Vanilla Caramel Fudge Ice Cream

Store-bought ice cream has gone way downhill in the past few years. But my husband loves the vanilla caramel fudge ice cream from the expensive brand (you know the one). So I decided to try to make it at home.  It definitely saves money, and it is just as good, if not better.

Now, if you want to make homemade ice cream, you have to accept that you’ll need a custard base, with eggs, that is churned in an ice cream maker.  I know there are a lot of easy, egg-free, no-churn recipes out there, but it’s just not the same. This method might use a few more dishes than you would like, but it’s not hard.  We can do this! If you’re going to go through the trouble of making a caramel fudge ice cream recipe, let’s do it the right way!

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

I have this ice cream maker that needs the canister to be frozen for at least 24 hours. There are also fancier models that freeze everything for you. To strain, use either cheesecloth or a handy Greek yogurt strainer that can strain anything you want. I use it for everything from keto Greek yogurt to dill pickle relish.

You can absolutely use homemade fudge sauce and caramel, but it’s not necessary, and that would be a LOT of dishes.  So I use store-bought jars here, and it’s delicious. I do like to use an actual vanilla bean though.  We have them on hand to make vanilla extract at home, but I would not go purchasing them specifically for this recipe.  Vanilla extract will do just fine. Add the extract after removing the custard from the heat.

Heart’s Content Farmhouse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This means that when you click on certain links on this site and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I genuinely believe in and would use in my own kitchen. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

This will make enough to fill a loaf pan, about 8 servings. If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Equipment

• ice cream maker
• strainer
• saucepan

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole milk
• 1½ cups heavy cream
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 vanilla bean (seeds removed or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)
• 4 egg yolks
• pinch salt
• ⅓ cup prepared caramel sauce
• ⅓ cup prepared fudge sauce

How to Make Vanilla Caramel Fudge Ice Cream

Be aware that this is going to take a while.  Not a lot of time in the kitchen, but a lot of time waiting for things to cool down in the fridge or firm up in the freezer.  You can’t rush this, and if you are in a hurry to have ice cream, homemade is not the way to do it.

Step One: Warm the Custard

Get everything ready.  Things move fast. Have your strainer set up and ready, and have all the ingredients measured out.

First, we are making the vanilla custard base.  This is the weird, heating-up-eggs part. Don’t worry, it’s no big deal.

Begin by heating up the milk, heavy cream, the vanilla seeds and pod, and ½ cup of the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.   We are just heating everything up to get it warm. The milk will start steaming and will be at about 175 degrees. This will take about five minutes.

Step Two: Temper the Eggs

While the milk is heating, whisk the 4 egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar in a medium bowl.  I use a hand mixer for this. Keep whisking until the color changes to pale yellow.  

Okay.  So now we have to combine these eggs with hot milk without cooking the eggs.   To do that, we have to temper the eggs, which just means adding the hot milk a little bit at a time so it warms up gradually.    We only need to add half of the warm milk. Do this a half cup at a time, whisking after each addition.  

Once half the milk has been whisked in, the eggs are tempered.  Now we just pour the bowl back into the saucepan. So all the ingredients (except the salt and vanilla extract, if using) are in the saucepan.

We have to now cook the custard, which we will do over the stovetop on medium heat.  This stage will take a few minutes longer than warming up the milk. Heat it to 180-185 degrees, stirring constantly.  Don’t allow it to scorch or boil.

Step Three: Strain

Remove from the heat, add the vanilla extract, if using, and a pinch of salt.   Stir, and then we need to strain to make sure we have perfectly creamy ice cream. 

You can layer cheesecloth over a bowl, or use a Greek yogurt strainer, which is extremely handy.

If you have the strainer, you can place the whole thing in the fridge and let it cool while it strains.  If you are using cheesecloth, let it strain in the sink and then cover the bowl of custard with plastic wrap to let it chill. Pop the vanilla bean back in!

And then it needs to sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours, until it is very cold.  I just let it chill overnight because we’ve already made a pretty big mess in the kitchen, and let’s save the rest for another time.

Go ahead and put your caramel sauce and hot fudge sauce in the fridge as well.  Aren’t you glad you aren’t making them from scratch? Yikes.

Step Four: Churn

In the morning, it’s time to churn.  

Assemble your ice cream maker and pour in your cold custard.  We are going to churn the vanilla ice cream all the way before we add any of the caramel or fudge.  If you want swirls, we can’t mix them in with the machine; it will just become a light brown ice cream.  Tasty, but not what we are going for.

After about 15 minutes of churning, the ice cream will look like soft serve ice cream.  Pour it into a loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let it firm up in the freezer for at least 3 hours.

I know, we’ve been doing this a while. 

Step Five: Swirl

At last, it’s time to add the caramel and fudge.  Take the ice cream out of the freezer and pour ⅓ cup of each of the sauces right on top. 

Using a butter knife, gently stir everything together. It’s better to under stir, rather than over stir, so that the ribbons of fudge and caramel are still visible.  Once everything is combined to your liking, cover it back up and pop it back in the freezer for an hour or so.

And then… THEN… you can eat it!  

Serving & Storing

This ice cream is best served with warm brownies or these heath bar blondies, with a chocolate chip cookie, or on top of a slice of peach apple pie.

Homemade ice cream will keep well in the freezer for up to 1 week. Store it in a tightly sealed container with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface.

More Ice Cream Recipes To Try

Make the same base as you did here, but add different mix-ins and flavors!

• Make this same recipe, but add cookies at the end for cookies and cream ice cream!
• Everyone gets excited about candy cane ice cream, even when it’s cold outside.
• When it’s peach season, make yourself some peach ice cream. You’ll be very happy.
• Jam + golden Oreos = the best homemade 4th of July ice cream.

Printable Recipe