Brown Butter Ice Cream with Pralined Almonds

Happy New Year!! I hope you had a wonderful and blessed holiday! Today is a blisteringly cold day here in Ontario; -17 degrees C, which with the windchill feels like -27 degrees C. It’s one of those days that you don’t want to leave your house. So I thought that it’s only appropriate that I share a ice cream recipe with you. And it’s a really good one too.
I’m new to the ice cream world. I recently purchased an ice cream maker, and it’s changed my life. Well, not literally, but you know what I mean. And for Christmas I received a copy of The Perfect Scoop. Okay so the truth is I ordered it online, wrapped it myself, and labeled it: “To Mom, Love Aiden”. Every 2 year old needs some help with their Christmas shopping don’t they? This book is an absolute must have for anyone who is wanting to delve into making homemade ice cream.
Let’s start with the almonds. Oh my, the almonds. Sweet and wonderful. How could you not love these almonds. You might want to make some extra. Don’t ask me how I know that.
And the ice cream. A creamy, mildly sweet and nutty flavour. One that only brown butter can provide. I’ve always been a bit skeptical of brown butter in desserts, but no longer. What an amazing depth of flavour it provides. Although I wouldn’t normally like nuts in ice cream, I loved these. Some crunchy, some soft, and all with a sweet exterior.
If your looking for an amazing ice cream to try, give this brown butter ice cream a try. You’ll love it!

Brown Butter Ice Cream with Pralined Almonds
Makes about 1 quart
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For the Custard:
6 tablespoons (3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Pralined Almonds:
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 cup (135g) whole almonds, unblanched and untested
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt, preferably fleur de sel

Directions:

For the almonds:
1. In a large skillet, combine the water, sugar, and almonds. Cook the mixture over medium-high heat, stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid comes to a boil.
2. Decrease the heat to medium and continue stirring for a few minutes, until the liquid has crystallized and becomes sandy. The crystallized sugar will begin to liquify, stir the dark syrup at the bottom of the pan, and begin to coat the nuts with it. Continue to stir and glaze the nuts with the syrup, until the almonds are glazed and become glossy and shiny.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and sprinkle with the salt. Pour the almonds onto an ungreased baking sheet and allow to cool completely. Once cool, break up any almond clusters that have formed. Chop up the almonds into small pieces and any sugar. Set aside.

For the ice cream base:
1. In a small frypan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Cook the butter until it is a dark amber. Stir occasionally and watch the butter closely to avoid burning, about 6 minutes. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl.
2. In a large saucepan, bring  heavy cream and milk to a simmer. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, both sugars, and salt until well blended and mixture is thick. Whisk in the brown butter. Slowly whisk in the hot cream mixture into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon and temperature reaches 170 degrees F. This takes approximately 5 minutes. Strain the custard into a large bowl. Refrigerate until cold. Stir in the vanilla.
3. Process custard in ice-cream maker according to manufacturers directions. Transfer to an airtight container and stir in the pralined almonds. Freeze until firm.

Enjoy!

Jessica

Ice cream adapted from Bon Appetit Desserts and Pralined Almonds adapted from The Perfect Scoop.