Maple Walnut Ice Cream

Here we are in the dog days of summer, and nothing is better or more appealing than either a really cold drink or a dish of ice cream.  Recently, I opted for maple walnut ice cream which is one of my two favorite ice cream flavors and had been on my bucket list to make for a long time.

When I was a kid—and, to this day actually—I was a chocoholic.  Chocolate anything was my jam, and chocolate was my very favorite ice cream flavor.  My dad and mom would take me and my sisters to Howard Johnson’s, and I would always get a double scoop chocolate ice cream cone.  Since there was no air conditioning in cars those days, the ice cream would soon start dripping down the side of the cone; and I’d be licking as fast as I could so as not to lose a single drop of the chocolate-y deliciousness.

Fast forward to young adulthood, and I discovered maple walnut ice cream.  Now, I had a difficult decision to make every time I wanted an ice cream cone.  The two flavors don’t particularly lend themselves to sharing space on the top of an ice cream cone, so I had to bite the bullet and just pick one.  Since I was able to satisfy my chocolate cravings in any number of other ways, I switched ice cream cone allegiance to maple walnut.  I love the crunch of the cold walnuts along with the crunchy cone—so satisfying and delicious!

When I ran across this recipe for maple walnut ice cream and saw that it called for “wet” walnuts, I knew this was the one I had been waiting to try.  The wonderful maple flavor along with those walnuts was the stuff of dreams—so darned good!

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 2 tbl. sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup dark maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp. coarse salt
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Wet Walnuts (recipe follows)


Directions

Before you get started, make sure that you have placed the tub from your ice cream maker in the freezer to chill for a minimum of 8 hours—preferably overnight.  It needs to be very cold before you start the churning process.

Warm milk and sugar in medium saucepan.  Pour cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks.  Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium-low heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream to cool.  Add the maple syrup, salt, and vanilla, and stir over ice bath until cool.  Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions.  During the last few minutes of churning, add the Wet Walnuts.

Ingredients and Directions for Wet Walnuts

  • 1/2 cup, plus 1 tbl. dark maple syrup
  • 1 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and very coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp. coarse salt

Heat the maple syrup in a small skillet or saucepan until it just begins to come to a full boil.  Stir in the walnuts and salt and cook until the liquid comes to a full boil once more.  Stir the nuts for 10 seconds, then remove them from the heat and let cool completely before using.  The nuts will still be wet and sticky when cooled.

Source:  A David Lebovitz recipe via Lottie and Doof

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