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Dulce de Leche Vanilla Bean Swirl Ice Cream

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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