dulce de leche pecan ice cream

At the wedding we went to a few weeks ago, instead of having a seating chart, there was a table with escort cards laid out. On each card there was the name of a guest, their table number and a favourite recipe of the newlywed's to take home (and hopefully make!).

This recipe comes from Pete's escort card. And given that he loves caramel and ice cream, we knew we would have to make it. I have had at the happy couple's house before, and it didn't disappoint when we made it - so a big thank you to them!

This is a delicious ice cream to make...it is not however a healthy treat, sweet and rich - so to make on occasion is good, just not something you may need to have in you freezer at all times. We made a few adaptations to the recipe, so below is what we ended up making.

Ingredients
1 c milk, plus 2 T
1 c whipping cream
4 egg yolks
1/4 c sugar
1 jars dulche de leche (or 1 can prepared sweetened condensed milk)
1/2 c pecan halves
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat 1 c milk and the cream over medium heat, just until bubbles appear around edge of pan. Remove from heat and set aside.
   
2. In a bowl, beat together egg yolks and sugar. Add warm milk mixture.
   
3. Wipe saucepan clean. Return custard mixture to pan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until custard thickens and coats back of a spoon, 8-10 minutes.
4. Immediately remove from heat and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
   
5. Stir 1/3 can dulce de leche into warm custard.
   
6. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on surface of custard, and let cool completely.
7. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
8. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread pecans on a baking sheet, sprinkle with 1 T of water, and season to taste with pepper. Toast pecans until fragrant and lightly browned, 7-8 minutes. Let cool, then roughly chop. Set aside.
9. Freeze chilled dulce de leche custard in an ice-cream maker. Transfer to a chilled freezer-proof container and fold in toasted pecans. In a small bowl, mix half of the remaining dulce de leche with 2 T milk, then fold into ice cream just enough to form a marbled effect. Freeze until service.
   
10. Accompany ice cream with 1/3 can dulce de leche.

To prepare sweetened condensed milk into dulce de leche:

1. In a large dutch oven, filled with water, bring water to a rolling boil.
2. Carefully drop can of condensed milk into water, ensure it is fully covered, preferably with an inch or two of water.
3. Keep water boiling at a low boil for 3 hours.
4. You will need to keep adding water to the pot to keep the can covered, this allows can to be under constant and equal pressure. (I checked every 15-20 minutes_
   
5. After 3 hours (though many sites say anywhere for as short as 90 minutes) remove can from water and allow to cool.
   
6. You can store the can in the fridge once prepared unopened, and it would last for months.

**Please be careful while preparing the dulce de leche - it can be a little dangerous!**

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, TASTE