Tonka Bean Ice Cream
I know it's not exactly ice cream weather these days but I feel like an exception to the No Ice Cream When It's Cold Out rule (do you have that rule too?) can be made. Tonka beans demand to be eaten year-round, even if they're in ice cream. If you're like, “tonka what?” Don't worry, I'll fill you in on what these tasty little things are. But first, let me stare at that drippy ice cream a minute longer.
Just look at all those delicious tonka bean shavings!
If you have yet to meet the acquaintance of one of these tasty things I hope this recipe will inspire you to hunt them down. 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's a teeny tiny bit of something that could harm you if eaten in massive quantities in here. The same goes for cinnamon and nutmeg though but those were passed by, maybe because they didn't seem so exotic and dangerous. Anyway, I have heard it is possible to get your hands on them but you will have to look a little harder. They'll be all the more rewarding when you find them.
So what do they taste like?
Vanilla and amaretto predominantly. The jar that they're in says they smell like hay too, but I can't detect that. They have a slightly sweet taste and they smell incredible.
This is like extra rich and luxurious vanilla ice cream with a hint of caramel flavour. I'm in love. ♥♥♥
Tonka Bean Ice Cream
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
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. Once the custard has cooled cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave it in your fridge until it is completely cold, preferably overnight.
- Freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Grate a little extra tonka bean over top of the ice cream when you serve it.
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. 🙂
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 🙂
I’m officially on the hunt for these little cuties! This ice cream looks absolutely amazing and I think it’s the perfect exception to the rule! Pinned!
I just noticed that I never responded to your comment! Yikes!
I hope you found some. Big time <3 tonka beans. 🙂