A festive and decadent holiday dessert, luscious Pecan Pralines and Cream Ice Cream will make a sweet ending to any meal!
On the fifth day of Christmas, instead of “five golden rings,” I’m bringing you this Pecan Pralines and Cream Ice Cream for my special 12 Days of Easy Christmas Recipes! Read on to find out how to make this creamy frozen confection.
Pecan Pralines and Cream Ice Cream is a rich, smooth, vanilla custard ice cream full of crunchy bits of homemade pralines the flavor reminiscent of creamy butterscotch, caramel, and roasted pecans all wrapped up in a sugary, fudgy package. Perfection!
I made this delicious ice cream for our Thanksgiving dessert this year, and this Southern sweet treat was met with rave reviews, especially from my son who said it was the best he ever had!
So, break out your ice cream maker and make a batch of this divine dessert for your Christmas dinner or other special holiday events! It’s a must try, and I know you will love it too!
If you like pecans and pralines as much as I do, you might also like these delicious sweet treats:
Southern Pecan Praline Cheesecake,
Southern Pecan Praline Cake, and
How to make Pecan Pralines and Cream Ice Cream
Place a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and add the half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk or use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks until they thicken and turn a pale lemon yellow color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk or mix to combine.
Temper the eggs, by gradually adding small amounts of the hot cream mixture (about a tablespoon at a time) to the egg mixture, stirring to combine after each addition, until about half of the cream mixture has been added.
Pour in the remainder of the cream mixture, stir to combine and return the entire mixture to the saucepan. Place over low heat.
Stir the mixture slowly but constantly, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. Keep cooking until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon without running off and registers 170°F with an instant-read thermometer.
Pour the custard mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla paste. Place the custard into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.
Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes.
About 5 minutes before the ice cream reaches the consistency of soft serve ice cream, slowly add the pecan praline pieces. Making sure that the praline pieces are evenly distributed throughout the ice cream.
Remove the ice cream from the ice cream maker and place in an airtight container. Place in the freezer for 3-4 hours to allow the ice cream to firm up and then serve.
If desired garnish with crumbled up pralines or roasted pecans.
Sharon’s Tips:
- If your ice cream maker has a bowl that needs to be frozen before churning, so be sure to place it in the freezer at least 24 hours before you plan to make your ice cream.
- Want to make your pralines? Check out this easy recipe for Old-Fashioned Pecan Pralines.
- In a pinch, you can substitute praline-coated pecans for the pralines. I have found them at Trader Joe’s and especially around the holidays, depending on where you live, they should be relatively easy to find.
- The vanilla custard base in this ice cream is delicious by itself or as a base for any number of add-ins! Instead of pralines, you could add fruit, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, caramel, crumbled Oreos, etc. The sky is the limit!
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Pecan Pralines and Cream Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 3 cups half and half
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 large egg yolks
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 cups pecan pralines crumbled, homemade or purchased
Instructions
- Place a medium-size saucepan over medium heat and add the half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl whisk or use an electric mixer to beat the egg yolks until they turn a pale lemon yellow color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk or mix to combine.
- Temper the eggs, by gradually adding small amounts of the hot cream mixture (about a tablespoon at a time) to the egg mixture, stirring to combine after each addition, until about half of the cream mixture has been added.
- Pour in the remainder of the cream mixture, stir to combine and return the entire mixture to the saucepan. Place over low heat.
- Stir the mixture slowly but constantly, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. Keep cooking until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon without running off and registers 170°F with an instant-read thermometer.
- Pour the custard mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla paste. Place the custard into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.
- Pour the custard into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes.
- About 5 minutes before the ice cream reaches the consistency of soft serve ice cream, slowly add the pecan praline pieces. Making sure that the praline pieces are evenly distributed throughout the ice cream.
- Remove the ice cream from the ice cream maker and place in an airtight container. Place in the freezer for 3-4 hours to allow the ice cream to firm up and then serve.
- If desired garnish with crumbled up pralines or roasted pecans.
Notes
- If your ice cream maker has a bowl that needs to be frozen before churning, so be sure to place it in the freezer at least 24 hours before you plan to make your ice cream.
- Want to make your pralines? Check out my easy recipe for Old-Fashioned Pecan Pralines.
- In a pinch, you can substitute praline-coated pecans for the pralines. I have found them at Trader Joe's and especially around the holidays, depending on where you live, they should be relatively easy to find.
- The vanilla custard base in this ice cream is delicious by itself or as a base for any number of add-ins! Instead of pralines, you could add fruit, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, caramel, crumbled Oreos, etc. The sky is the limit!
Had this ice cream for Christmas dessert and it was delicious!!! Everyone absolutely loved it!
Thanks so much, LeighAnn!
Such a GREAT idea of doing a 12 days of Christmas series. I can’t tell you the last time I made homemade ice-cream. So sad! Thanks so much for the inspiration. I am in love with Pecan Pralines and to include them in this recipe is brilliant.