Oh my goodness, this Vanilla Caramel Swirl Ice Cream is good! It is a refined sugar free vanilla ice cream that is sweetened with honey and swirled with date caramel. Of course, you don’t really need to swirl it with caramel, but who in their right mind wouldn’t want swirls of caramel in their ice cream. No one I know!
To be perfectly honest, I’m not a huge ice cream fan. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but I’ve never been one of those people who would tuck into a pint pot of ice cream with a spoon. I like good quality (read expensive) ice cream, but am pretty ambivalent about your bog standard brands of ice cream.
This vanilla caramel swirl ice cream, however, is far removed from those bland brands. It is sweet and creamy and rich and very, very moreish. It contains no refined sugar, just honey, and the caramel is made from dates. I’d sit eating this from a tub quite happily!
Another little self disclosure, I was pretty skeptical about the thought of caramel made without sugar. However, after experimenting with a number of refined sugar free ‘caramel’ recipes I found this one on the minimalist baker blog and I am so, so pleased that I did – thanks Dana! In the absence of refined sugar this is a really good alternative! Now that I have discovered this healthy caramel option, I am looking forward to trying it out in more recipes.
This recipe makes just over a quart of vanilla caramel swirl ice cream. I really hope that you try this recipe – it is extremely tasty and well worth the effort.
Vanilla Caramel Swirl Ice Cream
- Yield: Approx 1 quart ice cream
- Category: Gluten Free, Honey Sweetened, Refined Sugar Free
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups Cream
- 1 1/2 cups Milk
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 4 Egg Yolks (Large)
- 2 Vanilla pods
- 15 Dates (Medjool are best)
- 1/3 cup Water
- 1 pinch Sea Salt (if required)
Instructions
- Place the cream, milk and honey in to a heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Split the vanilla pods down the middle and scrape the seeds into the saucepan. Add the vanilla pods as this will give additional vanilla flavor.
- Heat this mixture over a medium heat until hot but do not let it boil.
- Place the egg yolks in to a bowl and whisk gently until combined. Slowly pour a cup of the hot cream/milk mixture in a steady stream into the egg yolk, whisking continuously. Tempering the eggs this way prevents the yolks from cooking (and you getting scrambled egg ice cream!) and helps with the eggs thickening properties and the ice creams consistency.
- Now pour the egg yolk mixture into the cream mixture and stir over a medium heat, making sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Stir until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
- Take the mixture off the heat and pour it through a sieve (strainer) in to a bowl to remove the vanilla pods and any lumps. Cover the mixture and place in the fridge to become cold. This can take hours so be patient.
- Whilst the mixture is cooling you can make the date caramel. Place the pitted dates into warm water and leave to soak for 10 - 15 minutes.
- Once the dates have soaked and are soft, drain them and place into a food processor. Add the salt and pulse until the mixture is lump free.
- Add the water to the mixture a little at a time until a paste like consistency forms. You may not need to use all of the water.
- Once the ice cream mixture is cold follow the directions of your ice cream maker until the mixture freezes.
- Once frozen place the ice cream into a container and swirl with teaspoons of date caramel. Do not mix the date caramel into the ice cream - you want swirls of caramel.
- Place the ice cream into the freezer and freeze for another 2 hours or until you want to use it.
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