Creme Brulee Ice Cream

Indulge in the luxurious taste of Creme Brulee Ice Cream, where the rich vanilla custard base meets caramelized sugar.

Creme Brulee Ice Cream is a luxurious dessert that brings together the classic flavors of a traditional French crème brûlée with the cooling comfort of ice cream. Imagine the rich and creamy vanilla custard base, synonymous with the iconic crème brûlée, churned to perfection until it becomes smooth and velvety.

As you take a spoonful, you’re greeted with the contrasting textures that this ice cream offers. It’s customary for this flavor to feature shards of caramelized sugar, mimicking the famed brittle topping of its namesake dessert. When you bite into these sweet, crunchy bits, they dissolve on the tongue, delivering a burst of caramel goodness that elevates the whole experience.

Creme Brulee Ice Cream is often a hit at gourmet ice cream parlours and can be a decadent treat to enjoy at home during a warm summer evening, or really, any time you crave a spoonful of elegance. The combination of cold, creamy custard ice cream with elements of the caramelized top layer is not just a treat for the taste buds, but also a nod to the artistry of French dessert-making.

VIDEO

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED

4 large egg yolks room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 tsp salt
1 vanilla bean pod

Instructions To Make Creme Brulee Ice Cream

In a medium bowl, whisk together your egg yolks and 3/4 cups of sugar for about 2-3 minutes, until smooth and pale yellow in color.
Whisk in your milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Add in your vanilla bean pod. Bring the milk to a simmer and then remove from the heat. Do not boil.
Whisking constantly, slowly add a ½ cup of your hot milk to the yolk and sugar mixture, whisk until combined.
Add the tempered egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with your remaining hot milk. Mix in your salt.
Whisking constantly, heat on low until the the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. This should take a few minutes.
Add your heavy cream to your mix, stir to combine.
Turn the heat off and remove the vanilla bean pod. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds with a paring knife’s dull (non-cutting) side. Whisk the vanilla bean seed in to your milk mixture.
Cover your bowl with plastic wrap, making sure to have the plastic wrap touching the surface of the ice cream base so it does not get a skin. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Make your caramelized sugar:

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper to make your caramel brittle. Add 1 cup sugar to a heavy-based saucepan and heat on medium to low heat until the sugar has dissolved and turned golden brown. During this process, swirl the sugar around the pan to help the sugar dissolve evenly. Working quickly but carefully, pour the caramelized sugar onto your prepared baking sheet and smooth out with an offset spatula or butter knife. It goes hard quickly, so you need to be pretty speedy smoothing it out. Leave to cool and set for ten minutes, then chop into various sized pieces.
When ready, churn your ice cream mixture in the bowl of your ice cream machine according to your manufacturer’s instructions.
In the last two minutes, add in your chopped caramelized sugar pieces. Churn until they are evenly distributed.
Spoon your ice cream into a shallow container or a loaf pan. Press plastic wrap the surface of the ice cream. Freeze for at least 4 hours, or until solid.
To serve, allow ice cream to sit at room temperature for at least 5 minutes. Scoop and enjoy!