Summer is lingering, providing us with beautiful warm days, but as of today I can say that fall is finally in the air, bringing with it fall cravings {enter sweet potatoes and maple pecans}. It’s the perfect equation for an autumn ice cream. Although it’s worth saying that I’ve been making this ice cream for over a year now and it has been a family favorite in every season of the year.
At its base, this sweet potato ice cream is a custard which is then churned, making the ice cream extra rich and creamy. Why sweet potato, you ask? Simply because I love sweet potatoes. They are often overshadowed by the pumpkin, but they have their own lightly sweet flavor. They have a lot to offer in terms of nutrition, too. This ice cream is lightly spiced with hints of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg which give this cool treat a warming and comforting quality. The flavors are reminiscent of and in fact inspired by pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread but the more delicately-flavored sweet potato adds a natural sweetness to the ice cream. Pecans caramelized in a maple-butter glaze round out the ice cream and add a richness in both flavor and texture.
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 6 Tbsp maple syrup (*I use unfiltered Grade B maple syrup)
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
- Mix in the maple syrup and add the pecan pieces.
- Stirring constantly, cook the pecans for approximately 10 minutes or until the maple-butter glaze boils and thickens.
- Let the glazed pecan pieces cool completely.
- In a large saucepan, beat the eggs, milk and sugar until well blended.
- Cook the egg mixture over low heat for roughly 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. It should smoothly coat the back of a wooden spoon.
- Whisk in the mashed sweet potato, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder.
- Let the mixture cool.
- Add the heavy cream and the vanilla.
- Stir until blended and refrigerate the mixture until it is completely chilled, for several hours or up to overnight.
- Stir in the maple pecans and then churn the ice cream.
- Following the instructions of your ice cream maker, pour the chilled mixture into your machine and stir it until the ice cream forms. It will typically be more like soft-serve when you first make it. If you want firmer ice cream, transfer it to a sealed container once it reaches the soft-serve consistency and let it freeze for several hours until it hardens.
- If you don't have an ice cream maker, pour the ice cream mixture into a glass baking dish and place it in the freezer.
- Stir it vigorously with a hand-held mixer or a whisk every 30-40 minutes to break up the ice chunks and keep it creamy.
- Once it reaches your desired consistency, transfer it to a sealed container and store it in the freezer.
