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Dulce De Leche Popcorn Ice Cream

The creamiest ice cream, flavoured with popcorn & finished with a dulce de leche swirl. It's buttery, toffee popcorn in ice cream form!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time20 minutes
Churning Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, South American
Servings: 1 Litre
Author: Ben Racey

Equipment

  • Ice Cream Machine
  • Digital Food Probe
  • Large Saucepans
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Sieve
  • Ice Cream Scoop

Ingredients

Popcorn Infused Milk

  • 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 100 g Popcorn Kernels
  • A Pinch Of Table Salt
  • 450 g Whole Milk Plus Extra If Needed - See Notes
  • ½ Vanilla Pod Or 2 tsp Vanilla Paste

Custard

  • 420 g Infused Milk See Notes
  • 40 g Glucose Syrup
  • 25 g Toasted Milk Powder Skimmed
  • 130 g Light Brown Sugar
  • 85 g Egg Yolks
  • 250 g Double Cream

To Finish

  • 4 tbsp Dulce De Leche See Notes

Instructions

Popcorn Infused Milk

  • Add the veg oil into a large saucepan then set over a medium heat. Let the oil heat up for a minute or so then add in the popcorn kernels.
  • Cover the pan with a lid then cook the popcorn for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan regularly, until all the kernels have popped.
  • Take the pan off the heat then season the popcorn with a generous pinch of salt. Pop the lid back on then give the pan a shake, so that all the popcorn gets salted. Set aside.
  • Next, scrape the seeds out of the vanilla pod then add both the pod & seeds into another saucepan, along with the milk.
  • Set the milk over a low heat then warm gently, until steaming hot. Pour the warm milk over the popcorn then cover with a lid & leave to infuse for an hour.
    To infuse the milk for longer than an hour, chill it overnight in the fridge.

Custard

  • Pass the popcorn infused milk into a jug, through a sieve, squeezing as much liquid out of the popcorn as possible.
  • Whilst the milk is straining, add the toasted milk powder, glucose syrup & half the brown sugar into a saucepan.
  • Next, place the saucepan onto a set of scales then pour in the infused milk. Top up with enough whole milk, to bring the weight up to 420 grams. Whisk the milk to combine then set aside.
  • Add the remaining brown sugar & the egg yolks into a mixing bowl & whisk together.
  • Place the pan of milk over a low heat & cook until steaming hot.
  • When the milk is steaming (don't let it boil!), pour a third into the yolks, whisking as you do so.
    This is called tempering the yolks.
  • Pour the now tempered yolks back into the saucepan of milk then cook the custard over a low heat until it reaches 82°c/180°f, making sure to stir constantly with a rubber spatula.
  • Once cooked, take the custard off the heat & stir in the double cream. Pass the custard into a bowl, through a sieve then leave to cool, stirring occasionally.
  • Once cool, place a piece of baking paper onto the custard’s surface & 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.
  • Once churned, spoon the ice cream into a tub, swirling in dulce de leche with a spoon after every couple of spoonfuls of ice cream.
  • Place the ice cream into a freezer & leave to set for at least 4 hours before serving.

Notes

1. Ice Cream Maker –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. Toasted Milk Powder - To make your own toasted milk powder, check out our "how to make toasted milk powder" guide. For this recipe, you'll need to use skimmed milk powder.
3. Dulce De Leche - For this recipe, you can use either shop bought or homemade dulce de leche. To make your own, take a look at our dulce de leche recipe. You'll need 4 tbsp for this recipe, which is around two thirds of a 397g tin.
4. Glucose Syrup - Glucose syrup is used in this ice cream to add sweetness & to make it easier to scoop. This is available in most supermarkets.
5. Storage - Kept in the freezer, homemade ice creams will keep for up to 2 weeks.