing, add bourbon and stir. Then pour mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's instructions.

After churning the ice cream, stir in the praline pecans. Transfer ice cream to freezer proof containers and freeze.

PRALINED PECANS

Mix the water, sugar, and pecans in a large, heavy-duty skillet. Put the pan over medium to high heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar dissolves and the liquid boils.

Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking and stirring for just a few minutes, until the liquid crystallizes and becomes very sandy. Very soon the crystals of sugar on the bottom of the pan will begin to liquefy. Stir the dark syrup at the bottom of the pan over the nuts to coat them. Continue to stir the nuts and scrape the syrup over them until the pecans are glazed and become a bit glossy and shinny. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle the pecans with salt. Tip them onto an ungreased baking sheet and allow them to cool completely. As they cool, break up any clusters that are stuck together.

 

(Ref. "Vanilla Ice Cream" and "Pralined Almonds" recipes, The Perfect Scoop.)