Maple Walnut Ice Cream
With its subtle,sweet flavors and bits of walnuts scattered through, this tasty ice cream may just become your new favorite. Maple walnut ice cream is not only delicious, but it is also easy to make and goes so well with many of your favorite desserts.
Maple walnut is a great all rounder ice cream.
This ice cream is perfect on its own, even better with an extra drizzle of maple syrup and better still when pared up with a tasty treat for dessert.
Dollop some of this on top of warm apple crumble.
Serve alongside some freshly baked chocolate brownies or chocolate impossible pie.
Impress at Christmas dinner with maple walnut ice cream served beside your steamed fruit pudding or fruit mince pies.
You can even serve it up with some brandy snaps or with some caramel walnut breakfast topping sprinkled on top.
The options are endless. So if you are in need of a break from the classic vanilla or chocolate ice creams why not give this recipe a try!
Ingredients
Walnuts – You will need 2/3 cups of walnuts. Feel free to use more or less depending on your preference. Toasted or untoasted is fine. You could even swap out the walnuts and use my caramel walnut breakfast topping in place of the walnuts for a special treat.
Maple syrup – Real maple syrup will give a much better flavor than maple flavored syrup. Don’t be tempted to add too much maple syrup as it doesn’t freeze well, you can always drizzle some extra on top when serving your ice cream though.
Milk – Full fat milk is your best option here. The fat content is definitely better for making your ice cream rich and creamy. I do use low fat milk regularly though if that’s what I have on hand. But if I do use a lower fat milk I will generally add in an extra splash of cream to balance out the fat content.
Eggs – For this recipe you will need 3 large eggs. You will use 2 yolks and one whole egg. Eggs are key to the freezing process for homemade ice cream. They not only thicken the mixture in to a velvety custard, but they also ensure that ice cream does not form any little ice crystals while it is freezing. This ensures that your ice cream will come out smooth/creamy and not grainy/icy. To save on food wastage you can store your leftover egg whites by freezing them to use later on in other recipes.
Sugar -Brown sugar pairs really well with the maple in this recipe. It also helps give the ice cream a nice soft golden color.
Cream – What is ice cream without cream? You need to use a heavy cream, full fat whipping cream to make ice cream.
Making homemade maple walnut ice cream
- The first step is always to pre-freeze your ice cream maker base for 24 hours. I like to keep mine in the freezer all of the time so that I can always make ice cream at short notice.
- Next make your custard. Warm the milk while whisking together the whole egg, egg yolks, brown sugar and maple syrup. Add the mixture to the milk when it has warmed. Stir the mixture constantly over a low-medium heat until the mixture has thickened.
- Chill you’re the custard until it is cold and then add the cream and mix well.
- Churn your ice cream. This will take about 35 minutes, add the diced walnuts in near the end.
- Place your churned ice cream into a 1 litre freezer safe container, drizzle over some maple syrup and decorate with any extra walnuts, place in the freezer for at least 2 hours before serving.
Maple Walnut Ice Cream
Ingredients
Method
- Pre-freeze the ice cream maker base for 24 hours
- In a small bowl whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and maple syrup using a fork. Whisk until the mixture is light and creamy.
- Heat the milk in a medium sized saucepan until it is warm to the touch.
- Add in the whipped eggs and stir constantly for about 5 minutes Keeping the heat at a medium temperature. When it is ready the mixture will have thickened slightly and will coat the back of your mixing spoon.
- Set aside to cool fully in the fridge (about 1-2 hours)
- When both the ice cream mixture is fully cold, you are ready to churn. Add the cream to the egg mixture and mix well.
- Pour into your prepared ice cream maker and churn for 20 minutes.
- Next add your diced walnuts into your churning ice cream. Let the ice cream maker churn the mixture for another 15 minutes or until the ice cream resembles soft serve.
- Spoon half of the ice cream mixture into a 1 litre freezer safe container. Drizzle over one tablespoon of maple syrup. Place the remaining ice cream on top and then drizzle over another tablespoon of maple syrup. Decorate with some extra walnuts and place the ice cream, covered, in the freezer for at least 2 hours to finish firming.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my maple walnut ice cream recipe. I hope you enjoy trying this out for yourself. Please feel free to add any questions or comments below. I am happy to help out wherever possible and I would love to hear how this recipe worked out for you.
