Maple Ice Cream Recipe

A rich ice cream full of deep maple flavor, perfect for topping pie—or French toast.

A scoop of maple ice cream in a coupe with maple syrup being drizzled on top.
Photograph: Max Falkowitz

It's that time of the year when my thoughts turn to maple. And then I get a bit sad, because other than topping my waffles and sweetening my braised red cabbage, maple doesn't get the love in my kitchen that it deserves. Especially when there's so much of the good stuff at farmers' markets right now.

So. Maple. What else can you use it for? To start, think about the pies you're making right now: pumpkin, apple, maybe pecan? Would any of those not be improved by some maple? The thing is, you've worked hard to get that right balance of sweetness in your pie, and dumping on some syrup would throw it out of whack. So consider something a little more balanced and restrained, tempered and enriched by dairy: ice cream.

Maple ice cream carries all the dark, moody complexities of maple syrup, but in a more versatile form. It's a quick dessert on its own, an impressive pie topper, and—a hint—it's awesome on French toast.

I've tackled the maple ice cream question before, but that recipe was all about the delicate balance of maple sweetness with refreshing rosemary depth. This recipe goes straight for the maple jugular, all maple all the time. And it does so with even less maple syrup, giving you more of the bottle to drizzle over the top, or to hit up those waffles and that pot of cabbage.

One thing you can't skimp on is the salt. A full teaspoon of kosher salt may sound like a lot, but maple's sweet enough to handle it. You'll really want to bring out the fullest expression of maple flavor in the ice cream; less will just leave it sweet, but bland when buried under all that cold and dairy fat.

Recipe Details

Maple Ice Cream Recipe

Active 60 mins
Total 7 hrs
Serves 8 servings
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

  • 6 egg yolks

  • 3/4 cup (178ml) maple syrup

  • 1 cup (237ml) cream

  • 1 1/2 cups (356ml) half-and-half

  • 1 teaspoon (2.8gkosher salt

Directions

  1. In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, whisk together egg yolks and maple syrup until well-combined. Whisk in cream and half and half, then set over medium heat. Whisking frequently, cook until a custard forms on the back of a spoon but a swiped finger leaves a clean line, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in salt and strain into an airtight container. Chill overnight, or at least six hours.

  2. The next day, churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Return to airtight container and chill in freezer for at least three hours before serving.

Special equipment

ice cream maker

Notes

Use Grade B maple syrup for a deeper maple flavor.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
240 Calories
15g Fat
21g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 240
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 19%
Saturated Fat 8g 41%
Cholesterol 196mg 65%
Sodium 226mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 21g 8%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Total Sugars 19g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 74mg 6%
Iron 1mg 4%
Potassium 146mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)