The Best Hazelnut Ice Cream

5 from 2 votes

The Best Hazelnut Ice Cream

Seriously the best hazelnut ice cream you'll ever make. It's super creamy, and smooth, and with a delicious hazelnut flavor. Despite the fantastic looks, it's very easy to make. No steeping so we're not going to waste any nuts!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Chill Time12

Servings: people

Author: Bea & Marco

Ingredients

1 ½ cup toasted skinless hazelnuts
6 large egg yolks
1 ⅓ cup granulated sugar
3 cup whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 pinches of salt

Instructions

Hazelnut butter

Use the smallest bowl for the food processor. Blend the hazelnut until you get a smooth nut butter. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula now and then to help the process. Set aside.

Hazelnut ice cream custard

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar using a handheld whisk until you get a plate mixture. Set aside.
Pour milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, salt, and hazelnut butter into a saucepan. Heat on medium fire and mix so that everything is well mixed. Don't let it boil.
While whisking, slowly pour around 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the bowl containing the yolk mixture. Tempering the yolk will prevent it from curdling. Pour the yolk mixture into the saucepan.
Cook the custard for 10 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly so that nothing sticks. It'll thicken and is ready when it covers the back of a wooden spoon, and when you run your finger through it, it stays separated.
Pour the custard through a sifter into a bowl. Use a wooden spoon to stir and press against the sifter so that the nut butter passes through. What's left will be big pieces of curdles, if any.

Chill and churn

Cover the bowl with a cling film, making sure it's touching the custard's surface. Cool to room temperature before chilling it in the fridge overnight. At this point, place the ice cream machine's inner bowl in the freezer (refer to your machine's manual).
Pour the cold custard into the frozen inner bowl and inside the ice cream machine. Churn for 30 minutes. The time varies depending on your machine.
Serve immediately for a soft serve. Put in an air-tight container and freezer for 1-2 hours for a firmer texture. Enjoy!

Notes

Plan at least 1 day ahead. You need to chill the custard and freeze the ice cream machine's inner bowl overnight.
Use a high-power food processor to make homemade hazelnut butter. You'll get smoother nut butter, and avoid burning your machine.
If using store-bought natural hazelnut butter, use a bit more than ¾ cup. The taste won't be as pronounced but it's doable.

Nutrition