Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

Anyone who hasn’t tried Haagen-Dazs’ dulce de leche ice cream will have a hard time guessing what flavor this is. Not quite caramel or butterscotch, this is one of those ice cream flavors that make people go, “Oh my gulay* this is so good. What flavor is this?”

Dulce de leche ice cream comes in a low-key shade of light brown so it’s not the most exciting-looking frozen dessert, but one spoonful and finicky preferences won’t matter. This ice cream flavor is a certified crowd pleaser.

It’s also really easy to make because it uses an egg-free ice cream base. The pre-churn chilling does take a bit of time, but you’ll get the best flavor and consistency with an overnight rest in the fridge.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

makes about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream, depending on overrun

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups whole milk (18.5 ounces / 525 grams)
1 1/4 cups dulce de leche (14 ounces / 396 grams)
1/2 cup heavy cream (4.6 ounces / 130 grams)
a splash of vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

Special Equipment:

* an ice cream maker

Instructions:

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the milk and dulce de leche just to a boil, stirring until the dulce de leche is dissolved.
2. Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt.
3. Cool completely at room temperature. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
4. Churn, churn, churn.
5. Serve immediately for a soft-serve consistency or store in an airtight container and freeze.