The smooth sweetness of maple and the chewy saltiness of bacon blended together in this maple bacon ice cream make it taste like frozen breakfast in a bowl!
Every summer, I like to make my maple and bacon ice cream. Normally, this ice cream is sweetened solely with real maple syrup and contains whole cow’s milk. Which is still great for my family and friends to enjoy, but since I’m doing Trim Healthy Mama, not so much. Both that maple syrup and that cow’s milk, though healthy, are totally off plan while I’m in weight loss mode.
But, not wanting to miss out on this favorite treat of mine, I determined to THM this maple bacon ice cream. And in all honesty, it was very easy!
When making this ice cream (or any for that matter), I like to use my KitchenAid ice cream bowl and attachment. It makes the making of ice cream so easy! I do also have a Nostalgia Electrics ice cream maker that I’ll use when making lots of ice cream (or when making off-plan ice cream for my family).
One more thing I want to say about this ice cream before diving into the recipe: I used both vegetable glycerin and xanthan gum in this recipe. These two ingredients keep ice crystals at bay and keep the ice cream on a more scoopable, softer, pleasant level. The glycerin also adds some sweetness and the xanthan gum some thick creaminess. You can, however, omit one or both of these ingredients if you’d like.
Maple Bacon Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 4 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon mineral salt
- ⅛ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 cups plain unsweetened almond or cashew milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ⅓ cup xylitol or erythritol
or equivalent sweetener - 1 tablespoon vegetable glycerine (or up to 1 tablespoon Super Sweet Blend or equivalent sweetener)
- 1 tablespoon maple flavoring
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 10 slices pork bacon
Instructions
- In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt, and xanthan gum; set aside.
- In a large saucepan, scald the almond milk and cream without stirring. You know it has heated enough when bubbles begin to form around the edges of the liquid.
- Remove the milk/cream mixture from the heat and slowly pour it into the egg mixture, whisking the egg mixture constantly and quickly as you pour to prevent the eggs from coagulating.
- Return the mixture back to the saucepan, add the 1/3 cup xylitol or erythritol, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often if not constantly, until it begins to thicken. It should reach the consistency of thin gravy. To test if it is thick enough, dip a metal spoon in it. If the mixture lightly coats the spoon without running off, it's done.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the glycerine or sweet blend, maple flavoring, and vanilla extract.
- Pour into a large glass or metal bowl, cover, and place in the refrigerator until completely cooled (I usually leave it in overnight).
- Meanwhile, bake some bacon in the oven until crispy by following these directions. Once done and still hot, carefully pat with paper towels to remove as much of the excess fat as possible. Let cool.
- After the bacon has cooled, crumble or cut it into bits. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ice cream batter is ready.
- Once the ice cream batter has cooled (it should be pretty thick, like refrigerated gravy would be), make the ice cream. If you have an ice cream maker, then pour the mixture into it and churn as the maker's directions detail. Add the bacon bits about halfway through churning.
Notes
Nutrition
Love it! It tastes amazing.
Looks delicious! My husband loves maple and bacon I’ll have to try this recipe for him/us to enjoy!
Just a quick observation – I was confused but I think I figured out what happened – you have the ingredient for the sweetener and then right below that the ingredients for the glycerin, but then after glycerin you say “or super sweet”… did you intend for the “Or super sweet” to be after the sweetener and not after the glycerin?
Hi, Jana. That’s an alternative to the glycerin for those who do not wish to use the glycerin. It ensures no sweetness is lost if the glycerin were simply omitted. 🙂