Most commercially made butter pecan ice cream contains artificial butter flavor—yuck! Our recipe, inspired by local pastry chef Emily Luchetti, uses the real thing and goes a step further by using browned butter, which is a perfect complement to toasty pecans. Butter is browned by cooking it carefully over low heat until the milk solids darken and develop a nutty flavor. We take it to a deep hazelnut color to ensure the flavor comes through even after the butter is combined with the base.
TECHNIQUE: Ice cream
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Ice cream machine
CHILLING TIME: 2 hours or overnight
SHELF LIFE: 1 week
INGREDIENTS:
- 5 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1¾ cups heavy cream
- ¼ cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup 1% or 2% milk
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup chopped toasted pecans (see Buying and Using Nuts)
INSTRUCTIONS:
MAKE THE BASE
- In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks just to break them up, then whisk in half of the sugar (6 tablespoons). Set aside. Set the cream by the stove.
- Put the butter in a heavy nonreactive saucepan and put the pan over medium heat. Cook the butter until it turns brown and has a nutty smell. Add the cream to the pan and stir until blended. Add the milk, salt, and the remaining sugar (6 tablespoons) and increase the heat to medium-high. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
- Scoop out about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ½ cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir the cream in the saucepan as you slowly pour the egg-and-cream mixture from the bowl into the pan.
- Cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened, coats the back of a spatula, and holds a clear path when you run your finger across the spatula, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
- Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. Set the container into an ice-water bath, wash your spatula, and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Remove the container from the ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight.
FREEZE THE ICE CREAM
- Add the vanilla to the chilled base and stir until blended.
- Freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you’ll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Add the pecans in the last minute or so of churning, or fold them in by hand after transferring the ice cream to the chilled container. Enjoy right away or, for a firmer ice cream, freeze for at least 4 hours.
SERVE IT WITH …
- Chocolate Ice Cream, Caramelized Banana Ice Cream, or Salted Caramel Ice Cream
- Great Yellow Cake, Caramel Sauce, and Spiced Pecans for an autumnal ice cream cake.
