While I usually try to shield myself from disturbing current events ("the bad news," as I call it), one has piqued my interest: the recent maple syrup theft in Quebec. Besides being an unprecedented culinary tragedy, the honeyed heist also gives depth of meaning to my so-called Stolen Granola.
Questions abound: Who are the culprits? What was their motive? Will it affect my baking? Do they now find themselves in a sticky situation?
I don't know about the thieves, but if I had stolen millions of dollars worth of maple syrup, I'd swallow the evidence. Quick. I'd down it in Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie, hide it in Maple Bourbon Brown Butter Granola, and pour it over Gluten-Free Banana Buckwheat Pancakes. I might dispose of some in a maple-bourbon cocktail.
But most of it would disappear into an enormous batch of my latest ice cream addiction.
Every recipe I post on this site is one that feels complete, as good as it can possibly be, but this ice cream has received particularly high praise. Eyes widen as the first bite is taken; friends vigilantly watching their weight ask for seconds; Jay, who rarely enjoys ice cream on its own, will eagerly accept a bowl; and my chocophiliac sister asked me to make it for her birthday, which is unprecedented for a non-chocolate dessert.
In addition to the winning combination (I just accidentally typed "sinning combination") of maple, bourbon and pecans, flaky salt crystals lodged within crunchy clusters of candied pecans enhance flavors. Salt plays beautifully with the earthy maple and sweetened nuts, and the crisp nuggets contrast their creamy surroundings. The pecans, enrobed in hardened caramel, stay crisp, quite unlike the soggy bits you may remember from store-bought Butter Pecan.
Best of all, this ice cream tastes intensely of maple, due to generous amounts of dark maple syrup. It lends the cool cream a warmth of flavor, bridging the gap from summer to fall and whispering of winter holidays.
This ice cream also has the added bonus of being softly scoopable straight from the freezer. The sugars in the maple and the alcohol in the bourbon conspire to keep it pliant, the texture of Italian gelato kept at the proper (warmer) temperature.
This dessert needs no embellishment, but it wouldn't hurt to add it to a slice of apple pie.
Bojon appétit, my sweets! If you make this, I’d love to know. Please leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
Maple Bourbon Pecan Ice Cream
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Ice Cream Base:
- ¾ cup maple syrup (preferably grade B)
- 1 cup half and half (or whole milk)
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons bourbon whiskey (90 proof; such as Bulleit)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Salty Candied Pecans:
- 1 cup pecans, toasted, cooled, and broken into quarters or sixths
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon butter
- ½ teaspoon flaky salt (such as Malden)
Instructions
Make the ice cream base:
- In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the maple syrup, half and half and fine salt. Heat over a medium flame, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to steam and small bubbles form around the edges. (If the mixture begins to look curdled, take it off the heat and don't worry; it will smooth out in the next step. It's just the acidity of the maple syrup having its way with the milk solids.)
- Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl and place the bowl on a damp kitchen towel to anchor it. Place the cold, heavy cream in a heat-proof bowl and set a mesh sieve over the bowl.
- Slowly dribble the hot milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pot, place over a low flame, and cook, stirring constantly with a heat-proof silicone spatula, until the mixture begins to "stick" or form a film on the bottom of the pan, or reaches 170º. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and pour the mixture through the strainer and into the cold cream. Stir to combine, then cover and chill until very cold, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
While the base chills, candy the pecans:
- In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, add enough water to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Add the sugar to the center of the pot, moisten it evenly with the water, and wash any crystals that get on the sides of the pan down into the water. Add the corn syrup and cover the pot with a lid. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil until the sugar has dissolved.
- Have the butter, salt and nuts measured and at the ready, and have a sheet of parchment paper or a baking sheet ready on which to dump the candied nuts.
- Remove the lid from the pot, and, without stirring, boil the syrup until it reaches an amber caramel. (If the mixture begins to crystallize, you can save it by adding more water and beginning the caramelization process again.) Remove the pot from the heat and immediately swirl in the butter and salt, then add the nuts and stir quickly to coat with a heat-proof silicone spatula.
- Dump and scrape the nuts out onto the parchment, and quickly separate the pieces with the spatula as much as possible. You can use your fingers when the mixture cools a little more, stretching it into fun shapes. Let the nuts cool, break or chop up any large clumps, then freeze the nuts while you...
Churn the ice cream:
- Stir the bourbon and vanilla into the chilled ice cream base. Place the ice cream base in the freezer for half an hour to get it really cold, stirring it every 10 minutes to prevent ice crystals from forming.
- Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is the consistency of a thick milkshake, stir in the candied pecan pieces. Scrape the ice cream into a container, and freeze until scoopable, at least 4 hours.
- The ice cream is best within a week of churning, but will keep for several months. Store with a piece of parchment paper pressed to the surface to prevent ice crystals from forming.
Anonymous says
you are my hero! I will be making this soon.
Alanna says
Aw, thanks!
Phoebe says
This is now at the top of my to make list! Also, I thought you might be interested in an update to the maple syrup heist: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/million+maple+syrup+stolen+Quebec+recovered/7336807/story.html
Alanna says
Thanks for passing along the good news, Phoebe! I hope you love the ice cream as much as we do. : )
Paula @ Vintage Kitchen says
I´d put bourbon in most things I make if it wasn´t for repetitive posts that no-one would like to read, and maple is a close second. Maybe because I can´t find it here regularly, maybe once a year there´s a supermarket that has an imported batch; I make my own but always crave the real thing. So it can´t get much better than this ice cream! And candied pecans too!
Alanna says
Word! I'm sorry maple syrup is hard to come by in your neck of the woods.
Juliana says
This looks delicious and I will be making it for Thanksgiving this week. Can I make the pecans without corn syrup? Thanks!
Alanna says
Hi! The corn syrup is there to help prevent crystallization, but you can definitely try honey or maple syrup in its place. LMK how it goes!
Juliana says
I used maple syrup and it turned out beautifully. Delicious!
Mo says
Hi, making this today by request from my husband who longingly remembers a bourbon pecan ice cream I made years ago. Can you clarify the proof of bourbon recommended please?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw that's so sweet of you! Great question – it's 90 proof; I'll update the recipe to clarify. Please let me know how it turns out! And apologies for the delay; I just back from a camping trip where I didn't have internet.
Jeff says
Loved the ice cream, thank you very much!!!
The complex favors of the maple, salty caramel pecan & bourbon create an interesting flavor as it goes down. This was the first ice cream recipe I made that wasn't a base flavor like Chocolate and because of that it did take extra time - that said it was well worth it.
Only changes to the recipe were using Himalayan salt instead of flaky salt, used grade A syrup and used pecan pieces from Trader Joe's that were pre-toasted - all of which because I'm a bit lazy but seemed to work well.
Jeff says
Christmas update
Still love the ice cream, made it for my family parties and everyone loved it as well. After making this recipe a few more times I have some additional notes to share
* Grade B should be translated "Grade A Dark" these days, Grade B is an old term not used at least in the Pacific Northwest
* I finally followed the exact recipe for Maple Syrup and Bourbon and it really did work. I'm not much of a drinker so was a little nervous to use that much Bourbon (sorry I doubted!)
* I now use regular Sea Salt to be safe
* The biggest change is that I've decided to no longer make my own Caramel sauce as the recipe calls for. Instead I use a very good local brand "jonboy" at https://jonboycaramels.com/
Thanks again, really love it!
Alanna says
So glad you're still loving the ice cream - thanks for the update! :)
Andrea says
Perfection every time I make this. This is the most requested thing I make that my friends ask for. It’s such a hit. The custard base is perfect. Quick and easy to follow directions and the smoothness of this ice cream is addicting. Could I use this base without the bourbon? Just curious if it’s flexible in terms of flavors or mix ins!
Alanna says
Aw I'm so glad you all love this recipe! It's a longtime favorite around here too.
You could definitely use the base with other mix-ins! The alcohol keeps it softer when frozen, so if you go booze-free just be prepared to let the ice cream sit at room temp a little longer before scooping.
Please come back and let me know what you try!
Anne Cleveland says
Absolutely delicious! Bought some praline pecans at Costco and used those. Got the Bulleit bourbon....holy moly! Very expensive but well worth it.
Alanna says
Thanks so much for the rating and note Anne! I'm so glad you loved the ice cream and the bourbon - it's still a favorite in my home too. Using praline pecans as a shortcut is brilliant!
Anne Cleveland says
A note about the Bulleit bourbon. Realized that I bought a single barrel that is 52% alcohol by volume and 104 proof. That's why it cost $70 USD! Also had a question......I got distracted by my dogs and didn't pour it through a sieve. What will that do? I have an ice cream machine with a compressor. Do I still need to refrigerate for a long period and put in freezer before I churn? Thanks for the great recipe, BTW.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Anne,
Oh yikes, thanks for the note about the bourbon. I'll add the proof to the recipe for clarification.
No worries about not straining the ice cream, it's really just to remove any eggy bits and give a smoother texture, but it will still be delicious!
I believe that chilling the ice cream before churning gives it a smoother texture due to the milk proteins relaxing (don't quote me on this haha!) but totally up to you. Let me know how it turns out. So glad you love the recipe, it's one of my favorites too!
-A
Anne Cleveland says
Turned out great as always. Everyone raved about it. My brother kept asking if I really made it. He even said it was better than Clementine's Naughty & Nice (local creamery).
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
That's fantastic, I'm so glad it was a hit! Did you end up using the full amount of the super-boozy bourbon?
Also love that creamery name, hehe. This ice cream is definitely both naughty and nice!
Janet says
My word this was absolutely delicious and relatively simply despite the number of steps! I couldn't agree more with the earlier comment about the perfection of the base ice cream mix. I substituted Butter Tart Vodka for the bourbon with great results - thought I may have added a tich too much (following the some is good more must be better rule) as it was rather boozy but once frozen - perfection incarnate!
Thanks for the great recipe!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you loved it! I'll have to check out that vodka, it sounds delicious!
Becky says
I haven’t made this in a few years but I am definitely going to make it for one of the upcoming holidays!! It’s delicious and can’t wait to make again!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw I'm so glad you love this recipe. It's one of my all-time favorites too!
Jenna says
This is seriously the BEST ice cream I've ever had! And really easy recipe too. Thanks for sharing it.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay I'm so glad you like it - one of my all-time favorite foods ever! :)
Mia says
WOW. Just WOW.
We made this for Christmas this year and went back and forth on it before making it. The measurements aren't the same as my other standard recipes I usually use...and no sugar? Only maple syrup? Suspicious...then the amount of Bourbon? Feels like a lot...
But I read the other comments and trusted along the way and I am here to say that this is the best ice cream I have ever made. The bourbon isn't overwhelming, but instead brings out the complexity of the maple sugar. It's not lacking sweetness, creaminess, or balance at all. This is the only recipe I will make from here on out. I'm sorry I doubted! My only concern is that we didn't make a double batch and my family will eat all of it (my boyfriend and I keep sneaking extra bites as its sitting in the freezer now)
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw this note made me so happy to read. So glad you loved the ice cream despite the unconventional quantities. I agree - one batch is never enough!
chelsea says
Hi! I don't know if I'm going crazy, but did you used to have a different recipe for maple ice cream up on your website that used maple sugar? I think the accompanying blog post was how you were invited to NH to a maple farm? I am looking for that ice cream recipe and can't seem to find it anywhere! Is there any possible way you would be able to give me that recipe that used maple sugar? I would appreciate it so much as I really enjoyed the former recipe and would love to use it again!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Chelsea,
You're not going crazy - at least not where that recipe is concerned, haha! I just emailed it to you. So glad you like it and that you reached out about it!
xo,
A
Cariboo Mama says
Thank you for this amazing recipe. I dont follow many ice cream recipes, I usually create my own. Ice cream cakes are a big hit in my home and thats where this recipe found its place. I made it last year for my husbands bday cake, and he requested it again this year. The only alteration I did was using brown organic rice syrup instead of corn in the caramel. I also used a canadian whiskey I had on hand. Living rural makes simple luxuries sometimes hard to find so I made do with what I had. I used an organic pack of maple cream filled cookies for the crust, grinded up with a little butter and pressed into the pan. I prefer to not bake the crusts as they become hard to cut and very crumbly when frozen. I doubled the ice cream recipe to fit nicely in a 9x13 pan. We got to enjoy it 2 nights and it was lovely. Im looking forward to enjoying it again this year and putting it into a normal rotation in this house. Yum!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Oh my goodness, that ice cream cake sounds insanely delicious! So glad you love the ice cream recipe. Thanks for the great feedback!