Decadent Brown Butter & Bourbon Ice Cream

A rich no-churn ice cream with toasted brown butter, a splash of bourbon, maple syrup and homemade brittle.

There are recipes you set out to make ... and then there are recipes that simply appear because your curiosity gets the better of you.

This one began with a pan of butter, not for toast, not for baking. Just because I wanted to watch it transform. As it melted, the butter slowly turned from pale yellow to liquid gold. Tiny milk solids settled on the bottom of the pan before becoming beautifully toasted, filling the kitchen with the unmistakable aroma of roasted hazelnuts, warm biscuits and caramel. If you've never browned butter before, it feels like a little bit of kitchen magic.

One ingredient ... A completely different flavour. It was never supposed to become ice cream, but once I tasted it, I couldn't stop thinking about what that nutty richness might be like folded into cream. A splash of bourbon seemed the obvious next step. It doesn't shout or overpower the butter; instead, it adds gentle notes of vanilla, oak and caramel that make everything taste a little more grown up. The result is one of those wonderfully uncomplicated recipes that tastes as though you've spent hours making it.

I served it with warm maple syrup instead of caramel, allowing its deep woodland sweetness to complement the toasted butter, before finishing with shards of homemade nut brittle for crunch. If you happen to pour yourself a small glass of bourbon alongside it ... Well...

I certainly wouldn't judge.

Although we're still in the middle of summer, this already feels like the first whisper of autumn. The evenings are beginning to soften, pears are swelling on the trees, apples are colouring in the orchard, and suddenly I'm reaching for flavours that feel warm and comforting, even when they're served ice cold. Perhaps that's why I love this Brown Butter & Bourbon Ice Cream dessert so much. It's somewhere between the seasons.

Brown Butter & Bourbon Ice Cream - The Recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the ice cream

• 100g unsalted butter

• 1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

• 600ml double cream

• 2 tbsp bourbon

• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

• A pinch of fine sea salt

• 
  

To serve

• Warm maple syrup

• Homemade nut brittle, broken into shards - Easy Kitchen Cupboard Nut Brittle

  
  

Method

Brown the butter

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter foams and the milk solids turn a rich golden brown. The aroma should be deeply nutty and almost biscuit-like.

Remove from the heat immediately and leave to cool until just warm.

Make the ice cream

Whisk together the condensed milk, bourbon, vanilla bean paste and sea salt.

Slowly whisk in the cooled brown butter, making sure you scrape every last toasted milk solid into the bowl—they're where so much of the flavour lives.

In a separate bowl, whip the double cream to soft peaks.

Fold the cream gently through the brown butter mixture until completely combined.

Transfer to a freezer-proof container, cover and freeze for at least six hours, or overnight.

To serve

Allow the ice cream to soften for five to ten minutes before scooping.

Serve with warm maple syrup poured generously over the top and finish with shards of homemade nut brittle. My decadent brownie recipe works an absolute treat with this

Indulge in Cosy Winter Bliss with My Favourite Fudgy Brownies Recipe

... A small glass of bourbon on the side is entirely optional ... but highly recommended.

Jo's Kitchen Notes

• Brown butter can go from perfectly toasted to burnt in seconds, so don't wander off while it's cooking.

• The maple syrup brings a gentle smokiness that works beautifully with the bourbon, making it a lovely alternative to caramel sauce.

• Homemade brittle adds the perfect crunch, but toasted pecans or walnuts would also be delicious.