| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 2 hr 25 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 1 quart |
Ingredients
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup maple syrup, preferably grade B
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus more for the baking sheet
- 3 strips smoked bacon, preferably Nueske’s brand
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or a pinch of cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Make the ice cream: Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and salt in a bowl until pale yellow. Transfer to a saucepan and whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until almost simmering (the mixture should be thick enough to coat a spoon). Stir in the maple syrup. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Make the bacon brittle: Butter a rimmed baking sheet. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes per side; transfer to paper towels to drain. Let the bacon cool, then very finely chop.
- Cook the sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it melts and turns golden, about 4 minutes. (If lumps form, remove from the heat and continue stirring until melted.) Continue to cook, stirring, until light amber, about 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the butter. Carefully stir in the baking soda, then the bacon and chile powder. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and let cool until set, about 15 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces, then smash about one-third of the brittle into shards with a meat mallet or heavy skillet. Reserve the remaining brittle in a container for up to 3 days.
- Stir the cream into the chilled custard. Churn in an ice cream maker. Stir in the bacon brittle shards. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 14 servings |
| Calories | 301 |
| Total Fat | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 33 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 94 mg |
| Sodium | 122 mg |
Reviews
Brilliant! Made it twice. Both times polished off by lucky friends before you can say “Maple Bacon Crunch Ice Cream”. Recipe is a keeper, thanks so much!
This is a new family favorite. We made our own maple syrup this year and this is the perfect dish to make with it.
Several things wrong with this recipe, why would you start out with the egg yolks in the pan and not temper then first?
I am quite surprised there are so many good reviews for this – I thought it was loser. Although I followed the directions to a T, I spent most of today making and then remaking it. First, the custard curdled when I added the syrup. Then, it took four tries to make the brittle. The first time it burned; the second and third times, it developed huge lumps of sugar that wouldn’t stir out. And the fourth time, the “brittle” ended up in one big gooey ball reminiscent of Silly Putty. “POUR onto the baking sheet”? HA HA HA! I am currently soaking 3 pans that have hardened sugar stuck to them. Even if this ice cream turns out great, I will never make it again.
I thought this was great. It took quite a while longer to melt the sugar for the brittle, but I got it done. The ice cream was very creamy and everyone who tried it loved it!
Have made this several times and it is a real crowd pleaser. Few ever guess the real ingredient, bacon! As I have made ice cream many times, I added the cream to the milk mixture and cooked both together. Not sure how it would turn out adding the cream to cold custard before it went into the machine?
This turned out really well. Was the first time we made the mixture for our ice cream with the egg so I was really worried it’d be scrambled eggs. Despite a small set-back on the bacon crunch brittle we managed to get it made right and it wound up delicious!
Sweet! Savory! Awesome!
My 70 year old mom, who is not adventurous at all with food, described this ice cream as “the bomb”. In the good way, of course. That is no small feat, so this recipe is a keeper! I thought it was pretty easy to make and delicious.
This is ridiculously good. BACON brittle! Seriously amazing! Best ice cream EVER. I made an ice cream sandwich with florentine cookies. So good.