Crème Brûlée Stout Ice Cream is a real treat. I’m a fan of most beer ice creams, and I hope you’ll enjoy my version as much as I do.
If you like ice cream, don’t miss my collection of other ice cream recipes.
This one is a minimalist Tuesday: rather than adding a base, a swirl and a mix-in, I kept things simple and let the beer shine.
A few weeks ago, while my partner and I were in Lafayette Village, we popped into the new craft beer shop, Crafty Beer Shop, to pick up some bottles. He wanted something hoppy and refreshing; I was scouting for a beer to turn into ice cream. I found a winner.
When I spotted Southern Tier’s Crème Brûlée Stout I knew it would be perfect for ice cream. I bought a bottle, stored it in the outdoor fridge, and then, naturally, forgot about it for a bit.
Shortly after, I was out of town for a quick trip to deliver communion bread to my friend Nadine and needed to make something without running to the store. I found the beer and got to work — huzzah!
I’m picky about the beers I drink: I prefer balanced, refreshing beers with more malt than hop and a creamy mouthfeel. This stout is very malty and sweet, almost syrupy, and intensely vanilla-forward. With a 9.5% ABV it’s more of a sipping beer than a lawn-mowing refresher; you could let it warm slightly and sip it like a spirit. For this recipe, though, I used it in ice cream.
The stout works beautifully in a custard-style ice cream. Its caramel and vanilla notes let me cut back on added sugar and skip vanilla beans entirely. I reduced the beer by about 25% to remove most of the alcohol and to heighten a touch of bitterness as a foil to the sweetness. A base thickened with cornstarch and made from milk and half-and-half stays lean enough to balance six egg yolks without becoming overwhelmingly rich.
The finished ice cream is exceptional. The stout’s caramel and roasted malt tones pair perfectly with the creamy custard, while the beer’s bitterness evokes the burnt sugar topping on a classic crème brûlée. I nearly added broiled sugar chunks for texture, but the base tasted complete on its own — adding more would have pushed the flavor too far. Sometimes restraint is the best choice.
If you enjoy dark malty stouts and good ice cream, give this Crème Brûlée Stout Ice Cream a try. It’s delicious straight from the freezer, and would also make a decadent milkshake or a great partner for hot fudge or a stout toffee sauce. Enjoy!
Crème Brûlée Stout Ice Cream
Jennifer Field
Pin Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz (2 cups) crème brûlée beer (Southern Tier used here; any vanilla stout or porter should work)
- 16 oz (2 cups) half and half
- 8 oz (1 cup) whole milk
- 8 oz (about 1 slightly generous cup) granulated sugar
- 6 large egg yolks
- 4 Tablespoons corn starch
- 1 oz malted milk powder (by weight, optional — enhances the beer flavor)
- 5 grams (just under 1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
Instructions
- Over medium-low heat, reduce the beer from 16 oz to 12 oz. Reduce gently — boiling too hard can make the beer bitter. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, combine the half-and-half, milk, sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, malted milk powder (if using) and salt. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
- Heat the mixture over medium-high, whisking constantly until it comes to a boil.
- Allow it to boil for about 10–15 seconds while whisking constantly to thicken the base.
- Remove from heat and strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a large metal bowl set in an ice bath. The mixture will be thick; press it through with a spatula if needed.
- Whisk in the reserved reduced beer until smooth and evenly combined.
- Chill the mixture in the ice bath, stirring occasionally, until cool. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until the custard is 40°F or cooler.
- Churn according to your ice cream maker’s instructions and transfer to a container.
- Press plastic wrap directly on the surface and freeze until firm.
- This ice cream freezes fairly solid; let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes before scooping for easier serving.
Nutrition
Please tell us how it went!
I hope you enjoyed this week’s Tuesday: Crème Brûlée Stout Ice Cream, even without swirls or mix-ins.
Before I go, two friends made delicious Tuesdays this week. Kirsten at Comfortably Domestic created a gorgeous Strawberry Colada Frozen Yogurt, and Stacy at Food Lust, People Love made Coffee Ice Cream using Passion for Coffee — she’s also running a giveaway through July 17. Check out their recipes and photos for more inspiration.
Thank you for spending time here with me and my friends. Have a lovely day.