Keto Brown Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Naomi ShermanUpdated 5 February 2022★★★★★4.8 (189 ratings)

Ready in 4h
5.9 g net carbs
398 kcal
Serves 10

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Brown Butter & Pecan Ice Cream (low-carb, keto, primal, vegetarian)

This is now known as “the ice cream that nearly broke me” in my family.

I love ice cream but it’s got to be creamy and smooth. I find that low carb ice creams can easily become icy or just not quite right as far as the texture goes. I know that using egg yolks helps with the creaminess and stability and I also know that vegetable glycerine will do wonders in stopping that iciness.

But I did not know that xylitol will result in a much softer ice cream, so the first batch that I made had a lot more xylitol in it. Not only was it waaaay too sweet, but it also wouldn’t freeze. No matter what I tried, I could not get it past the extremely soft serve stage. I made edible anti-freeze! I will say that the texture was divinely smooth though.

So, I made and re-made batches until I found the perfect balance of these ingredients to create a luscious, creamy ice cream. I was so sick of the sight of ice cream by the end of it! But it was worth every second. Enjoy!

Recipe Tips

For this recipe you'll need to use an ice cream maker. For no-churn options, check out these keto recipes instead.

As for the sweeteners used in this recipe, xylitol improves the texture and add softness but you can use other low-carb sweeteners too: erythritol, Swerve, allulose, stevia or monk fruit based sweeteners. To prevent any gritty texture, process in a coffee grinder or a blender to "powder".

Now there are a couple of reasons you might not want to use xylitol at all. First, it's toxic to dogs and other animals.Trusted sourceWikipediaWikipedia is written collaboratively by largely anonymous volunteers who write without pay.Open link Also, excessive use of xylitol can cause GI issues.Trusted sourceWikipediaWikipedia is written collaboratively by largely anonymous volunteers who write without pay.Open link The issue with that is that some people get GI issues with as little as 1 tablespoon of xylitol.

If that's your case, use allulose instead. Allulose is a healthy low-carb sweetener that's generally well tolerated, and will work just as well as xylitol when it comes to keeping your ice cream soft.

Step-by-step

Preheat oven to 175 °C/ 350 °F (fan assisted), or 195 °C/ 380 °F (conventional). Melt 20 grams (0.7 oz) of the butter and toss through the pecans until coated.
Spread out in an even layer on an oven tray and bake until browned, for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they can burn very easily.
Place cream, almond milk, vanilla, glycerine and Xylitol (or use Allulose) into a pan and heat over gentle heat until Xylitol has dissolved. Make sure to mix it constantly to prevent any xylitol from sticking to the bottom.
Melt the remaining 60 grams (2.1 oz) of butter in a pan and keep heating it until it reaches a deep golden brown colour.
Again, keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t burn. Add the butter to the cream mixture and whisk well.
Place the egg yolks in a mixing bowl and beat well. Add one third of the cream mixture to the egg yolks to temper the yolks, beating well.
Slowly add the egg yolk mixture in to the cream, beating the whole time, and place back over medium heat. Cook slowly until the mixture thickens.
Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool. Place cling wrap over the surface of the custard to avoid a skin forming and chill in the refrigerator until cold, preferably overnight.
Place mixture into your ice cream maker and mix until soft serve consistency is achieved.
Fold the pecans through the mix, retaining a handful for garnish.
Spoon the ice cream into a container, sprinkle with remaining pecans and freeze until firm, usually only a couple of hours.
Store, in a container, in the freezer for up to a month.

Recipe