Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Peanuts is a creamy vanilla ice cream blended with salted caramel and crunchy peanuts. A delicious salty-sweet frozen treat.
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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 and heavy cream - Provide a rich creamy base for a smooth mouth feel.
- Granulated sugar
- Egg yolks - for thickening the custard.
- Vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste - I love using both extract and paste. The extract provides intense vanilla flavor, and the paste has specks of vanilla that give the ice cream an unmistakable vanilla appearance. It's 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 - for crunch and added flavor.
Expert 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 of 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 to 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!
Serve this creamy vanilla ice cream in a cone or as a sundae. Sandwich a scoop of this between two chocolate chip cookies for a super sweet treat.
Equipment
Cuisinart 1.5 qt compressor ice cream maker - If you are serious about making homemade ice cream, this machine is worth the investment. The bowl does not require pre-freezing, so you can whip up a batch of ice cream whenever the craving hits!
Cuisinart 1.5 qt ice cream and sorbet maker - This machine is more affordable but the bowl does need to be frozen ahead of time. This is a great option for making an occasional batch of homemade ice cream.
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📖 Recipe Card
Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Chocolate Covered Peanuts
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EQUIPMENT
Ingredients
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 2 cups heavy cream (divided)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure 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 on the exact amounts and specific ingredients used.
Author's note: This post was originally published in March 2019 and has been updated.
Raquel Rivera Robinson says
Loved this recipe, it was delicious. However, my caramel sauce went straight to the bottom and nuts stayed at the top. Even while doing the layering technique. I’m not sure how to fix this.
Abbey McDermott says
Raquel,
I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe and I'm sorry you had this problem. I use a very thick caramel sauce. It should be cold or room temperature, not warm. Also, the ice cream may need to churn longer so it's thicker before layering the caramel. Thank you!
Raquel Robinson says
Abbey, I will try churning it longer and cooling the sauce. Recipe is truly delicious
Abbey McDermott says
I'd love to know how it turns out. I'm so happy you love the recipe. Thank you, Raquel!