Homemade Turtle Ice Cream Pie

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Homemade Turtle Ice Cream Pie..aka your new go-to summer dessert! It’s easy, simple, but oh so delicious. The filling is made with homemade vanilla ice cream, toasted pecans chunks, dark chocolate chips, and swirled with a homemade caramel sauce. The deliciousness doesn’t stop there, trust me! The crust is a super simple mix of crushed Oreos and salted butter. The combination between the filling and the crust is seriously delicious! Oh, and topping this ice cream pie with a homemade chocolate sauce, extra caramel, pecans, and chantilly cream…all frozen into a delicious summertime treat. This is guaranteed to be everyone’s favorite ice cream pie!

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Homemade Turtle Ice Cream Pie

About The Recipe

We’re back with one of our first ever recipes on our blog, now updated, and better than ever! This ice cream pie is seriously what dreams are made of. It’s like your childhood favorite candy…with ice cream! Can it get any better?

Oh, and did I mention how easy this is to make? You can use homemade or store-bought ingredients for this recipe. Just mix everything together and let it freeze! It’s so simple and absolutely delicious.

But, for the fun of it, my mom and I decided to make everything from scratch. So, if you’re up for trying new things, we got you covered! From homemade caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and even a cookie crust.

In our original recipe, this whole pie was a bit of a disaster. It tasted great, but some of the components just weren’t working for us. Our original chocolate sauce was more ganache-like and the caramel sauce would solidified in the freezer.

So, my mom went back and rewrote everything! New recipe, new photos, new deliciousness, and even easier to make!

The most important thing with this recipe is…well, okay – TWO most important things are that you swirl the caramel through the ice cream and to work quickly! Summer and ice cream just go together. It makes sense, but trying to work with it before it completely melts can be a challenge!

So, work quickly and make sure you have enough room in your freezer for a pie pan. You don’t want the pie pan to be tilted as it freezes. It must be level.

If it’s not, the ice cream may slide out of the crust and make a mess. So, be sure to keep this in mind when you’re making this delicious dessert!

Equipment Needed

• Food Processor
• 9 Inch Pie Pan
• Mixing Bowls
• Rubber Spatula
• Small Pot
• Wooden Spoon
• Sieve

Ingredients

For The Caramel:

• Sugar
• Lemon Juice
• Butter
• Milk

For The Chocolate Sauce:

• Chocolate Chips
• Heavy Cream
• Corn Syrup
• Cocoa Powder
• Simple Syrup

For The Cookie Crust:

• Oreos, or any other chocolate sandwich cookie
• Salted Butter

For The Filling:

• Vanilla Ice Cream
• Toasted Pecans
• Chocolate Chips
• Caramel Sauce
• Chocolate Sauce

How To Make Turtle Ice Cream Pie

Place Oreo’s in the largest bowl of the food processor and process until crumbly.

Add melted butter and process until thoroughly incorporated.

Dump mixture into pie plate and press the mixture firmly across the bottom and sides. Make sure it’s level! Bake at 350 for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Warm cream and keep it warm.

Combine sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar has melted and is starting to turn golden.

Remove from heat and stir in butter, one pat at a time.

Stir in the cream. Set aside.

For the chocolate sauce, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely melted.

Pour over cocoa powder and mix together.

In a small saucepan, combine cream and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat until it just starts to boil. Pour over chocolate pieces and let stand for 2 minutes. Gently stir together using a spatula.

Stir in the bloomed cocoa powder. Set aside.

Let’s put it all together now! Mix together the softened vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans.

Add half of the ice cream filling to the pie crust.

Top with 1/2 cup caramel sauce.

Finish with the remaining amount of ice cream, spreading it evenly cross.

Using a chopstick or the handle of a wooden spoon, swirl the caramel through the ice cream.

Freeze until solid, at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. Top with chantilly cream, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce! Serve.

Quick Tips For The Perfect Caramel Sauce

Trust me, I know sugar work can be scary, but if you follow all these tips, you should have a perfect caramel sauce every time!

• The most important thing for you to remember is not to panic! You are in control of the caramel. The caramel doesn’t control you. Don’t let it intimate you!
• Never leave it unattended. Super important. This is the quickest way to let it burn. The minute you take your eyes off it, It’ll probably be ruined. It happens to the best of us!
• Mix in the butter quickly, but not all at once. Pre-slice your butter into chunks and keep it close by before you melt the sugar down!
• Don’t skip warming the cream! Put it in a small boiler and place it over low heat until you need to mix it into the caramel.

What Kind of Chocolate Should I Use For The Sauce?

The best kind is a semisweet chocolate, trust me! That is about 64%. It allows for a rich dark chocolate flavor, without all the bitterness! Be sure to also use a higher quality chocolate rather than just baking chips. It’ll work and taste MUCH better!

Chocolate Sauce Troubleshooting

The Chocolate Didn’t Melt: Did you use baking chips? If so, that might be why! They are designed to hold their shape rather than melt. It could also be that the milk wasn’t as hot as it should be or you didn’t let it stand for a few minutes before stirring.

The Sauce Is Lumpy: Again, this could be a few things. Was all the chocolate melted? Was the cocoa powder fully incorporated into the simple syrup? If not, try sifting your cocoa powder beforehand to try and reduce the risk of lumps.

Homemade Ingredients vs Store-Bought?

Don’t have time to make this all by hand? You can substitute the ice cream for a store-bought vanilla bean ice cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and even a cookie crust! It won’t taste as good as making it all homemade, but if you’re in a pinch for time, you can substitute things for store-bought if necessary. We just can’t personally predict how it may come out.

How To Store

The best way to store this pie is to keep it covered and in the freezer! It should last for about a month! You could also slice it and store individual slices if you prefer.

Substitutions

• You can use any chocolate sandwich cookie you can find. Even homemade ones!
• Store-bought ice cream, cookie crust, chocolate sauce, and caramel sauce can all be used in this recipe, if needed.
• Don’t have pecans? You can use chopped almonds!

Expert Tips

• Do NOT use a whisk to beat chocolate sauce! It will cause air bubbles.
• Make sure to make all cooked elements first so they have time to cool.
• Both caramel sauce and chocolate sauce can be made in advance.
• If you are using commercial ice cream, let it soften before adding mix-ins.
• Any extra caramel sauce or chocolate sauce will keep in the refrigerator for at least a couple of weeks.
• Both the chocolate sauce and the caramel sauce stay soft even when frozen.
• When freezing this ice cream pie, make sure it’s level in the freezer otherwise the ice cream will spill out of the crust.

When you make this Homemade Turtle Ice Cream Pie, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.