Inspired by old-fashioned Butter Brickle, this easy no churn keto ice cream recipe features vanilla custard ice cream, crunchy cookie crumbs, and a caramel swirl - and it's carnivore-friendly!
Mix together the milk powder and water in a medium bowl.
Add the butter to a small-medium skillet over medium-low heat. Once the butter is lightly browned and smells nutty (about 4 to 5 minutes), stir in the the powdered milk/water mixture, sweetener, and salt. Turn the heat down to low and cook until the mixture is thickened and has turned a light golden color, about 10 minutes, whisking frequently.
Whisk in the cream, and cook until it’s smooth and thick like caramel, about 4 to 6 minutes, whisking frequently.
Transfer to a small bowl and set aside to cool.
For the Cookie Crumbles:
Add the butter to a medium skillet over low heat. Once the butter is melted, sprinkle the milk powder evenly across the surface. Add the salt. Stir the mixture (it will form crumbles). Continue cooking until the crumbles are golden, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the sweetener and vanilla bean powder, and transfer the crumbles to a bowl to cool.
For the Custard:
Stir together the cream, milk, sweetener, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat. Once steaming, add half of the hot cream mixture a little at a time into the egg yolks while whisking. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the rest of the cream mixture. Continue cooking until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 3 minutes.
Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve to remove any bits of cooked egg, and set aside to cool.
For the Ice Cream Base:
Add the cream to a large bowl, and use a handheld electric beater to whip until it forms soft peaks. Add the vanilla bean powder and continue whipping until forms stiff peaks.
Beat 1/3 of the cooled custard mixture to the whipped cream at a time until all the custard is incorporated.
Assemble and Freeze:
Transfer half of the ice cream base to an 8.5 by 4.6-inch loaf pan (or any 1.5-quart freezer-safe dish), and spread it out evenly.
Drizzle half of the cooled caramel onto the ice cream base, and sprinkle on half of the cooled cookie crumbles (I like to go all the way to the edge of the dish so you can see the layer).
Spoon the remaining half of the ice cream base on top, and spread it out evenly. Drizzle on the remaining half of the caramel, and use a butter knife to gently swirl it around a little. Sprinkle on the remaining half of the cookie crumbles.
Cover the dish with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 4 to 5 hours.
Video
Notes
Net Carbs: 7g per serving
Storage: If it’s wrapped well (or stored in an airtight freezer-safe container), this will keep for about 1 month in the freezer.
Make Ahead: You can make a couple of the components of this recipe ahead of time and store them in separate containers in the fridge. The caramel and custard will both last up to 3 days, and the cookie crumbles will last up to 2 weeks. The only part of this recipe that I don't recommend making ahead of time is the ice cream base made of whipped cream.
Assembly Tip: Make sure all the components are cool when you assemble the ice cream. The custard should be cool when you incorporate it into the whipped cream for the ice cream base. Additionally, the caramel and cookie crumbles need to be cool when you assemble the ice cream.
Serving: If the ice cream is too firm to scoop, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to thaw.
Sweetener Optional: In this recipe we use powdered monk fruit/allulose sweetener, which is a keto sugar replacement, to add sweet flavor. I kept the amount to a minimum. If you've been following a ketogenic way of eating for a while, the level of sweetener in the recipe will likely work well for you. However, if you're new to a keto diet and your palate is still more familiar with the flavor of regular desserts, I recommend doubling the amount of sweetener everywhere it's used. Alternatively, if you're following a carnivore way of eating, go ahead and omit the sweetener if you like. Or if you allow honey on your carnivore meal plan, you can use that instead.
Carnivore Version:To make this ice cream carnivore instead of keto, you'll only need to make two simple changes to this recipe: omit the sweetener and the vanilla! Of course depending on whether or not you include honey in your carnivore lifestyle, you can choose to swap out the monk fruit/allulose sweetener for honey to taste. Other than the taste being less sweet, the only difference you'll notice if you omit the sweetener is that the caramel won't be as golden in color.