This Fig Bourbon Maple Ice Cream is rich with maple flavor, fresh figs, vanilla, and a hint of bourbon. It’s incredibly creamy, and it’s the perfect flavor for late summer and early fall. It’s super easy to make, unique, and unbelievably delicious!
There’s something SO amazing and special about homemade ice cream. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this. I was going to say it’s the best homemade ice cream I’ve ever made, but I’d have to say it’s tied with this one. They’re so different, it’s impossible to choose, but both absolutely incredible. The pure maple flavor in this is just amazing and the combination of flavors is out of this world. And so perfect for fall! Being the basic person that I am.
One of the most beautiful things about this is that you cook down fresh figs in bourbon and brown sugar until they break down and get all bourbon-y infused, and you add them to the ice cream while it’s churning, and then layer the rest of the goodness into the ice cream before you freeze it. It’s chock full of figs, not just fig flavor, and I loooove the texture of them, so this is just dreamy for my tastebuds.
Is anyone else a fig addict like me? I can’t even tell you how much I love them. These flatbreads and this cocktail are both prime examples.
To make this ice cream as naturally maple-y as possible (literally no extract at all!), I simmered Grade B maple syrup (which is the darker pure maple syrup, and has a deeper, richer maple flavor), until it reduced a bit and got more concentrated. It’s almost like making maple syrup, well, more syrupy!
I was shocked at how much the ice cream tasted like pure maple. Not too much, not too little. It’s just perfect.
This is so amazing on it’s own, but it would of course be amazing with warm apple crisp or other warm fall desserts.
I actually allllmost made a an oatmeal crumble to fold into this ice cream but I didn’t want to make it too complex. But if you want to, you should totally go for it.
When it comes to things like ice cream, I feel like more is more. You know? The more texture, flavor, and things mixed in, the better.
I know you’re probably like “it’s not ice cream season anymore”, but to me, it’s always ice cream season. I don’t eat it super often, but I’m not the kind of person that only wants cold foods/drinks in the summer, and hot ones in the winter. I’m an iced coffee year round kind of girl, and same goes for ice cream!
Also, if an ice cream could taste “cozy”, this would be it. It really tastes like fall and it’s so comforting! As comforting as ice cream can be.
So many fig chunks too! Wishing I had some of this right this very second.
Seriously to die for!
Fig Bourbon Maple Ice Cream
This Fig Bourbon Maple Ice Cream is rich with maple flavor, fresh figs, vanilla, and a hint of bourbon. It's incredibly creamy, and it's the perfect flavor for late summer and early fall. It's super easy to make, unique, and unbelievably delicious!
Ingredients
For the bourbon figs
- 3 cups diced fresh figs*
- 1/2 cup bourbon
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
For the ice cream
- 3/4 cup grade B maple syrup*
- 1 3/4 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Begin by making the bourbon figs. Add figs, bourbon, and brown sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until figs start to break down and become "jammy". Remove from heat and let cool.
Reduce the maple syrup. Add the maple syrup to a small saucepan over medium to medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes or until it's reduced by a quarter. Set aside to cool.
Prepare an ice water bath by filling a large bowl halfway with ice and water. Set aside.
Add the the cream and milk to a medium saucepan over medium to medium-high heat until just simmering, about 3-4 minutes. Add the egg yolk to a heatproof bowl and whisk until completely smooth. Once the milk mixture is simmering, remove from heat and gradually pour about 1/2 cup into the yolks, whisking constantly (you don't want the eggs to scramble!) Once incorporated, whisk another 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into the yolks until smooth. Add the yolk mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture and whisk to combine. Reduce heat to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce to medium to medium-low. Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick and coats the back of a spoon.
Remove the custard from heat and stir in the maple syrup reduction, vanilla, and salt. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a large heatproof bowl and place over the ice bath until chilled, about 40 minutes.
Once chilled, add custard* to your ice cream maker along with 3/4 of the bourbon fig mixture, and churn for 25 minutes or until thick and soft-serve consistency. Spread ice cream into a parchment lined loaf pan, layering the remaining fix bourbon mixture in gradually. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm.
Recipe Notes
*I used black mission figs for this recipe, but use whatever figs are available to you! I love the green figs and the tiger figs too!
*Grade B maple syrup is the darker, richer maple syrup. If you can't find it, the lighter, amber Grade A will work.
maple ice cream base adapted from here.
Why does the recipe only call for adding 3/4 of the bourbon fig mixture into the custard when filling the ice cream maker? There’s no notation for use of remaining 1/4….unless you’re using as a topping but did not mention it.
Hi Susan! In the recipe I indicate to layer in the remaining 1/4 of the mixture while you’re spreading the ice cream into the pan – let me know if you try it out!