Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Peanuts - creamy vanilla ice cream blended with salted caramel and crunchy peanuts. A delicious salty-sweet frozen treat.
Vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls and chocolate-covered peanuts is the ultimate sweet and salty treat. The vanilla ice cream is SO creamy, the caramel sauce is slightly salty, and the peanuts add crunch and a touch of chocolate. I love homemade ice cream. It has such a fresh taste and the custard base is deliciously rich.
Ingredients
- half-and-half
- heavy cream
- granulated sugar
- egg yolks - for thickening the custard
- vanilla extract AND vanilla bean paste - I love using both extract and paste. The extract provides the intense vanilla flavor, and the paste has the specks of vanilla that give the ice cream the unmistakeable vanilla appearance. SO good!
- salted caramel sauce - I use store-bought sauce for ease, but homemade is delicious too. If you don't have salted caramel sauce, use regular caramel sauce and sprinkle with flaked sea salt when layering the ice cream.
- chocolate-covered peanuts - these peanuts add crunch and chocolate and caramel just go together.
Ice cream making tips
- Plan ahead - The custard base needs to chill before churning. Allow approx. 2 hours before churning. After churning, the ice cream has the consistency of soft serve, so allow at least 2 hours freezing time. TIP: Some ice cream machines require pre-freezing the bowl, so allow time accordingly.
- Temper the egg yolks - This ice cream starts with a custard base - cream, sugar, and egg yolks. When adding eggs to hot liquid, they need to be tempered so they don't scramble. Slowly add a small amount of hot cream to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then, slowly add the egg mixture into the rest of the warm cream, whisking continually. Then, continue heating to thicken the custard.
- Strain - When tempering, it's possible to have bits of egg that don't blend in completely. Straining the custard will remove these impurities to ensure a silky smooth ice cream.
- Layer the caramel swirl - For thick swirls of caramel, layer ice cream, caramel, ice cream, and caramel again. This layering method will yield wonderful swirls of caramel throughout the ice cream when scooped. Attempting to swirl in the caramel will result in a caramel ice cream, not a "swirled" ice cream. Equally delicious, but not the same presentation!
This creamy vanilla ice cream with caramel swirls is delicious served in a cone or as a sundae. Sandwich a scoop of this between two chocolate chip cookies for a super sweet treat.
Equipment
Saucepan | Batter bowl | Whisk | Strainer | Measuring cups and spoons | Liquid measuring cup | Cuisinart ice cream maker
More ice cream recipes to try
Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Peanuts
EQUIPMENT
Ingredients
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 2 cups heavy cream (divided)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 1 pinch Kosher salt
- 6 ounces salted caramel sauce
- 3 ounces chocolate covered peanuts
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan placed over medium heat, add the half-and-half and 1 ½ cups of the heavy cream. Add sugar and salt and whisk until dissolved.
- While the cream mixture heats, add 2 egg yolks to the remaining ½ cup of heavy cream, whisking to combine. When the cream is hot, slowly ladle some of the hot cream into the cream and egg yolks, whisking continuously. This tempers the eggs.
- Then slowly pour the egg yolk mixture into the hot cream mixture, while whisking. Cook over medium-low heat until slightly thickened, being careful not to boil the cream mixture.
- Strain the mixture into a heat-proof bowl. Whisk in vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap directly on top of the cream mixture. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least one hour.
- Transfer to an ice cream machine and churn until the mixture is the consistency of soft serve. Transfer one-half of the ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Top with spoonfuls of caramel sauce and one-half of the peanuts. Repeat with the second layer. Freeze until firm, approx 3-4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary depending upon the exact amounts and specific ingredients used.
Author's note: This post was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated.
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