Truly Good Praline Pecan Ice Cream

One of my favorite memories of childhood, was heading off to Baskin Robbins on a hot summer night. My dad always got Daiquiri Ice sorbet, my mom Butter Pecan or Pralines and Cream, my brother, David, some sort of chocolate concoction and me, whatever was new (especially if it contained coconut).

I also remember when my dad came home with one of those hand crank ice cream machines. You know, the one that you put rock salt in and it seemed to take days to make some sort of ice cream soup. It was well worth it, though.

A few years back, I received my first electric ice cream machine (from my brother, of course) and I've been hooked ever since. I'm always trying to come up with an excuse to make some. When I read about the various nut and seeds we were going to receive. I immediately signed up for ice cream. I've already made 2 batches and can't seem to keep it around for more than a few days here. I'm assuming there's an ice cream fairy eating the stuff while I'm sleeping. So, keep that in mind when you make this recipe. It's decadent and guaranteed to put smiles on the faces of those who are lucky enough to get some.

Truly Good Praline Pecan Ice Cream
by Holly of Holly's Table
Adapted from Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe - David Lebovitz

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream, divided
Pinch of kosher salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise with a paring knife to expose seeds
5 large egg yolks
1 cup of Truly Good Foods Praline Pecans, roughly chopped

In a medium non-stick pan, over medium-low heat, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the heavy cream, kosher salt, nutmeg and split vanilla bean. Stir often to avoid sticking and burning. When the mixture is hot, remove from heat, cover and let steep 1 hour.

Place the other cup of cream in a bowl.

Re-warm the vanilla milk over low heat. Do not let boil. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks until well blended. Remove vanilla bean. Ladle in half a cup of the warm milk to temper the eggs. Pour the egg mixture back into the remaining warmed milk and stir well. Heat over medium-low heat until it thickens and just coats the back of a spoon or spatula.

Strain the mixture into the cream. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix into the custard. Place the bowl into an ice bath and continue to whisk until chilled. Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator overnight.

On the next day, pour the custard into your ice cream maker. Mix about 15-20 minutes (or according to your machines directions) until it forms a soft ice cream. Add the praline pecans and mix another 5 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Scoop ice cream into a freezer-safe container and freeze until firm.

Serve with additional pecans if desired.

Note: Used vanilla beans can be rinsed and dried, then stored in a bin of sugar. That sugar can be used for baking and, of course, for future ice cream making.