Bourbon Peach and Pretzel Ice Cream with Caramel
/No-churn homemade vanilla bean ice cream that can be made with or without an ice cream maker. Rich and creamy ice cream base is swirled with bourbon peach compote, homemade salted caramel, salty pretzels.
Um hello summer! There is no better way to celebrate long sunny days than with fistfuls of ice cream so here we are again with another new NO CHURN ice cream recipe for you! I love making ice cream, it’s a fondness I developed working in pastry kitchens where almost any plated dessert can be elevated with a cool, creamy component. I love that ice cream is so versatile. A simple anglaise base can be steeped with literally any flavor your heart desires (I’m serious, there is an ice cream shop on our block with mushroom ice cream on the menu) and you can mix in whatever you like. Always in the words of our culinary queen Ina Garten, how easy is that?
Today’s ice cream screams summer—it’s filled with a bourbon peach compote, swirled with homemade salted caramel, and studded with salty, crunchy, pretzels for the most July vibe around. So let’s jump in!
how to make homemade salted caramel
Once you get over the slight anxiety that cooking sugar can produce, caramel is actually pretty simple and it’s something that can always find a home in your refrigerator. For this recipe, we’re making a wet caramel, which means a bit of water is added along with the sugar. This makes it a little more difficult to burn and crystallize. We are also adding lemon juice, which in the pastry world is called a ‘doctor’ and it too gets in the way of sugar crystallization. Sugar, water, and lemon juice are simmered WITHOUT STIRRING until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture starts to turn a bit golden. At this point, you are allowed to gently slosh the pan around to ensure even cooking. We’re going to continue to cook the caramel until it’s a deep amber color, remove it from the heat and whisk in some heavy cream. Cook it for one more minute and then add the butter and a pinch of salt. Let it cool completely and then drizzle it over everything or just eat it by the spoonful.
how to make bourbon peach compote
Compotes are a fun, easy way to use up fruit that has started to lose its glamour. Slightly softened peaches, strawberries a little past their prime, plums with a couple of bruises—they can all benefit from the compote treatment. A compote is simply fruit cooked in a syrup, and it is different from a jam in that the fruit usually stays in whole or larger pieces. For this recipe, I wanted a very peach-forward ice cream situation so I sliced my peaches in wedges. Martin told me that this was too peachy for him and he would have preferred his peaches cut into smaller cubes, so please feel free to cut your peaches any way you would like. Whatever your peach sizing preference, pop them in a pot with a little brown sugar, lemon juice, and salt and cook them down low and slow for about 40 minutes until they are all slouchy and syrupy and soft. Toss in some bourbon and call it a day. Cool them and store them in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to a week.
P.S. This will make more compote than you need for the ice cream so you can spoon the rest over waffles or pancakes or top your ice cream with even more compote…no one is judging you around here.
making ice cream without an ice cream maker (or with because you can do both)
I’ve already written quite a bit on making ice cream without an ice cream maker and this blog post is getting a little long and clunky, so I’ll keep it short and sweet today. (If you’d like to real a whole long spiel, check out all of my other ice cream recipes here.)
To make homemade ice cream, we start with a creme anglaise base. This is simply a cooked custard thickened with egg yolks that we flavor and chill. Once the anglaise is very cold, we are able to whip it until its thick and fluffy and has medium peaks. All of our goodies are either folded in or layered on top and it takes an overnight freeze in a loaf pan or baking dish. That’s it!
*If you’d like to make this with an ice cream maker, simply make the anglaise base and then follow the instructions for churning on your ice cream maker.
Bourbon Peach and Pretzel Ice Cream with Caramel
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Pinch of salt
- 2 lbs fresh peaches
- 2/3 cup (142 g) brown sugar
- Juice of one lemon
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp bourbon
- 2 cup (460 g) heavy cream
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tsp vanilla bean powder or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup pretzels, crumbled
- 3/4 cup-1 cup bourbon peach compote, recipe included
- 1/4 cup caramel, recipe included
Instructions
- Combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small sauce pan. Gently jostle the saucepan so that all of the sugar is moistened, but do not stir.
- Place saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until the sugar is dissolved and the caramel begins to turn golden in color. Swirl the saucepan gently, and then continue to cook until caramel is a deep amber color.
- Remove from heat and gradually stream in heavy cream, whisking continually. When all of the cream has been added, return caramel to heat and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute more.
- Remove caramel from heat again and stir in butter and salt. Let cool completely.
- Thinly slice peaches* and place in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Add brown sugar, lemon juice, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until peaches are broken down and syrup has thickened. Stir in bourbon and let cool completely.
- *If you’d prefer to dice peaches instead of slicing, that works too! It’s personal preference when it comes to size.*
- Place heavy cream in a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until cream is beginning to bubble around the edges of the pan and is hot to the touch.
- While the cream is heating, whisk together salt, vanilla powder, egg yolks, and sugar in a large bowl. When the cream is hot, slowly stream it into the egg mixture, whisking continually the whole time. Transfer the entire mixture back into the saucepan and return to heat.
- Cook, stirring continually with a wooden spoon, over low-medium heat until anglaise sauce is thickened, but do not bring to a boil. You can test if the sauce is ready by wiping your finger through the sauce along the back of the wooden spoon. If the line your finger creates holds, the sauce is ready. If it drips, continue cooking.
- When the sauce is sufficiently thickened, strain into a large mixing bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
- Whipping and chilling: When the anglaise sauce is cold, transfer to a mixer and begin whipping. Whip until soft peaks form and then return to the refrigerator.
- Place the whipped cream anglaise in a large bowl. Gently fold in 1/2 cup of the bourbon peach compote and 1/2 cup of crushed pretzels.
- Pour half of the mixture into a 9x5” loaf pan. Smooth the top into an even layer. Drizzle half of the caramel on top and swirl with a knife or a skewer. Dollop a few tablespoons more of the peach compote on top and another handful of crushed pretzels.
- Pour the rest of the ice cream into the pan and repeat with the remaining caramel, peach compote and pretzels.
- Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the ice cream and then wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze overnight (or for 8-12 hours).
