This Maple Bourbon Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Swirl is an absolute stunner! Smooth bourbon, rich and smooth maple, salted caramel, and crunchy pecans are a match made in heaven! This cool dessert recipe is a must try!
Oh HEEEEEYYYYYY.
Just over here making homemade ice cream. No big deal.
But it actually IS A BIG DEAL. Like a really, really big deal, you guys.
Not only did I make ice cream. I made BOOZY ice cream.
With an uber easy salted caramel swirl.
Topped with pecans.
I know, right?
This time of year, you don’t necessarily think about ice cream as a treat. Wait…wait. I’m sorry. That was really silly of me. When DOESN’T ice cream sound good as a treat? Even in the dead of winter ice cream sounds unreal to me. You too? Thought so.
But I’m not really in the mood for, you know, like raspberry sorbet when the weather is starting to cool off. You know what I’m in the mood for? Whiskey. Not the greatest comparison, I know. Because raspberry sorbet makes my face numb for much different reasons than whiskey does.
Let’s keep talking about this ice cream, shall we? I had this Maple Flavored Whiskey in my liquor cabinet. And like most of you are thinking, I thought, “How the hell do I drink this?” And then this little idea seeped in to mind….ICE CREAM.
Now, if I was going to do this maple whiskey flavored ice cream, I needed to do it RIGHT. No shortcuts, no half-ass attempts to make it delicious. So I realllllyyyy went for it.
Maple flavored whiskey, you already know about. But homemade vanilla extract also happened. And the easiest salted caramel sauce EVER, which I’m slightly regretting sharing with you guys because I care about your health. Just do me a favor and please don’t make this every day, ok?
I used my ice cream maker, which I knowww…..not everyone has. Take a look at my notes below for a hack (and let me know how it goes in the comments below!).
BAM!
There it is.
Holy ?*%!$&.
So FAH-REAKING amazing.
Do you realize how impressed people will be with you when you make this? I won’t lie…I’m pretty dang impressed with MYSELF for making this one, you guys. But I can tell you that, since we’re friends. And friends don’t judge.
I promise not to judge you when you’re telling everyone you know that you made the most INSANE homemade ice cream that could rival all those specialty ice cream shops out there.
“Friends lift us up where we belooooong”….
Wait, isn’t that a song or something?
Oh….no. That’s love. Love lifts us up where we belong.
But I heart you, so it’s cool.
Maple Bourbon Ice Cream with Salted Caramel Swirl
Ingredients
For the ice cream:
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 cup real maple syrup
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/4 cup maple flavored bourbon
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
For the salted caramel swirl:
- 1 cup sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter cut in to pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
For the salted caramel:
- Heat sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Sugar will start to clump, and eventually start to brown. Be careful not to burn!
- Once sugar is melted, add butter. Note that the caramel will bubble once butter is added. Continue to stir until butter is fully incorporated.
- Slowly add in heavy cream. Careful! The cream will also bubble. Be sure that it doesn't boil over.
- Allow mixture to boil for one minute, watching closely.
- Remove from heat, stir in salt. Allow to cool considerably before transferring to a glass jar to store.
For the ice cream:
- In a saucepan, combine whole milk, maple syrup, and brown sugar. Heat over medium low heat, watching closely, stirring frequently.
- Place two egg yolks in a small bowl. Slowly add 1-2 tablespoons of hot milk mixture in to yolks, whisking as you pour to ensure yolks don't scramble. Add another 1-2 tablespoons, whisking as you go. Pour tempered yolks in to saucepan with remaining milk mixture. Continue to stir over low heat,
- Meanwhile, create an ice bath. Fill a large bowl with ice, placing a medium sized bowl within the larger bowl. Fill the larger bowl with water, and the medium bowl with the heavy cream and bourbon. You'll eventually be pouring the milk and yolk mixture in to this bowl, and the goal is to get it as cold as possible, as quickly as possible.
- Set a strainer over the medium sized bowl filled with cream and bourbon. Slowly pour the custard (milk and egg mixture) in to the cream. Stir in vanilla. Stir constantly to combine and cool.
- Transfer to an ice cream maker, processing according to manufacturers instructions. Before transferring mixture to a separate container to freeze, add salted caramel to ice cream maker. Ensure caramel is thoroughly incorporated before freezing.
- Serve with crushed pecans and extra caramel sauce!