Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

An overhead shot of a small bowl filled with ice cream.

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A rich caramel ice cream is made with 3 basic ingredients and features milky dulce de leche ribbons throughout.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Chilling time 6

Servings

Calories 242

Author Dorothy Bigelow

Equipment

Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
Loaf pan

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream chilled
14 ounces dulce de leche sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup dulce de leche optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Line a 9X5 loaf pan with parchment paper and place it in the freezer to chill while you prepare the ice cream base.
Add the dulce de leche sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract to a large bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
Add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a large bowl and an electric hand mixer).
Mix the heavy cream on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.
Add the whipped cream to the bowl of dulce de leche and vanilla, and gently fold them together.
Transfer half of the ice cream base to the chilled loaf pan and smooth it out into an even layer.
Drizzle ¼ cup of dulce de leche on top of the ice cream layer, then use a butter knife to swirl it throughout the ice cream.
Add the remaining ice cream base to the loaf pan, and repeat the drizzling and swirling process with another ¼ cup of dulce de leche.
Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap or foil and place it in the freezer to chill for at least 6 hours, although 12 hours is ideal.
Once the ice cream is firm, serve and enjoy.

Notes

Note: It’s typical for some dulce de leche to sink to the bottom if your ice cream was slow to freeze. This is just aesthetic and will still taste delicious!

Dulce de leche: You will need 1 can of sweetened condensed milk dulce de leche. This is available at most major grocery chains and is made by Eagle Brand. Alternatively, you could make your own dulce de leche using a can of regular sweetened condensed milk and boiling it.

For swirling, you could use about ⅓ of a second can, or a thicker commercially available dulce de leche.

Chilling the bowls: If you have time, it’s a best practice to chill the bowls in the freezer (if freezer-safe) beforehand. This helps the ice cream freeze more quickly.

Nutrition