Brown Butter Almond Brittle Ice Cream

Today I learned a lesson, that the hardest things in life are the ones worth doing. Like running seven miles. Or reading War & Peace. Or saying sorry. Or making this incredible ice cream. Those things might seem difficult, but you feel so good afterward that it's so worth it! Especially with this ice cream, because afterward you get to EAT IT. It's nutty and buttery and sweet and creamy, all in one. Ooops, where'd that whole quart of ice cream go?

I finally got up the nerve to try my favorite Jeni's ice cream, the one I always order when i go to her shops and the recipe I bookmarked the first time I opened my shiny new cookbook. I always turned to the page, read about browning the butter, panicked, and quickly went to another, easier ice cream recipe.

But not today. Today, I got my nerve up, tied on my apron and got those four sticks of butter out of the fridge and into the saucepan. Today, I browned that butter and made that brittle. Today, you can call me Jeni, because my ice cream tastes just like hers!

Is there anything better than butter? Yes, butter flavored ice cream.

Boiling Butter

Almonds, about to grow up into brittle.

Sweet, salty almond brittle. Delicious even before it joins the ice cream.

I did burn a batch of butter first, but hey, it was a learning experience. I now know when brown turns black and starts to smoke, the butter is most definitely burnt. The key to browning butter is to wait just a little passed when it starts to boil and begins to separate, turn light brown and perfect, and the butter solids, the flavorful bits, fall to the bottom of the pan. 

After that, the recipe is easy! And so worth it.

Brown Butter Almond Brittle, from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home.
She describes it as Rich brown butter ice cream and salty, crunchy almonds: familiar and delicious. YUM is all I have to add.

Ingredients, makes 1 quart
Ice cream base (cook and freeze per Jeni's instructions):
2 cups whole milk
1 TB plus 1 tsp corn starch
1-1/2 ounces cream cheese
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
3 sticks unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 TB light corn syrup
1 cup almond brittle, but into bite-sized pieces.