Christmas Pudding & Brandy Butter Ice Cream

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This festive frozen dessert combines leftover Christmas pudding with a creamy, homemade brandy & brown butter ice cream.

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scoop of Christmas pudding ice cream

This homemade ice cream is super creamy, flavoured with brown butter, brandy & vanilla and is packed full of chunks of Christmas pudding. It’s nutty, boozy, fruity & a fantastic way to use up leftover Christmas pudding.

If you’re looking for a festive ice cream to make this Christmas, it doesn’t get better than this! Serve a scoop of this with a warm mince pie or a slice of Christmas pudding & you’re in for a real treat!

Ice cream is one of my favourite things to make & I’m always looking for new & interesting flavours to try! If there’s a flavour that you’d like to see on the blog, leave us a comment at the bottom of this page. Or check out our ever growing collection of easy to make flavours!

What You’ll Need

  • Christmas Pudding – I used leftovers from my Guinness Christmas pudding but any type will work! Make sure that your Christmas pud has been chilled in the fridge before being added into the ice cream, so that it doesn’t warm the ice cream up.
  • Brandy Butter – We’re making our own brandy butter but with brown butter, for extra flavour. To make this you’ll just need unsalted butter & a brandy of your choice. Adding a small amount of alcohol into our custard also makes the ice cream easier to scoop.
  • Milk & Cream – For the creamiest ice cream, we’re going to be using double (heavy) cream & whole milk.
  • Vanilla – For the best flavour, it’s best to use half of a good quality vanilla pod or a teaspoon of vanilla paste.
  • Sugar – You’ll need caster sugar & glucose syrup for this ice cream. Both add sweetness & glucose syrup makes our ice cream easier to scoop.
  • Skimmed Milk Powder – Skimmed milk powder is used to make ice cream smoother & creamier. I like to use Marvel milk powder but any brand should work.
  • Egg Yolks – Using egg yolks in our custard base adds fat & richness to our ice cream. For this recipe, we need 75 grams of yolks which is roughly 4 eggs’ worth.
  • Salt – Adding sea salt to our ice cream improves its’ flavour. I use Maldon salt.
brandy butter ice cream churning
brandy butter ice cream with xmas pud

How To Make Christmas Pudding & Brandy Butter Ice Cream

The full, printable recipe card for this homemade ice cream can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…

  1. Brandy Brown Butter
    The first step is to make our brandy brown butter. To do this, we add butter into a pan then cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently until it turns brown & smells nutty. We then transfer the butter into a bowl, let it cool slightly then stir in brandy. We let this cool slightly, whilst we make the custard.
  2. Custard Base
    To start our custard we add milk into a pan along with milk powder, glucose syrup, sea salt, vanilla & half of our caster sugar. We set this over a low heat & cook until it is steaming hot (but not boiling).
  3. Tempering Yolks
    Whilst the milk is warming up, we add egg yolks & the remaining sugar into a mixing bowl then whisk to combine. Next, we whisk half of the warm milk into the eggs to temper them – this helps prevent them from scrambling.
  4. Cooking Out
    Now we whisk the tempered yolks into the pan of milk then cook the custard, stirring constantly until it reaches a temperature of 82°c/180°f (egg yolks are fully cooked at this temperature). You’ll need a digital food probe here.
  5. Mix In Brandy Butter
    Once our custard is cooked, we take the pan off the heat & stir in double cream. We then blend the custard with a stick blender, adding in the brandy butter at the same time, to incorporate both together.
  6. Overnight Chill
    Next, we pass the custard into a bowl, through a sieve. Once cool, we chill it in the fridge overnight. Make sure to place a piece of baking paper on top of the custard to stop a skin forming as it cools.
  7. Churning
    The next day, we churn the custard in an ice cream machine until it is the same consistency as soft serve. If you were to check the temperature with a digital food probe, it will be around -5°c/23°f. In most ice cream machines, this will take around 20 minutes – half an hour.
  8. Fold In Christmas Pudding
    Once churned, we fold chunks of chilled Christmas pudding into the ice cream then we transfer it into a 1 litre tub & pop it in the freezer.
  9. Freezing
    The final step is to set the ice cream in the freezer for at least 4 hours before scooping. I tend to let my ice cream set overnight in a freezer set to its’ lowest setting (around -18°c/0.4°f).

Christmas Pudding Ice Cream Tips & Tricks

  • Add a small amount of alcohol into the base, for a softer set. We’re using brandy.
  • Blitz the custard with a stick blender when adding in the brandy butter, to help incorporate both together.
  • Let your custard base “age” in the fridge overnight. This helps develop the flavours in your base & as the custard will be cold, it will churn quicker making the final ice cream smoother & creamier.
  • Churn the ice cream until it reaches soft serve consistency (a temperature of -5°c/23°f), to avoid over churning.
  • Set your freezer to 18°c/-1°f to give your ice cream the best set.
  • Dip your ice cream scoop in warm water before using, for easier scooping!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an ice cream machine to make this recipe?

For the best results, you will need to use an ice cream machine. These can be picked up online for various price points but the investment is worth it! If you’re looking for an ice cream machine, check out my Cuisinart ice cream maker review. This the machine that I use!

How long does homemade ice cream take to churn?

Homemade ice cream will take around 20-30 minutes to churn, depending on the machine that you are using. You’ll know when your ice cream is ready when it’s the consistency of soft serve & it has reached a temperature of around -5°c/23°f (you’ll need a digital food probe here).

How long will Christmas pudding ice cream keep for?

Once churned, homemade Christmas pudding ice cream will keep for up to 2 weeks in the freezer. After this time, larger ice crystals will start to form, negatively affecting the texture.

How long does Christmas pudding ice cream take to set in the freezer?

Once churned, your ice cream needs to set in the freezer before being scooped & served. Presuming that your freezer is set to -18°c/0.4°f, this will take at least 4 hours.

What type of milk powder is best for making ice cream with?

Skimmed milk powder is best, as it won’t affect the fat content of the ice cream. I use Marvel skimmed milk powder but any brand should work.

How much ice cream does this recipe make?

This recipe makes 1 litre of homemade ice cream. This equates to around 12 scoops or 4-6 portions.

Equipment Used

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More Festive Recipes To Try!

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Christmas Pudding & Brandy Butter Ice Cream

This festive frozen dessert combines leftover Christmas pudding with a creamy, homemade brandy & brown butter ice cream.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Churning Time25 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: British, English
Servings: 1 Litre
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Ice Cream Machine
  • Digital Food Probe
  • Stick Blender
  • Large Saucepan
  • Mixing Bowl
  • 1 Litre Tub
  • Ice Cream Scoop

Ingredients

Brandy Butter

  • 75 g Unsalted Butter
  • 25 g Brandy

Custard Base

  • 440 g Whole Milk
  • 120 g Caster Sugar
  • 40 g Skimmed Milk Powder
  • 30 g Glucose Syrup
  • ½ Vanilla Pod (Or 1 tsp Vanilla Paste)
  • ¼ tsp Sea Salt
  • 75 g Egg Yolks
  • 200 g Double Cream

To Finish

  • 175 g Christmas Pudding (See Notes)

Instructions

Brandy Butter

  • Chop the butter into small, even pieces then place into a small saucepan. Set this over a medium heat then cook, stirring regularly until the butter starts to foam, smell nutty & you can see that the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown.
  • Once cooked, immediately transfer the brown butter into a bowl, leave to cool slightly then stir in the brandy. Set this aside for now.

Custard Base

  • Place the milk, milk powder, glucose, vanilla, salt & 60 grams of the caster sugar into a large saucepan.
    If you're using a vanilla pod, scrape the seeds out then add both the pod & seeds into the milk.
  • Whisk to combine then place the saucepan over a low heat & leave to warm gently until steaming hot (but don’t let it boil). Make sure to stir the milk regularly with a spatula.
  • Whilst the milk is heating up, place the egg yolks & remaining sugar into a mixing bowl & whisk to combine.
  • Once the milk is steaming hot, pour half of it into the yolks, whisking as you do so. Pour the now tempered yolks into the pan of milk.
  • Cook the custard over a low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon & has reached a temperature of 82°c/180°f. 
    A digital food probe comes in handy here!
  • Once cooked, take the custard off the heat & stir in the double cream. If you've used a vanilla pod, take this out of the custard at this point.
  • Next, blend the custard with a stick blender & at the same time, gradually pour in the brandy butter. Keep blending until the butter has been incorporated.
    Using a stick blender helps incorporate the butter into the custard. If you haven't got one, you can whisk the butter in by hand.
  • Pass the custard through a sieve, into a bowl then leave to cool, stirring occasionally. Cover the custard's surface with a piece of baking parchment & refrigerate overnight.

Churning

  • The next day, pour the chilled custard into an ice cream machine & churn until it is the consistency of soft serve. If you take the temperature with a digital food probe, it will register roughly -5°c/23°f.
  • In the meantime, chop the Christmas pudding into 1 cm chunks then chill in the fridge until your ice cream has finished churning.
  • Once the ice cream has finished churning, fold in the chunks of Christmas pudding then transfer to a 1 litre tub.
  • Place the tub of ice cream into a freezer & leave to set for at least 4 hours before serving.

Notes

1. Ice Cream Machine – To churn this ice cream, you’ll need to use an ice cream machine. The machine that I use is linked in the post above.
2. Christmas Pudding – I used my Guinness Christmas pudding for this ice cream but any sort will work. Make sure that the pudding has been chilled in the fridge before using.
3. Milk & Cream – For the best texture & flavour, make sure to use double (heavy) cream & whole milk.
4. Skimmed Milk Powder – Milk powder can be found in most supermarkets. I use Marvel skimmed milk powder.
5. Glucose Syrup – Glucose syrup is used to make our ice cream easily scoopable. This is available in most supermarkets.
6. Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter for this recipe.
7. Storage – Homemade ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

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