A festive and decadent holiday dessert, luscious Pecan Praline Ice Cream will make a sweet ending to any meal! Sometimes it's called Pralines and Cream Ice Cream, or even simply Praline Ice Cream, but no matter what you call it, the combination of pralines and cream is the perfect balance of rich and sweet.
1-½cupspecan pralinescrumbled, 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 mixture reaches the consistency of soft-serve ice cream, slowly add the praline pieces. Make sure that the praline pieces are evenly distributed throughout.
Remove the mixture and place it in an airtight container. Place in the freezer for 3-4 hours to allow it 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, be sure to place it in the freezer at least 24 hours before you plan to make your ice cream.
Want to make homemade pralines? Check out this easy recipe for Old-Fashioned Pecan Pralines. If you would like to purchase them, I have seen them online, and they often can be found at specialty stores.
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!