Hazelnut Ice Cream
Delicious and creamy homemade ice cream flavored with hazelnut paste and crunchy candied hazelnuts. Rich with egg yolks, it’s a delicious treat.
Table of contents
About This Recipe
Ice Cream recipes are generally very simple with a fairly short list of ingredients. I mean, basically, it’s just frozen cream.
But of course there’s plenty of chemistry working behind the scenes in every ice cream recipe. If you’re a geek like me and enjoy the science behind a recipe, you should visit this post about making Homemade Ice Cream.
For this recipe I wanted an ice cream with a big hazelnut flavor, which is achieved by making a homemade hazelnut paste to stir into the ice cream base.
Finally, candied hazelnuts add crunch and another layer of nutty flavor to the ice cream.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Milk/Cream – Using a combination of milk and cream results in an ice cream with plenty of fat for creaminess, but enough water from the milk for the ice cream to freeze firm enough to scoop. You can use 1/2 and 1/2 to replace the milk and the cream.
- Hazelnuts – Toasting the hazelnuts enhances the flavor and removing most of the skins results in a paste with a smoother texture.
- Salt – The tiniest bit of salt rounds out the flavor of the ice cream.
- Egg Yolks – Homemade ice cream made with egg yolks has a luscious custardy texture and it melts more slowly than ice cream made without eggs or yolks.
Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Toast the hazelnuts in a pan over medium heat. If your hazelnuts have skins, wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and rub them in the towel to remove most of the skins.
- Roughly chop the half of the nuts.
- Combine the chopped nuts and sugar in a pan and cook until the sugar melts and coats the hazelnuts.
- Set aside the candied hazelnuts to add to the frozen ice cream.
- Place the other hazelnuts in a food processor.
- Process the nuts until they start to form a fine powder.
- Continue processing until the hazelnuts form a thick paste. Add the vanilla.
- Remove the hazelnut paste from the processor and set it aside while you make the custard base.
- Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Cook until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula.
- Strain the custard into a large bowl.
- Whisk the hazelnut paste into the warm custard. Chill for at least 5-6 hours until the custard is very cold.
- Run the custard in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions.
- Once the cream is thickened, add the candied hazelnuts.
- Mix until the nuts are incorporated.
- Transfer the ice cream to a freezer container. Place a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface, then cover the container. Freeze until solid.
More Hazelnut Recipes
More Ice Cream Recipes
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Hazelnut Ice Cream Recipe
Delicious and creamy homemade ice cream flavored with hazelnut paste and crunchy candied hazelnuts. Rich with egg yolks, it's a real treat. Makes a quart of ice cream.
servings
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Ingredients
- 6 oz hazelnuts (1 cup)
- 10 oz granulated sugar (1 ¼ cups, divided)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 12 oz whole milk (1 ½ cups)
- 12 oz heavy cream (1 ½ cups)
- 6 egg yolks
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Toast 6 oz hazelnuts in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned. Take the pan off the heat. If the hazelnuts have skins, fold them in a kitchen towel and rub back and forth to remove as much skin as possible. Set ½ the nuts aside for making the hazelnut paste. Roughly chop the other nuts.
- Return the chopped nuts to the pan and sprinkle 2 oz (1/4 cup) of the granulated sugar over them. Return to medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly until the sugar melts and glazes the hazelnuts. Transfer the candied nuts to parchment lined sheet pan to cool. Once cooled transfer them to a covered container and reserve for adding to the frozen ice cream.
- Place the whole nuts in a food processor. Process for 4-5 minutes. At first it will look like a powder, then it will look like wet sand and eventually it will form a paste that looks like thick peanut butter. Stop the processor and scrap down the bowl whenever the mixture builds up on the sides. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and pulse to combine. Set the paste aside while you make the custard.
- Set a sieve over a medium size bowl and place it near the stove. Combine 12 oz whole milk and 12 oz heavy cream in a medium sauce pan. Whisk in the remaining granulated sugar, 6 egg yolks and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- Heat the milk mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook the custard until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spatula or wooden spoon. Do not allow it to come to a full boil.
- Strain the custard into the bowl. Whisk in the hazelnut paste. Cover the bowl and chill until very cold. At least 4-5 hours or over night.
- Freeze according to the directions for your ice cream machine. Just before removing the ice cream from the machine, add the candied hazelnut chunks.
- When the ice cream is ready, scoop it into a container and smooth to an even layer. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream, cover tightly and freeze until firm.
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