Boozy Dessert: Easy No-Churn Salted Caramel Bourbon Ice Cream Recipe
You guys, I think I've found the answer to all of our problems, and it's boozy salted caramel ice cream. And did I mention that it requires a grand total of four ingredients? And that you don't have to churn it? Do I sound like one of those 90s' infomercials yet? Nonetheless, I'm convinced that this homemade salted caramel bourbon ice cream recipe is so easy and good that it's made from the dust of unicorns and is the secret to world peace. Because salted caramel bourbon ice cream.
Being Labor Day Weekend, it feels like the last hurrah of summer. Or, if you're like me, and live in Southern California, then it feels like summer the rest of the year, but it just starts getting dark earlier. So this felt like my last shot for making a boozy frozen treat before winter starts to overtake the world. Or perhaps the last season-appropriate boozy recipe.
But does anyone feel overwhelmed by the perspective of making homemade ice cream because of the whole ice cream maker and churning thing? Or am I just lazy? Well as it turns out, you don't need an ice cream machine to make homemade ice cream, nor do you need to churn it. And generally speaking, you can make it with as little as two ingredients. What? Two-ingredient ice cream?
Really all you absolutely need to make easy, no-churn ice cream is sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream, as The Kitchn shows us. You probably have these in your cabinet already. Of course if you want flavored ice cream, like vanilla, mint chocolate chip, or in this case, salted caramel ice cream, then you'll be adding additional ingredients.
I was inspired by a couple different homemade, no-churn salted caramel ice cream recipes, the first of which my friend Trisha posted on Facebook from Epicurious, and the other from Nigella. In this case, I added a couple tablespoons of bourbon and then some drops of vanilla for additional flavor. But go crazy, be it adding walnuts, cashews, pecans, pretzels, or any other ingredients that would complement it. Did I mention how easy it was? It took about a grand total of 10 minutes to make, followed by several hours in the freezer. And then voila, and your friends will love you. Or you can just eat the whole tub of ice cream yourself. I won't judge. It's the freakin' holiday weekend!
Salted Caramel Bourbon Ice Cream
Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 6 hours
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup dulce de leche or caramel sauce
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp. of sea salt flakes
- 2 tbsp. bourbon
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Add caramel, heavy cream, vanilla, and sea salt flakes to a bowl and mix until it thickens and is smooth. Most recipes recommend a hand or freestanding mixer, but I whisked it by hand and it turned out great.
- Add bourbon (add an additional tablespoon for a stronger bourbon flavor, but not much, lest it doesn't freeze) and stir.
- Add any additional ingredients and put into a Tupperware tub to freeze for several hours.
- Pull out of freezer and add additional toppings and enjoy (use your discernment when choosing to share).
