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Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Source of Recipe


From "Serendipity Sundaes" by Stephen Bruce



List of Ingredients



• 1½ cups pecan halves
  
• 3 large egg yolks
  
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• ¾ cup light cream
  
• ¾ cup heavy cream
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  






Instructions



1. Place pecans on a cookie sheet and roast them at 350° F for 6 minutes. Turn the sheet once, front to back, for even toasting. Remove baking sheet from oven when pecans are fragrant, but not blackened. Set aside until pecans are cool. Whisk egg yolks in a medium heat-safe bowl until pale yellow, and set aside.
   
   
2. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt butter until it begins to brown and smell nutty, stirring constantly. Add brown sugar and stir until melted. Reduce heat to low, add milk and light cream, and bring to a simmer. Add half the milk mixture to the egg yolks and whisk until blended. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the remaining milk and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 10 minutes. (Be extremely careful not to overheat, as it is easy to curdle egg yolks. Small lumps will quickly develop, and the correct consistency will be ruined. If testing with a candy thermometer, do not heat past 170° F.) Strain into a clean, large, heat-safe bowl. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate until completely cold, preferably overnight.
   
   
3. Stir gently and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Add the toasted pecans to the ice cream in the last 5 minutes of churning, and let the machine mix them in. Remove the ice cream with a plastic spatula and store in a plastic container in the freezer.
   
   Makes 1 generous quart.