Tonka Bean Ice Cream
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Tonka bean ice cream is the richest and creamiest ice cream base flavored with delicious tonka beans. It’s one of our all-time favorite ice cream flavors. You’ll love it!
If you’ve never tried tonka beans, you should change that asap! They are an excellent addition to your pantry. Since you buy tonka beans whole and grate them as needed, they stay fresh for a very long time.
Tonka bean ice cream is our absolute favorite way to use this special spice. Our recipe makes incredibly creamy ice cream with pronounced tonka bean flavor. It is like extra-rich, luxurious vanilla ice cream with a hint of caramel.
Ingredients needed
- Whole milk – Don’t be tempted to use lower-fat milk as it will result in icy ice cream.
- Sea salt – Brings out all the wonderful flavors.
- Tonka bean – The star of this tonka bean ice cream recipe!
- Egg yolks – We use 6 egg yolks for the most luxuriously creamy ice cream.
- Granulated sugar – You can also use brown sugar for a malty flavor.
- Heavy cream – Real whipping cream makes the dreamiest ice cream.
- Vanilla extract – To complement the tonka bean flavor.
Q&A
What are tonka beans? Tonka beans are a spice from South America. They are the dried seeds of a kumaru tree and resemble a large raisin. Tonka beans are sold whole and grated into recipes, as you would nutmeg.
Are tonka beans illegal? Be warned: it is not likely to be an easy hunt, especially if you live in the United States. For some reason, back in the ’50s, the No-Fun-Police got wind that there was a teeny tiny bit of coumarin in tonka beans, which could harm you if eaten in massive quantities. The same goes for cinnamon and nutmeg, though those were passed over, perhaps because they didn’t seem as exotic or dangerous. You’d need to eat about thirty whole tonka beans before they would be harmful. This tonka bean ice cream recipe contains only one tonka bean.
Where can you buy tonka beans? It was once tricky to buy tonka beans outside Europe. But thanks to Amazon, it’s now easy to source them in North America as well. You can buy them online or ask your local specialty food store if they can help you source some.
What do tonka beans taste like? Tonka beans taste similar to vanilla and amaretto. Some people say that they taste a little like sweet hay, too. It’s a truly unique spice that tastes sweet and smells incredible.
Tonka Bean Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 Tonka bean (plus extra for serving)
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place the milk and sea salt in a medium-sized pot. Grate the tonka bean using a fine grater (a Microplane works the best for this) into the pot. Heat the milk over medium-high heat until it is steaming but not boiling. Let the milk stand for 15 minutes to infuse.1 cup whole milk, 1 pinch sea salt, 1 Tonka bean
- Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Add a little of the warm milk to the egg yolks and stir it well to temper the eggs. (If you pour the eggs directly into the hot liquid you will end up with scrambled eggs. Tempering them with a little of the hot milk helps prevent this.)6 large egg yolks, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Slowly add the tempered eggs to the warm milk while stirring constantly. Place the pot on medium-low heat and stir it constantly until it thickens. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.2 cups heavy cream, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium-sized bowl. (This is to get out any bits of eggs that might have scrambled on the bottom of your pot.)
- Place the bowl in your fridge and give it a stir every 10 minutes or so until it is no longer hot, about a half hour. Leave it in your fridge until it is completely cold, at least 2 hours.
- Churn the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-proof container (like a loaf pan) and freeze it until firm. Grate a little extra tonka bean over top of the ice cream when you serve it.
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Is it possible to make this without an ice cream maker? I have the beans and am looking for ways to use them.
You can! I have a post about how to make no churn ice cream here https://www.theendlessmeal.com/no-churn-ice-cream/
For this tonka bean recipe, use option #2 or #3 – the scrape and stir method or the blender method.
I’ve made a few dozen ice creams in my life, but this recipe produced the lightest, fluffiest batch I’ve ever achieved, and I’m not convinced it has anything to do with the tonka bean. Despite being a standard size, it threatened to overflow as it churned.
I’m pretty sure it’s because I followed the recipe and made the custard with just a cup of milk, and I did all the stirring steps with a whisk. Seems like that small, very stiff batch of custard was able to trap a ton of air, and it remained trapped even after adding the cream and chilling overnight.
I love it! It’s soft and easy to scoop, and I can eat a bigger volume of it without destroying my body. Oh, and tonka beans are delicious. This is my fist time trying them. I suppose I can’t rule out the idea that the bean helped it hold air, but I’m still going to make this my default ice cream base technique. Thanks for the recipe!
I never crave ice cream UNLESS its cold, haha. This looks great!
Haha that’s hilarious! Perfect time of year for you then!
Kristen, I just made your recipe as a pre-Thanksgiving trial, and it received massive acclaim from family and friends. I have been making ice cream, frozen custard and sorbet for years and I’m no beginner, but I can honestly say that this turned out to be the best ice cream I’ve ever made by a mile, and quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted. Absolutely incredible. Thank you.
Thank you so much for the awesome comment! I’m so in love with tonka beans and their deliciously subtle flavor. 🙂
Hi Kristen. I used tonka bean for the first time very recently and I am amazed. I found your blog on Foodgawker while looking for more recipes to use the beans.. Love the idea of this ice cream, I had tonka bean ice cream in a restaurant some time ago and it was great. I think your version is even better, I am sure you have been more generous with the tonka amount used than the restaurant. 🙂
Hi Adina,
They’re so great, aren’t they?! I totally fell in love with them the moment I first had them, too. I hope you like the ice cream. It’s very tonka bean-y. 🙂
I just noticed that I never responded to your comment! Yikes!
I hope you found some. Big time <3 tonka beans. 🙂
Regarding Tonka bean use – how many Tonka beans would I use in a 12 cup Rum Cake and I should I incorporate the bean in to the mix?
Hi Wayne,
I really can’t say since I’ve never made a tonka bean rum cake … it does sound delicious, though!
I would start grate some into the mix and taste as you go. Best of luck!
I’m intrigued. And after a quick internet search it seems they are easy to buy to bring good fortune and make my wishes come true. I wish for ice cream!
I love that! Going to have to add tonka beans to everything now 🙂