I made this for Joe on Father’s Day and thought it would make a great 4th of July treat as well. It was one of the few things he has ever asked me to make. He was real stingy with his ice cream but when Little Man Z crawled in his lap he found an extra spoon to share. He’s our new kitty and so adorable. You should see the two of them sit together and eat ice cream. This version is really simple and tastes like you went to your favorite ice cream shop. I made up a batch of my homemade vanilla ice cream and added caramel sauce, a little coarse sea salt and praline pecans. Honestly, I think homemade ice cream is key but if making ice cream isn’t your thing, well just go out and pick up 1 1/2 quarts of vanilla ice cream. If you are the ambitious type and want to make everything yourself, I have links to my homemade vanilla ice cream, salted caramel sauce, and vanilla sugar glazed walnuts (just sub in pecans) that will get you the same results.
Here are my ingredients. A homemade batch of vanilla ice cream, a jar of Gaucho Ranch Dulce de Leche caramel spread, and some praline pecans. If you like salted caramel, add 1/2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt to the caramel sauce. You can find the pecans at most grocery stores that carry bulk foods. You scoop just the amount you need and it works out great.
If you make the ice cream yourself, you will want to let the ice cream set in the freezer for 2 – 4 hours, just long enough to start to get hard. Then gently fold in the caramel and pecans so that the texture takes on ribbons of caramel throughout the ice cream. It looks pretty and you get nice bites of caramel throughout the ice cream.
Words just can’t describe it!
Meet Little Z
He likes ice cream!
Z will be helping me out in the kitchen and I’ll try to post a pic or two so you can watch him grow up.
Praline Pecan Ice Cream
1 1/2 – 2 quarts Vanilla Ice Cream
(15 ounce) jar Gaucho Ranch Dulce de Lecho Caramel Spread (found at World Market)
1/2 teaspoon Coarse Sea Salt (preferrably Grey Sea Salt)
3/4 cup Praline Pecans
Mix together approx 1 cup of caramel spread together with 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Run a knife through the pecans until they are bite size pieces. Gently fold into ice cream so that the caramel appears like ribbons throughout the ice cream. Scoop and serve.
If you want to make your own ice cream, caramel sauce, and praline pecans, here are some links to make your own. Follow instructions as shown above.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Salted Caramel Sauce
Vanilla Sugar Glazed Walnuts (substitute Pecans)
An Inspired Cook 