The details

Springtime is here and summer is fast approaching, so it’s time to get on the ice cream train! Once you have a machine, ice cream is unbelievably easy to make and so rewarding to dig into (literally). This vanilla bean ice cream is honestly perfect on its own BUT THEN we swirl in caramelized, smooth dulce de leche and whew it’s just bananas. The dulce complements the vanilla flavor without overpowering it, so you really get to enjoy both flavor components here. My dad doesn’t even like vanilla ice cream, and he went back for thirds sooooo…

Also, I need to mention that dulce de leche is CRAZY EASY to make. You just make it from one can of sweetened condensed milk, and you don’t even open the can until the dulce is finished. Yep, you read that right. You can find more details about my new fave ingredient here or in the instructions of this recipe. It requires a little planning ahead time-wise, but it’s well worth it. This dulce de leche ice cream is reaaal good.

How to make homemade ice cream

Heat your milk/cream with flavors, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Temper your egg yolks by adding some hot liquid to the yolks, mixing, and adding the whole thing back into the hot milk.
Cooking milky mixture for 5ish minutes until it slightly thickens and turns to custard.
Strain your custard with a fine mesh sieve so your ice cream is nice and smooth Chill custard overnight.
Churn the next day with your Ice cream machine. I love and use this one–it was a birthday gift from my dad!
Spoon out ice cream into a freezer container. I use this one. Swirl with any mix-ins (dulce for this recipe).
Freeze overnight and enjoy the next day!

What to do with extra dulce de leche?

You can store dulce in an airtight container in the fridge for at least a week, or freeze for months! Just thaw in the fridge before use. I personally love my Dulce de Leche Brownies, which call coincidentally for 1/2 a can of dulce, so just the amount you’ll have leftover from this recipe! They are super gooey and delicious. Dulce de leche is also great spread between vanilla cake layers, like in my vanilla cake recipe. If all else fails, would topping this ice cream with more slightly warmed dulce be a bad idea? I think not!

Eye scream

If you love making ice cream with your home-churner, my Birthday Cake Ice Cream is prettyyyy delicious! At this recipe’s page I’ve also got some useful ice cream tricks and even my go-to formula for concocting new flavors. Check it out!

Bake to this music

Dulce de Leche Vanilla Bean Swirl Ice Cream

Print Recipe

This creamy, custardy vanilla ice cream is taken to the next level with caramelized dulce de leche in this perfect ice cream! It’s the perfect accompaniment for any dessert a la mode or just by itself for a spring or summer treat.

Yield: 2 quarts ice cream 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 cups half n half
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

Make your dulce de leche. In a large stock pot, place the unopened can of sweetened condensed milk with the label removed. Cover with water with several inches of water above the top of the can. Heat on high on your stove until the water boils, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 2.5-3 hours. Remove can from the water and allow to cool completely to room temperature on a wire rack. Dulce de leche can be stored (unopened) at room temp, but stick this can in the fridge for the ice cream.
Make your ice cream custard. Combine half n half, sugar, vanilla bean paste, and salt in a medium saucepan. Warm this milky liquid on medium heat until warm to the touch. In a separate medium bowl, whisk egg yolks together. Measure and pour 1/2 cup of the warm milky mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks. Whisk to combine. Then pour the egg yolk mixture back into the milky mixture and stir together. Continue to heat on medium until the mixture thickens slightly, just coating the back of a spoon or spatula. Take off the heat.
Pour cooked custard through a fine mesh sieve until a large heatproof mixing bowl. Cover the custard and chill in the fridge overnight. Be sure that the bowl of your ice cream maker is in the freezer at this point, if you haven’t put it there already.
Churn your custard in the ice cream maker according to the machine’s instructions. My machine churns it for 25 minutes. As soon as it is finished, spoon out 1/3 of the mixture into your freezing container. Dollop tablespoons of dulce de leche on top as you please. Spoon another 1/3 of the ice cream on top and repeat with the dulce dollops. I use 1/2 of the can for this ice cream, but you could use more if you want extra dulce swirls. Spoon the last 1/3 of the vanilla ice cream over top. Using a knife or long spatula, swirl the ice cream around to distribute the dulce. Smooth the top with a spatula and stick the whole thing back into the freezer.
Freeze overnight. Enjoy the next day! Yay!

Notes

You’ll want to move quickly when turning your ice cream + dulce out into your freezer container–if you take too long, the ice cream can melt and turn grainy after freezing. So no messing around!

Author: Caroline Crockett
Category: dessert, ice cream

Keywords: dulce de leche, vanilla ice cream, vanilla bean ice cream