This homemade black walnut ice cream is rich, creamy, and filled with bold and crunchy black walnuts. Perfect for the summertime or any black walnut lover, this homemade ice cream is delicious and very flavorful!
Chill your ice cream bowl for at least 24 hours before starting.
In a medium-sized pot add the heavy cream, whole milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix together. Heat the milk/cream mixture until it starts to steam, but not boiling or simmering. This will take about 10 minutes.
While you are waiting for the milk/ cream mixture to warm up, start separating your eggs. The easiest way to separate the egg yolks from the whites is to crack the whole egg into one bowl. Using your hands, gently scoop out the yolk. Allow the egg whites to fall down into the bowl through your fingers. Then add the egg yolk into a large mixing bowl. Repeat with the other 4 eggs.
Next, add the sugar. Whisk until the egg mixture becomes pale yellow in color and light and fluffy in texture with a silky ribbon consistency (3 -5 minutes). This mixture will be chunky at first but keep whisking until smooth.
Temper the Eggs:
Pour 2 cups of your warm milk mixture into a measuring cup. Add a few tablespoons of the milk to the egg mixture, then whisk to combine. Slowly add milk while whisking until you've added ½ cup then pour the rest into the bowl.
Next, pour your egg/ milk/ cream mixture back into the pot, whisking in the remaining milk in the pot. Cook this mixture on low heat until the ice cream base has thickened a little and has reached a temperature between 170F and 175F degrees, mixing occasionally. You don’t want this mixture to boil. The ice cream base will look creamy and will start to steam. This will take about 20 minutes.
Once your mixture is up to temperature, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or strainer into a large mixing bowl, to remove any egg chunks.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the ice cream mixture to cool on the counter for 2 hours, then transfer it to the refrigerator to cool completely for another 2 - 4 hours.
Churning the Black Walnut Ice Cream:
Churn your ice cream base according to your ice cream machine’s instructions. Your ice cream should look soft, fluffy, and incredibly creamy, like soft-serve ice cream. This usually takes about 20 minutes. Add in the chopped black walnuts. Allow the machine to mix everything together for 1 - 2 minutes.
Transfer your homemade black walnut ice cream into freezer-safe containers to freeze completely (6 - 8 hours).
Serve with homemade whipped cream or topped with chopped black walnuts. Enjoy!
Notes
You can make the ice cream base up to 2 days in advance. Store covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator until you are ready to churn it. Homemade black walnut ice cream can last for several weeks in the freezer.
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.