Dulce de leche ice-cream sandwiches

Traditionally, dulce de leche is made by slowly cooking milk and sugar until you have a deep caramelised sauce. I’ve opted for the cheat version, where I slowly boil tins of condensed milk for about 3 hours to achieve a delicious caramel sauce. I’ve used it in this recipe to flavour the ice cream and, trust me, it’s the good stuff! Serves 8–10 Preparation time 1 hour, plus freezing overnight Cooking time 10 minutes

YOU NEED

• 1 packet store-bought stroopwafels or ice-cream wafer discs

CARAMEL

• ¼ cup (60 ml) castor sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon (0,6 ml) vanilla bean powder

• 1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh cream, heated

• 30 g butter, softened

ICE CREAM

• 4 egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) cornflour

• 300 ml milk

• 300 ml pouring cream

• 190 g dulce de leche

• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla essence

• 50 g roasted pecan nuts, chopped

THIS IS HOW

Make the caramel Place the castor sugar and vanilla bean powder in a small saucepan and allow to caramelise over medium heat. Once it turns a golden-brown colour, add the heated cream and gently stir until it forms a smooth caramel. Add the softened butter and a pinch of salt, and mix just until incorporated. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Make the ice cream Place the egg yolks and cornflour in a large mixing bowl and, using a balloon whisk, beat to a creamy, pale paste, then set aside.

Heat the milk, cream, dulce de leche and vanilla essence to a simmer in a mediumsized saucepan. Once the cream mixture has simmered, pour half of it into the egg-yolk mixture and whisk to combine well. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan with the remaining cream mixture and, over medium heat, stir continuously with a spatula until a custard-like consistency develops and coats the back of the spatula. Place in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Line a 30 cm x 20 cm rectangular baking tin with clingwrap and set aside until needed.

To churn the custard into an ice cream, remove the mixture from the fridge, transfer it into the bowl of an ice-cream maker and churn for about 30 minutes (depending on the appliance – see the manufacturer’s instructions). When it’s ready, add the caramel and pecan nuts and churn for 30 seconds. Transfer to the prepared baking tin, spreading it evenly, and freeze for

4 hours.

Once frozen, remove from the freezer and, using a cutter, cut rounds with a diameter of 7,5 cm. To assemble, use 2 stroopwafels or wafer discs and sandwich the ice-cream rounds in between. Freeze until ready to serve.