Brown Butter Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

 

I found some Green Valley Creamery lactose-free butter again and, to celebrate, I made brown butter ice cream with chocolate chunks. And it was fantastic! I only adapted it slightly to make it lactose-free and easier to follow. 

If you can’t find butter that is specifically labeled “lactose-free”, just make sure that the nutrition label says “0 g sugar” and you’ll be fine. 

The yield of this recipe is about 1 quart of ice cream, which will go fast! 

9 Tbsp. (1 stick + 1 Tbsp.) lactose-free butter, cut into cubes 

1 ¾ cups (1 14-oz. can) coconut milk (or lactose-free cream if you have it) 

1 ¼ cups lactose-free whole milk 

¾ cup sugar 8 large egg yolks 

1 pinch salt (omit if your butter is salted) 

¾ cup (3 oz.) chocolate chunks (or chips) 

Add the butter to a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat (make sure to use a light-colored saucepan, so that you can see the color of the butter). The butter will melt, then begin to bubble and foam. Continue cooking, whisking frequently, until the butter starts to brown and smell nutty – be patient and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burned quickly. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. 

Add the coconut milk, milk, and sugar to a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat. Add the eggs and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (you could use a hand mixer too) and begin beating on medium-high speed. Slowly drizzle the cooled, browned butter into the mixer bowl – the eggs and butter will thicken as you combine them. With the mixer on low, slowly add the hot milk mixture to the bowl, just a little at a time. Continue until it’s completely combined. 

Strain the ice cream base through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled (overnight is good, but at least 4 hours). Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In the last minute of churning, add the chocolate chunks. Transfer to an airtight container and store in your freezer.