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Butter Brickle Ice Cream

Butter brickle ice cream is a creamy vanilla custard base loaded with shatteringly crisp butter toffee brickle. You’ll make a hard-crack toffee at 300F, then churn it into the cold custard for a buttery caramel crunch.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
hours (chilling + freezing) 4 minutes
Total Time 44 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the butter brickle
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 0.25 tsp vanilla extract
For the ice cream
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.25 tsp salt

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 saucepan
  • 1 whisk

Method
 

Make the butter brickle
  1. Melt the granulated sugar and unsalted butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture reaches 300F (hard crack stage). When it hits 300F, you should see it turn deep amber and look glossy.
  2. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and vanilla extract until evenly combined. The mixture should immediately look smooth and fragrant.
  3. Pour the hot toffee onto parchment and let it cool completely until firm. You’ll know it’s ready to break when it’s set and matte.
  4. Shatter the toffee into small brickle pieces by breaking it into uneven chunks. Aim for crisp shards so they melt slightly when folded in.
Make the custard
  1. Heat the heavy cream, whole milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Stir until no dark sugar granules remain.
  2. Slowly whisk the hot dairy mixture into the egg yolks in a steady stream. Keep whisking until the mixture looks smooth and slightly thickened.
  3. Cook the custard, stirring constantly, until it reaches 175F. Stop when it coats the back of a spoon and holds a line.
  4. Strain the custard, then stir in the vanilla extract and salt. The strained custard should look silky and uniform.
  5. Cool the custard to room temperature, then refrigerate for 4 hours. It should be fully chilled before churning.
Churn and freeze
  1. Churn the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions until it reaches a soft-serve consistency. The texture should look thick and creamy.
  2. Fold the butter brickle pieces into the ice cream in the last 5 minutes of churning. The shards should disperse visibly without fully pulverizing.
  3. Transfer to a container and freeze until firm. It should scoop cleanly with a dense, scoopable texture.

Notes

For the crispiest brickle shards, pour the toffee onto parchment immediately once it hits 300F and cool it fully before breaking. Refrigerate the custard up to 24 hours before churning; after churning, freeze up to 2–3 weeks (best texture within 1 week). Freezer yes: freeze the finished ice cream solid. Dietary swap: use lactose-free whole milk and heavy cream for a lactose-light version while keeping the same custard method.