You will love my homemade Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream if you enjoy hazelnuts and salted caramel. It’s a creamy hazelnut ice cream with ribbons of rich, salted caramel and chunks of roasted hazelnuts for the ultimate salty and sweet frozen treat.
Inspired by Tillamook, my homemade Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream is a flavor everyone will scream for! Especially since Tillamook discontinued its Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream. Now, the only way to enjoy it is by making it.
Lucky for you, I created an easy recipe that tastes better than store-bought Tillamook ice cream. Try it and taste it for yourself. It is so luxurious and delicious!
Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream at Tillamook Creamery
It only took one epic week in Oregon for us to fall in love with the beautiful state. By the end of our trip, Oregon had become one of our favorite U.S. destinations.
We chased waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge, ate and drank through the Hood River Fruit Loop, and spent three amazing days in Portland, with day trips to breathtaking destinations, including the Oregon Coast.
One early morning, we drove to one of the most picturesque places in the country, Cannon Beach. Wow! The beach is dreamy, with the iconic haystack rock towering over the waves.
After a fun morning playing in the waves, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at Pelican Brewing Company. Then, we hit the road again to another must-visit Oregon Coast destination—Tillamook Creamery.
Tillamook Creamery is known as a dairy lover’s dream destination, but it’s also a fun place for everyone! The viewing gallery shows the cheese-making process and the production line for packaging large cheese blocks. You can also enhance your experience with a guided factory tour or ice cream tour and taste exclusive flavors that are still in the testing phase.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we only did the self-guided tour which means we have something to look forward to next time! Instead, we enjoyed cheesy photo ops, a free cheese tasting, shopped for exclusive Tillamook cheese, and ate the cheesiest baked mac n’ cheese and a double scoop of ice cream.
I actually had to wait over 30 minutes in line, but it was so worth it! I got a scoop of (you guessed it) Oregon Hazelnut Salted Caramel and Marionberry Pie.
If you travel to Oregon, do not miss a scenic drive to the Oregon Coast to visit Cannon Beach and Tillamook Creamery!
What is Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream?
Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream is a Tillamook-inspired recipe. It is hazelnut-infused ice cream with chunks of roasted hazelnuts and swirls of salted caramel marbled into it.
One of the “not so” secrets to Tillamook’s renowned ice cream is the generous amount of cream they use, which contributes to its luscious and smooth texture. To replicate this, I’ve added more cream than usual to my custard base, which is also essential because of the hazelnut infusion.
Roasted hazelnuts are steeped in a vanilla custard base. During this process, the hazelnuts absorb a lot of liquid. When we squeeze the liquid from the hazelnuts to extract the nutty flavor, we lose some volume of the liquid.
Ice cream is a science. The texture will be grainy if there is too much water and not enough fat. Thus, the eggs (which make this a French ice cream) and additional cream in the hazelnut infusion are very important to ensure a proper balance of fat.
Ingredients for Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream
One of the best things about homemade ice cream is that the ingredients start with basic everyday grocery items such as sugar, milk, heavy cream, and eggs. Since you control the quality of the ingredients, homemade ice cream always tastes better than buying it at the store.
Quality ingredients always lead to quality taste. Tillamook strives for this in its ice cream, which is why they are one of the best ice cream producers.
In addition to sugar and dairy, hazelnuts and salted caramel are also important ingredients. You want to purchase raw hazelnuts to toast at home. However, if you can only find roasted hazelnuts, that works too. See my notes below in the “tips and tidbits” section.
While I enjoy making salted caramel (and my recipe is easy to follow), you can purchase your favorite caramel sauce at the store. But I encourage you to try my homemade salted caramel sauce. You will be pleasantly surprised by how simple it is to make.
This is a brief overview. Please refer to the full recipe description at the end of this post.
- Raw hazelnuts
- Whole milk
- Heavy cream
- Sugar
- Salt
- Egg yolks
- Vanilla extract
- Unsalted butter (optional)
- Salted caramel sauce (optional)
How to Make Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Why buy ice cream when you can easily make it at home? More importantly, making ice cream is so much better because you control the quality of the ingredients. As stated above, quality ingredients are one of the biggest keys to Tillamook and this recipe’s success. The other is the method.
My method for creating creamy ice cream is simple and foolproof. With just one step, anyone can make a perfect ice cream base.
This is a brief overview. Please refer to the full recipe description at the end of this post.
Make Hazelnut Custard Base
Toast – the hazelnuts at 350° F for 10 – 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the toasted hazelnuts in a kitchen towel to remove the skin. Place all but 1/4 cup in a food processor and finely chop.
Boil – one cup of heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat.
Steep – add the finely chopped hazelnuts and cover the saucepan. Let the hazelnuts steep for at least one hour. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth (squeezing the hazelnuts as much as possible) into a medium saucepan. Discard the hazelnuts and rewarm the hazelnut-infused mixture.
Temper eggs – whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Slowly pour the hot hazelnut mixture over the yolks while continuously whisking.
Cook – pour the hazelnut custard base back into the saucepan and cook on medium heat. Constantly whisk the custard base until it is smooth and thick. Pour the hazelnut custard base through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl with heavy cream and vanilla extract.
Chill – place plastic wrap on the surface of the hazelnut custard base and chill in the refrigerator.
Make Salted Caramel
Warm – the heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract in a small saucepan on low heat.
Make dry caramel – when a stainless steel saucepan is hot, slowly sprinkle sugar over the pan. When the sugar crystals melt, add more slowly and repeat until all the sugar is dissolved. When all the sugar is melted, it will turn golden amber. Immediately turn off the heat.
Whisk – the warm heavy cream mixture into the dry caramel. The sugar will bubble when you add the cream, so be careful. Continue to whisk the caramel as you add the rest of the heavy cream. Turn on the heat up to medium-low. Keep whisking the caramel until it’s a smooth consistency. Whisk in the butter until the caramel is silky smooth.
Cool – remove the caramel from the heat and let it cool. Transfer it to a container and let it set completely for at least 1 hour. You can also let it chill in the fridge.
Make Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Churn – pour the chilled hazelnut custard base into the ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions. Typically, it’s the lowest speed for 15 minutes.
Add – chop the reserved toasted hazelnuts and add them to the ice cream machine in its last few minutes of churning. Pour 1/3 of the hazelnut ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Drizzle salted caramel on top of the ice cream. Then, carefully swirl the caramel into the ice cream using a butter knife or skewer. Repeat this step two more times.
Freeze – cover and freeze the ice cream for at least 2 hours. When you are ready, scoop and enjoy!
Tips and Tidbits
Here are a few tips and tidbits on my Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream to help make it perfect!
Why You Should Measure Egg Yolks
As briefly stated, my homemade Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream is French-style because it uses eggs. Personally, I think French-style ice cream is far superior to American-style ice cream because the eggs help create a luxurious creamy texture.
When I worked in professional kitchens, we always measured everything by weight, not by volume. When you measure by weight, you get the perfect result every time.
Since ice cream is a science, I highly recommend weighing egg yolks, and I will tell you why. I am not a professional pastry chef anymore. I am a mom to three boys. I am your everyday home cook when I bake or cook at home.
So, I cracked my large eggs and used five per the recipe. My ice cream did not have the right texture, and I knew it was because a few egg yolks looked small.
The next time I made the recipe, I weighed my egg yolks, and sure enough, I used between 6 and 7 egg yolks. My Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream came out PERFECT!
If you think your egg yolks look small, weigh them! A large egg yolk should weigh 20 grams.
Can I Use Store-Bought Roasted Hazelnuts?
Raw hazelnuts are preferred because you can control how much you want the hazelnuts toasted. However, you can also use store-bought roasted hazelnuts.
Toasting nuts brings their oils to the surface, which helps enhance their flavor. If you toast nuts too much, they will taste bitter.
If you use store-bought roasted hazelnuts, lightly toast them at 350° F for 5 – 7 minutes, which helps “awaken” them to extract their flavor. Then, continue the recipe as written.
More Frozen Desserts
- Lemon Pie Ice Cream (a Frozen Custard Recipe)
- The Best Coconut Sorbet Recipe
- Cold Brew Coffee Granita – The Perfect Frozen Dessert
Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream
A creamy hazelnut ice cream with ribbons of rich, salted caramel and chunks of roasted hazelnuts for the ultimate salty and sweet frozen treat.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw hazelnuts (*see note for roasted)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 100 grams egg yolks (about 5-6 egg yolks, see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup homemade salted caramel (or store-bought)
Homemade Salted Caramel
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold, cut into cubes)
Instructions
To Make the Hazelnut Custard Base
- Toast the raw hazelnuts (see notes for roasted hazelnuts) at 350° F for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown. Do not burn them, or they will be bitter. Remove the hazelnuts from the oven and rub them in a clean kitchen towel to easily remove the skin.
- Finely chop 1 3/4 cups of the hazelnuts in a food processor or blender, reserving 1/4 cup for later use. (If you love nuts in your ice cream, toast more than 2 cups and reserve more than 1/4 cup for later.)
- Meanwhile, bring 1 cup of heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt to a low boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once it comes to a low boil, remove the saucepan from the heat and add the finely chopped hazelnuts. Cover the saucepan and let the hazelnuts steep for at least one hour. While the hazelnuts are steeping, you can make the salted caramel.
- Once the hazelnuts are finished steeping, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into another medium saucepan. I prefer the cheesecloth because I can use my hands to squeeze out as much liquid from the hazelnuts as possible. Discard the hazelnuts and rewarm the hazelnut-infused mixture.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Temper the egg yolks by slowly pouring the warm hazelnut-infused mixture over them while continuously whisking.
- Return the hazelnut custard base to the saucepan and cook on medium-low heat. Constantly whisk the custard base until it is smooth and thick. Tip: Coat a spoon in the custard base, then draw a line across the back of the spoon with your fingertip. If the line remains clear, the custard base is ready.
- In another separate bowl, add the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Pour the hazelnut custard base through a fine mesh strainer over the bowl of heavy cream and vanilla extract. This ensures a smooth custard base in case you have any bits of cooked eggs.
- Stir the hazelnut custard base until thoroughly mixed. Press (cover) plastic wrap on the surface of the custard base to prevent forming a skin layer. Place in the refrigerator and chill. It should be at least 40°F before churning.
To Make the Salted Caramel
- Combine the heavy cream, salt, and vanilla extract in a small saucepan on low heat. Do not bring the cream to a boil; only warm it up. You can also microwave the cream in a microwave-safe bowl if you desire.
- In a separate stainless steel medium saucepan, make a dry caramel by heating the pan over medium heat. When the saucepan is hot, slowly sprinkle the sugar over the pan. When the sugar crystals melt, add more slowly and repeat until all the sugar is dissolved. The sugar will liquefy (melt) around the edges of the pan first. So carefully stir the sugar around the edges so it cooks evenly and does not burn.
- When all the sugar is completely melted, it will slowly (or rapidly if your heat is too high) turn into a golden amber color. Turn off the heat because the sugar will continue to cook. The darker the caramel, the more bitter.
- Carefully whisk a little of the heavy cream mixture into the dry caramel. The sugar will bubble when you add the cream, so be careful. Continue to whisk the caramel as you add the rest of the heavy cream. At this time, you can turn the heat up to medium to help dissolve the sugar and thicken the caramel. Do not fret if the caramel seizes. Keep whisking the caramel on medium-low heat. It will melt into a smooth consistency.
- Whisk in the butter until the caramel is silky smooth.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and let it cool. Transfer it to a container and let it set completely for at least 1 hour. You can also chill it in the fridge.
- The homemade salted caramel makes about 1 cup. I typically use 1/4 cup of salted caramel for the Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream. So you will have plenty of leftovers to drizzle more over the ice cream or enjoy it by the spoonfuls!
To Make the Hazelnut Salted Caramel Ice Cream
- Pour the chilled hazelnut custard base into the ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's directions. Typically, it's the lowest speed for 15 minutes, but I check after 12 minutes.
- While the custard base is churning, coarsely chop the reserved toasted hazelnuts. Once the ice cream is smooth, thick, and sticks to the machine's arm, add the hazelnuts to the ice cream machine. Turn off the machine and use a spatula to help spread the hazelnuts evenly throughout the ice cream.
- Pour 1/3 of the hazelnut ice cream into a freezer-safe container. I like to keep my container in the freezer until it's ready to use, so it's already chilled. Drizzle a heaping tablespoon of salted caramel on top of the ice cream. If the salted caramel is cold, rewarm it to room temperature in the microwave. Then, carefully swirl the salted caramel into the ice cream using a butter knife or skewer. Repeat this step two more times.
- Cover and freeze the ice cream for at least 2 hours. When ready, scoop and enjoy with more salted caramel drizzled on top!
Notes
About Roasted Hazelnuts
Yes, you can use store-bought roasted hazelnuts. Toasting nuts brings their oils to the surface, which helps enhance their flavor. So if you use store-bought roasted hazelnuts, lightly toast them again at 350° F for 5 - 7 minutes to help "awaken" them to extract their flavor. Be careful. You do not want to toast too much, or the hazelnuts will taste bitter. Then, continue the recipe as written.
About Egg Yolks
Ice cream is a science. You need the right amount of fat to create a creamy texture. Therefore, the best practice is to measure egg yolks for ice cream because not all yolks weigh the same. A large egg yolk should weigh 20 grams. I highly recommend weighing your egg yolks when making ice cream to ensure perfect results.
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