Pumpkin Bread Ice Cream With Candied Pecans

Pumpkin Bread Ice Cream with Candied Pecans swirls chunks of toasted pumpkin bread with the creamiest pumpkin base for the perfect fall treat!

You guys, I don’t even know what to tell you about this glorious, glorious ice cream except that it is divine. I mean, it’s got toasted chunks of our favorite Pumpkin Streusel Bread. And candied pecans! All stirred into the smoothest pumpkin base that tastes like the literal essence of fall.

Are you seeing those beautiful pumpkin bread chunks? Friends, this is the stuff that all ice cream aspires to be. And I know that sounds over the top but I speak only the truth.

Some of my besties were in town to meet Felix a few weeks ago and their favorite thing I make is Pumpkin Streusel Bread.

Of course I had to whip up a loaf to welcome them and of course my thoughts immediately turned to transforming all the flavors into ice cream (because a few weeks ago we had a bit of a hot snap and Warren was out of town busy getting deported from Brazil–though that’s a story for another time–and we were right in the throes of sleeping training the babe so of course the answer was ice cream. It always is.)

So I decided that it was high time Pumpkin Bread got in a serious relationship with candied pecans (I made a full batch and stirred half of it into the bread batter and saved the other half to stir into the ice cream).

If there’s one thing in life you don’t want to skimp on, it’s candied pecans.

And since Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has never led me astray (holla, Cake Batter Truffle Ice Cream!), I knew I could trust her magical pumpkin spice ice cream base as the silky smooth vehicle to carry all these autumnal bits and bobbles.

I layered it all in a bread pan, popped it in the freezer and voila: ice cream worthy of Michigan’s gorgeous fall!

My friends and I spent many of Felix’s nap times sitting on my porch watching the leaves flutter down from the trees and eating cone after cone of this magical stuff.

It was like a healing balm to our weary souls because sleep training is no joke.

And sometimes you just have to drown your sorrows in ice cream. #noregrets

Okay, so let’s dish–while I’m totally in the ice cream year ’round camp, what do you think?

And if you had to create a flavor that embodies the heart and soul of autumn, what would it be?

Print Recipe

Table of Contents

Pumpkin Bread Ice Cream With Candied Pecans

Pumpkin Bread Ice Cream with Candied Pecans swirls chunks of toasted pumpkin bread with the creamiest pumpkin base for the perfect fall treat!

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time3 hrs

Total Time4 hrs

Servings: 1 quart

Ingredients

• For the Candied Pecans
• 2 cups whole pecans
• 1 egg white, whisked
• ¼ cup white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• For the Pumpkin Bread Ice Cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1¼ cups heavy cream
• ⅔ cups brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped toasted Pumpkin Streusel Bread
• 1 cup cups chopped candied pecans (use remaining cup to stir into bread batter before baking)

Instructions

• For the Candied Pecans:

  Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Add pecans and egg white into a bowl and stir to coat. Add sugars and stir so pecans are evenly coated. Spread mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 40 minutes, stirring halfway through. Pecans will harden when they cool. Set aside until you make the ice cream.
• For the Pumpkin Bread Ice Cream

  Before making the ice cream, make sure to freeze your ice cream maker bowl for at least 24 hours. Chop pumpkin bread and toast in a nonstick frying pan for 3-4 minutes. Set aside to cool (the bread will harden while it cools).
• In a small bowl, whisk ¼ cup of milk with the cornstarch. Set aside. Put cream cheese in another small bowl and set aside.
• In a large 4-quart saucepan, heat remaining milk, cream, sugar, and corn syrup over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 4 minutes. Stir in corn starch slurry. Boil for another minute and take off heat.
• Pour a little of the hot milk mixture in the bowl with cream cheese and stir until smooth. Add cream cheese into saucepan and stir to combine. Add pumpkin and spices and stir until smooth.
• Pour mixture into a large resealable plastic bag and dunk in a large bowl of ice water. Once the base is chilled (if I have time, I put it in the fridge for another hour or so), pour base into the ice cream maker and mix for 10 minutes, until ice cream thickens on the sides of the bowl.
• Stir in vanilla extract, a handful of toasted pumpkin bread, and a handful of candied pecans. Mix for another 5 minutes. Line a bread pan with wax or parchment paper. Sprinkle a handful of toasted pumpkin bread and candied pecans at the bottom of the pan. Layer with half of the ice cream. Repeat one more time (see above gif). Wrap pan in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 2 more hours.
• Set ice cream on the counter for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

• Stir in remaining cup of chopped candied pecans into the Pumpkin Streusel Bread batter before baking.
• I make the Candied Pecans and Pumpkin Streusel Bread the day before. I stirred in a few handfuls of candied pecans into the bread before baking. After the bread cools, I omitted the maple glaze and cubed a few slices and leave them out overnight so they can dry out more (though toasting in the pan the day of making the ice cream works just fine, too!)