Caramelized Carrot Ice Cream

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Caramelized Carrot Ice Cream

Caramelized Carrot Ice Cream is a delicious dessert prepared with roasted caramelized carrots combined with cream and condensed milk.

The inspiration for this ice cream came from the Indian dessert ‘Carrot Halwa’ or ‘Gajar Halwa‘. For carrot halwa fresh grated carrots are slow cooked with ghee, milk and sugar and garnished with cardamom and nuts and at times served with vanilla ice cream. Few weeks ago, we were visiting our friend, Pratik and he couldn’t stop talking about his love for carrot halwa. He sounded very particular about the type of halwa he likes and his wife Vaishali, mentioned that they have a food processor at home which is used only for grating carrots during winters for carrot halwa and is stored away during the summer months (carrot halwa is traditionally a winter dessert as fresh carrots are in season). I love hearing these small anecdotes from families and friends as it really brings close to how much we appreciate good food and company, and how talking about food we share some very personal information with our loved ones. Hearing these personal stories, always warms my heart. I am not in anyways a traditionalist in making Indian Desserts or for that matter any dessert and always looking to experiment with flavours. Based on Carrot Halwa flavours, I experimented making Caramelized Carrot Ice Cream and after few trials this fool proof final recipe is simply scrumptious!

I would recommend using fresh carrots while making this recipe as they tend to give a smoother sweeter puree which forms the base of this ice cream. This ice cream is soft, velvety and indulgent! I love homemade ice creams as they are prepared without artificial ingredients, fake thickeners, or unnatural stabilizers to keep it ‘fresh’ for weeks (or months!) and additional bonus is that despite what people might think, they are super easy to make at home.

Other recipes you might like are Mango Ice Cream, Strawberry Ice Cream, Jalebi, Eggless Ras Malai Cookies and Rava Kesari to name a few.

Ingredients

½ kg roughly chopped carrots
2 teaspoons melted salted butter
4 tablespoons sugar
2-3 green cardamom
Few strands of saffron
3/4 cup Milk
300 grams thick cream
400 grams condensed milk

Directions

Step-1

Preheat an oven to 180C/Fan 160/Gas 4.

Toss the chopped carrot with the butter, sugar and cardamom until all the pieces are coated. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and spread out in a single layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes turning them every 10 minutes. You will notice that the sugar begins to caramelize and might look burnt but do not worry as it will add to the flavour. Once cooked, turn the oven off and let the carrots cool down.

Step-2

Once the caramelized carrots have cooled down, blend them with the milk into a smooth puree.

Step-3

Whip the cream to soft peaks.

Next, add the saffron, condensed milk and the carrot puree and whip once again until thickened.

Step-4

To freeze the ice cream- There are two ways of freezing the ice cream.

In a container- Pour into a container preferably with a lid. Smooth down and cover with cling film or foil to cover all the edges and freeze for 5-6 hours. Leave the ice cream to stand for 5 minutes before scooping.

Ice cream machine- transfer the ice cream mix to the ice cream machine and churn it until it reaches soft serve consistency. Pour into a container preferably with a lid. Smooth down and cover with cling film or foil to cover all the edges and freeze for 5-6 hours. Leave the ice cream to stand for 5 minutes before scooping.

Tips & Variations

Use fresh juicy carrots for this recipe as it is the main ingredient.
I would suggest using the best quality double cream for the recipe. Double cream is easier to whip and holds its whipped form better thereby making the ice cream lighter and smoother in texture.
Chill the bowl you’ll use for whipping and the whisk or beater, as well and that helps in easy whisking.
Chill the cream before using as it helps in whipping it to soft peaks. I always put the cream in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before whisking and it helps in quick smooth whisking.
Make sure to only whisk the cream to soft peak as at that point it’s easier to fold in the other ingredients. If the cream is over whisked it can very quickly either split or you will get lumps of cream in the ice cream.
Glass or metal bowls are preferred when whipping cream. Copper bowls and plastic bowls can create problem with the chemical reaction.
To check if the cream has reached soft peak is if you swirl it with a spoon, it will gently hold the shape.
Although lots of people recommend using sweetened condensed milk, I prefer to use the normal one as otherwise the ice cream becomes over sweet. The natural sweetness from the carrots, the sugar and condensed milk for me is enough to sweeten it.
If the ice cream is frozen for 12 – 18 hours, the ice cream only needs a couple of minutes to soften before being easy to scoop and serve. After that, the ice cream becomes harder and will need around 5 minutes.
This ice cream gets its own natural colours from the carrots and saffron and I do not prefer using colour. If you like bright colours, then you can add pinch of yellow/orange colour.
I always recommend covering the ice cream with foil/cling film as it helps to prevent ice crystals from forming.
Keep your ice cream stored in the freezer and ideally enjoy it within around two weeks. After two weeks or so, it may start to develop some ice crystals.