Packed with the spicy flavours and crunch of Speculoos Cookies, this creamy homemade Biscoff Ice Cream (aka Cookie Butter Ice Cream) is a dream dessert for all Biscoff lovers!
Unless using a compressor ice cream maker, it is recommended to put the bowl of your machine in the freezer at least 12 hours (preferably 24 hours) before churning the ice cream. Always follow the manufacturing instructions of your specific machine.
Biscoff Ice Cream
Place the Milk, Cream and Biscoff Spread in a small saucepan. Turn on low heat and bring to a simmer, occasionally whisking to avoid burning the spread.
While it is heating up, whisk together the Egg Yolks, Brown Sugar and Speculoos Spices (optional) in a separate heat-proof bowl.
When it starts to simmer, pour the warm mixture over the yolks/ sugar while whisking. Whisk well to combine until no lumps remain (see note 1).
Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook on low to medium low heat for 5 to 10 minutes while stirring, or until it starts to slightly thicken (see note 2).
Transfer the mixture into a clean bowl or large shallow container (see note 3) and cover with plastic wrap touching its surface. Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours - preferably overnight.
Take the bowl of your ice cream machine out of the freezer and fit it in the ice cream maker. Pour the cool custard mixture into the bowl and churn for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it resembles the consistency of a thick whipped cream (see note 4).
Crunchy Biscoff Swirl
Place about half of the ice cream in a large clean loaf pan. Drizzle with half of the melted cookie butter and half biscoff cookie crumbs. Top with the rest of the ice cream then the rest of the biscoff spread and crumbs. With a small knife, swirl all the ingredients together.
Place back in the freezer for at least 3 to 4 hours - or until the ice cream is firm enough to scoop up.
Speculoos Spices: the mix of spices used to make traditional Belgian Speculoos Cookies - usually a mix of Cinnamon, Coriander Seed, Nutmeg, Ginger, Caraway Seed and Cloves. Both Mixed Spices and Pumpkin Pie Spice are relatively close to Speculoos spices so they could be used as a substitute here - or you could just discard the spices altogether.
Instruction Notes:
This step will help to temper the egg yolks and insure they don't cook too quickly, which would make them curdle.
There are two ways to check if the custard is cooked: (1) Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the custard. It is cooked with it reaches 82 to 84 degree Celsius (180 to 183 degree Fahrenheit). (2) Dip the back of a spoon in the mixture. Carefully draw a line through the custard (it will be hot) then tip the spoon down. If the custard is liquid and it runs over the line, it is not ready. If the line stays clear and the consistency of the custard appears to be lightly thick, it's ready.
Use a shallow pan such as a brownie pan or large loaf pan to help the mixture cool down more quickly and more evenly.
This ice cream churns more quickly than others because of the high fat content contained in the biscoff spread that will harden quickly. If you over-churn it, the ice cream will look very thick and hard.