So this isn’t exactly our recipe–it’s one we received ages ago from someone Nick only talked to briefly online, and it was likely a third-party hand-off at that point as well. But since it was recently National Ice Cream Day, we figured a dark, boozy ice cream recipe was better shared with the world rather than sitting in the back aisles of a stodgy old email archive, so here it is!

• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup Guinness stout
• 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons molasses
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, scrape in the vanilla bean seeds. Add the pod, milk, and cream. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let the flavors infuse for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stout and molasses. Bring to a boil and turn off heat.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk in a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture, then slowly whisk in another 1/4 cup of the cream. Add the remaining cream in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

Stir the beer mixture into the cream mixture. Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon.

Strain the mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Process the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Featured image is a stock photo by Daniel Twal from Pixabay