Nutella Swirl Ice Cream With Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts

You might still remember the heart shaped Nutella Macarons that I made a while ago and my confession for the love of Nutella from that post.  No?  Never mind. Because I've got something even bigger, and better.  A bigger confession, and a better recipe compared to the macarons.  If this Nutella Swirl Ice Cream With Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts is wrong, I don’t want to be right.  There, I said it.   My confession.  Why?  Because this ice cream is probably one of the best ice cream I've ever tasted, period!  Store bought or homemade, nothing can compare to this!  Even though if you’re not as crazy as I am for Nutella, I’m sure you’ll still be crazy for this ice cream.  That’s how good it is. 



I used my favorite vanilla ice cream as the base, then, add swirls and swirls of creamy and nutty nutella into the mix while the ice cream is churning.  The Nutella slowly infused its flavor into the ice cream, yet, some remains as beautiful swirls throughout the ice cream.  Drooling yet?  Get a box of tissue paper ready because there’s more.  At the last minute of the churning, I added some Dark Chocolate covered Hazelnuts with Fleur de Sel into the mix, churn just until the hazelnuts are evenly distributed.




Boy oh boy, that’s totally drool worthy, isn't it?  The Chocolate covered hazelnuts add a lovely crunch in this ice cream.  The nutty aroma of roasted hazelnut enhanced the flavor tremendously.  The slightly salty Fleur de Sel balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the ice cream and the Nutella.   Each spoonful is heavenly, the smooth and silky texture of the ice cream melt slowly in my mouth.  Made me want to close my eyes and enjoy this concoction slowly and savor each bite.  The flavor, the texture, the aroma, all so vivid on my palates and imprinted in my memories.  If there’s one dessert that I would dream about tonight, this would be it.




Now, ready to join me in the kitchen to prepare this drool-worthy ice cream?  Follow me.

1) Heat the milk, sugar and salt until the mixture reaches a simmer.
2) With a paring knife, scrape off the seeds of the vanilla bean.
3) Place both the seeds and bean pod into the milk mixture, cover and let it steep off the heat for an hour.
4) In a heat proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks together.
5) Reheat the milk mixture.  While whisking, slowly add the re-heated milk mixture into the yolks.
6) Pour the egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan and cook the custard on low heat until thicken and coat the spatula.
7) Place a strainer on a large bowl with the cream.  Strain the custard into the cream.  Stir in vanilla extract and liqueur (if using). Cover and refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.
8) Churn the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  5 minutes before the churning is done, with a fork, add the Nutella into the churning ice cream in a slow steady stream, a tablespoon at a time.
9) Add the Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts right before churning is done. Enjoy the ice cream as is for a soft serve texture. Or, place ice cream in a freezer safe container overnight for a firmer texture.  Enjoy!




Pretty straight forward, right?  It really is.  I usually make a big batch of the chocolate covered hazelnuts and keep them available in the fridge.  They make a great snack and perfect when I need to churn up this ice cream.  Check out the most sexy ice cream on earth here, the Nutella Swirl Ice Cream With Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts!



And the best part of photo shooting ice cream?  I have to act fast and get the job done before it’s all melted!  Then, I get the sweetest reward at the end, which is... I get to enjoy what I just shot!  



Yes, that fast, and it’s totally awesome!  This ice cream is absolutely my latest guilty pleasure of all time.  Do you have a guilty pleasure treat that you simply couldn’t resist?  Either homemade treats or store bought ones? I would love to know what they are, so please share.  Stay cool and have fun churning!









Nutella Swirl Ice Cream With Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts:
(Printable Recipe)
1 1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon liquor (I used vodka), optional
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and salt together until simmer.  Cover and remove from heat and let the mixture steep at room temp for 1 hour.

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks. Set aside.  Reheat the vanilla mixture until simmer.  While whisking the egg yolks constantly, slowly pour the warm vanilla mixture into the yolks.  Then, scrap egg yolks mixture back into saucepan.

With a flat bottom wooden spatula, stir the mixture constantly and cook over medium low heat until the custard is thick and coat the spatula.  Set a strainer over a large mixing bowl.  Strain the custard.  Do not discard the vanilla bean, simply wash and pat dry it, then add it to your jar of vanilla sugar.

Stir in the cream and liquor, if using.  Cover the mixture and refrigerate to chill thoroughly. Preferably overnight.  Churn the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

5 minutes before the churning is done, with a fork, add the Nutella into the churning ice cream in a slow steady stream, a tablespoon at a time.  Then, add the Dark Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts right before churning is done.  Enjoy the ice cream as is for a soft serve texture.  Or, place ice cream in a freezer save container overnight for a firmer texture.