dulce de leche ice cream
While most of the people I know swear the the best frozen treats are gelatos from Italy or crème glacée in Paris, I say the helados in Buenos Aires are hands down the best ice creams in the world. And my favorite? Dulce de leche of course! Imagine my delight when I found a fabulous recipe in Gourmet magazine several years ago. Not only is it delicious, but it is one of the easiest homemade ice creams I have ever made. It has become a summer staple in our house. Delicious on its own, served over summer fruit cobblers or sandwiched between cookies…I am sure it will become one of your summer favorites as well.
As a rule, I try not to cook using store-bought convenience items (sorry Sandra Lee or Sandra Dee or whatever your processed food loving name is). Over the years I have transitioned to whole, organic foods whenever possible. This ice cream violates that rule but is one of the easiest and best tasting ice creams to ever come out of a home kitchen. The only complicated thing is you need an ice cream freezer (I use the Kitchen Aide attachment). Well, that and the homemade dulce de leche…
The original recipe in Gourmet uses 1 pound of dulce de leche. Because I make my own, and each can is slightly less than a pound, I have adjusted the milk and cream amounts accordingly. I also leave out the pecans, because you really don’t need anything to detract from the dulce de leche flavor. If you love nuts in your ice cream, stay tuned for my butter pecan ice cream, sure to make an appearance at some point this summer.
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream (adapted from Gourmet, May 2007)
1 2/3 cup (395 ml) whole milk
3/4 cup (178 ml) heavy cream
1 can homemade dulce de leche (about 1 1/3 cups or 14 ounces or 315 ml)
1/8 teaspoon (1 ml) vanilla
Scoop dulce de leche into a medium-size bowl. Heat milk and cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high until it boils. Immediately remove from heat. Pour hot liquid over dulce de leche while whisking to incorporate. Whisk in vanilla.
Cover with a kitchen towel and place in the back of the refrigerator (the coldest place) until well chilled, about 4 hours.
Pour into ice cream freezer and freeze until soft-serve consistency. Transfer to plastic container and store in freezer at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Makes a generous quart.
chocolate hippos 
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