Chocolate Frozen French Custard

Chocolate frozen French custard with praline pecans is a sumptuous frozen dessert, born from a passionate trifecta. It’s filled with rich chocolate, the sweet, oaky and caramel warmth of bourbon, and the irresistible crunch of praline pecans. It’s a rare delight to find all three harmonized in one scoop. It is precisely why I set out to craft it myself—because sometimes the flavors we crave most, simply don’t exist… yet.

Custard, Ice Cream, and Gelato: A Creamy Lineage

Traditionally, French ice cream has always leaned on the richness of egg yolks, creating what is technically a custard. American-style ice cream, by contrast, began without eggs—but over time, the velvety mouthfeel of custard-based versions won favor stateside as well. Gelato, Italy’s silken offering to the world of frozen desserts, forgoes eggs entirely. Its magic lies in a slow-churn process and a warmer serving temperature, allowing its bold, pure flavors to shine.

I was initially inspired by the intensity of gelato, but my tests with egg yolks proved too delicious to ignore. The result is a true frozen custard—dense, creamy, and incredibly satisfying. Dark chocolate lays the foundation with its deep, bittersweet profile. Bourbon adds a warm, caramel-kissed complexity. The addition of praline pecans bring the perfect contrast: buttery, crackling sweetness in every bite.

It’s bold, it’s silky, it’s indulgent—and it’s everything I wanted in a scoop, so let’s get started!

Let’s Begin with Praline Pecans

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large heavy bottom saucepan, warm the heavy cream, milk, white sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and butter until the butter is melted. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved, heat to a low boil and stir slowly, but constantly. Boil for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring constantly, to 235°F.  On a candy thermometer, it will have a line and read “soft ball”. When it reaches 235 degrees for 30 seconds, remove from heat, add the salt and vanilla and stir in the pecan pieces. Slowly stir while it cools for about 4 minutes.

Spoon the mixture onto the cookie sheet and spread it out to a thin, even layer. Let it stand until cooled and firm, about 20 minutes, then refrigerate until chilled and hard. Break or chop it into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use. It will keep for about 1 week.

Finishing the Frozen French Custard

Warm the milk, cream, cocoa, vanilla and sugar on the stove in a large saucepot and whisk until it is well combined. Warning: Don’t let the milk/cream get too hot or you will curdle the eggs!

Slowly drizzle in a half cup of warm milk/cream into the eggs while whisking constantly. Continue to whisk while adding it back into the warm milk/cream mixture in the saucepot. Heat the combined mixture slowly on medium low heat while stirring until it thickens, and your custard mix coats the back of a spoon.

Strain the gelato into the chopped chocolate to remove any curdled bits and solids, let set for a minute while the chocolate melts and whisk until smooth

Refrigerate until it’s thoroughly chilled in an airtight covered bowl, stir in the bourbon and 2 cups of chopped praline pecans and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight ice cream container and finish freezing

Serve and garnish with a few bits of the reserved praline pecans Print