This is my second attempt at brown butter ice cream. I love the idea, but since the primary flavor comes from a fat, it’s hard to get the texture right. This was almost there, except the end product was a little chalky. I think that can be remedied by straining the cooked custard just before adding the last bit of cream and putting it into the ice cream maker. The flavor is great, nutty and complex. And this one isn’t too fatty or icy. Plus I learned something new – you can make brown butter from cream. I hadn’t even though of it.
- Brown Butter Ice Cream (Avec Eric, p. 165)
I think I can help you with your problem. The Ideas in Food folks came up with a clever method of pressure cooking milk solids (aka nonfat dry milk) for about 90 minutes, which toasts the milk solids to give the flavor of brown butter without the fat.
http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2010/02/toasted-in-a-jar.html
This will let you flavor as much as you want without overloading the fat and messing with the texture.
Presuming, of course, you don’t have enough brown butter flavor with your method.
Thanks Brian! Love this idea. Plus then I can use my standard base recipe.