Looking for an ideal Butterbeer Ice Cream Recipe when starting your umpteenth watch marathon of the Harry Potter movies? Look no further! This creamy butterscotch ice cream is layered with cream soda syrup and will transport you right to your favorite table at The Three Broomsticks.
All About Butterbeer Ice Cream
You can't throw a stick without hitting a butterbeer ice cream recipe these days. Ever since the tasty-sounding drink showed up in the universally-loved Harry Potter book series, it's become something of an obsession among fans.
For my version, I started with a creamy butterscotch ice cream. I didn't want to stop there, though. I'm always reminded of cream soda when reading the parts of the books where butterbeer is mentioned, but I knew that adding the soda directly may add an unpleasant icy texture. Instead, I cooked down a few bottles of cream soda into a thick, sweet syrup, and layered it with the churned ice cream for a swirled effect.
Finally, there's questions as to whether or not butterbeer is actually alcoholic (since it's readily consumed by kids in the books), but the stories make reference to people and house elves being under the influence of the drink, so in my mind, it does have at least a slight alcohol content. For that reason, I chose to add a couple tablespoons of dark rum to the ice cream base. This not only has the effect of keeping the ice cream soft, but also adds just enough of a boozy flavor that enhances the butterscotch and cream soda.
Do I Need An Ice Cream Maker?
Yes, you will need an ice cream maker for this recipe. If you haven't used an ice cream maker before, this recipe would be a great place to start! It is so easy to use an ice cream maker. Most of them only have one button to push - you turn it on and you turn it off.
Which Ice Cream Maker Is Best? Honestly, you don't need anything fancy. I use a basic Cuisinart ice cream maker and it's served me well for YEARS!
Required Ingredients
This butterbeer ice cream recipe uses a cooked ice cream base that will later be churned in your ice cream maker. You'll need:
- Dark Brown Sugar: the use of all dark brown sugar in this recipe will give you a deep and bold butterscotch flavor in the ice cream.
- Butter: I used unsalted. Can't have butterscotch (or butterbeer) without it!
- Dark Rum: There's only 2 tablespoons in the entire recipe and I really recommend using it - you won't regret it.
- Vanilla Extract: Use the pure stuff, f'sho.
- Whole Milk and Heavy Cream: No substitutes here, I'm sorry, you want that fat content there in order to create the creamiest ice cream!
- Egg Yolks: These will be cooked into the butterscotch custard base. Again, the fat content adds creaminess and structure to the finished ice cream.
- Cream Soda: You'll cook this down on the stovetop to create a thick, sweet syrup.
Things You'll Need To Do In Advance
Before you can get to actually churning the ice cream, you'll need to do a few things in advance - preferably the night before.
Freeze The Bowl: Your ice cream maker will come with a removable freezer bowl. Give it a shake and you'll hear the liquid inside. You want to make sure that this bowl is frozen solid before you start churning the ice cream, so place it into the freezer at least 12 hours before you start this butterbeer ice cream recipe.
Make The Custard: The ice cream base, or custard, is cooked on the stovetop and then chilled in the refrigerator before being added to the ice cream maker. I like to let the custard have a good long chill in the fridge, so I frequently do this step the night before as well.
Do I Have To Use The Rum?
It's quite tasty, if I do say so myself, but if you think that you won't like the flavor of the added alcohol, you can absolutely reduce the amount that I used or leave it out entirely (you could replace it with a little rum-flavored extract instead).
Butterbeer Ice Cream Recipe
- Total Time: 22 minute
- Yield: 1 quart 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 TBS dark rum
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- 5 large egg yolks
- 3 12oz bottles of Cream Soda
Instructions
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together brown sugar and butter. Allow the butter to melt and the sugar to dissolve. When mixture is bubbly, whisk in ½ cup of the heavy cream until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and dark rum.
- In a large saucepan over medium high heat, combine the remaining heavy cream with the whole milk and bring to a low simmer, but do not allow the mixture to boil.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks. Drizzle approximately ½ cup of the heated milk and cream mixture into the egg yolks while whisking constantly, and then pour back into the simmering saucepan.
- Reduce heat to low and stir constantly until the mixture is slightly thickened and coats the back of the spoon. This will take 4-6 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and then stir in the butterscotch mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, allowing the wrap to touch the surface of the mixture, and chill at least 3 hours or overnight.
- While the mixture is chilling, bring cream soda to a boil over medium high-heat, and then reduce to a heavy simmer. Allow to simmer until thickened and reduced to ⅓ of the original amount. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature or transfer to a container and chill in the refrigerator.
- Once ice cream base has thoroughly chilled, churn in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Layer ⅓ of the ice cream mixture in the bottom of a freezer safe container and drizzle on some of the cream soda syrup. Repeat layers until all of the ice cream is used. If desired, reserve some of the syrup to drizzle on when ice cream is served.
- Store ice cream in freezer.
Notes
To test the custard for doneness in step 4, dip a metal spoon into the mixture. If it leaves a substantial coating on the back of the spoon, it's done. Do a secondary test by swiping a finger across the back of the spoon. The strip that's left should hold its shape.
Recommended Ice Cream Maker: Cuisinart 1.5 Quart Electric Ice Cream Maker
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins + chilling and churning
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
Keywords: harry potter, homemade ice cream, butterbeer, butterscotch
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