Toasted Walnut and Brown Sugar Custard Ice Cream
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
Following the classic custard method, this version steeps the cream with toasted walnuts and sweetens it with brown sugar, then folds in more toasted walnuts for crunch.
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Method
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Equipment
- ice-cream maker
- medium heavy saucepan
- heatproof bowl
- whisk
- silicone spatula
- probe thermometer
- fine sieve
- large bowl of iced water
- freezer container with lid
- baking tray
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 478 kcal |
| Protein | 8.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 22.9 g |
| of which sugars | 19.9 g |
| of which free sugars | 15.8 g |
| Fat | 41 g |
| of which saturates | 17.1 g |
| Fibre | 1.5 g |
| Salt | 0.29 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.7 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 8 servings
Walnuts
- 180 g walnut halves 100 g for steeping, 80 g for folding in
Custard
- 480 ml double cream
- 260 ml whole milk
- 130 g light brown soft sugar
- 1.5 g fine sea salt or table salt about ¼ tsp
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1
Toast the walnuts. Heat the oven to 170 °C (150 °C fan) and roast the walnuts on the tray for 8-10 min until fragrant and a shade darker. Cool and chop; toasting deepens their flavour and softens any bitterness in the skins.
- 2
Steep. Bring the cream and milk to steaming, add 100 g of the walnuts, cover and leave for 1 h. Sieve, pressing hard, and discard the soaked nuts, which have given up their flavour.
- 3
Whisk the yolks. Whisk the yolks with the brown sugar and salt in the heatproof bowl until smooth.
- 4
Temper. Rewarm the walnut cream until steaming and whisk it gradually into the yolks, then return to the pan.
- 5
Cook. Stir over low heat until it coats the spatula and reaches 77-80 °C. Brown sugar makes the custard look darker, so use the thermometer rather than colour.
- 6
Chill. Add the vanilla, sieve, cool over the iced water and refrigerate for at least 4 h.
- 7
Churn and fold. Churn until thick, then fold in the remaining 80 g of chopped walnuts by hand.
- 8
Freeze. Freeze for at least 4 h before serving.
Storage
Freeze, covered, for up to 2 weeks.
