Low Carb Black Walnut Divinity Ice Cream

This is a popular flavor by Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and is in their recipe book. The original recipe involves grinding ½ cup of toasted walnuts into a paste using a food processor and and then mixing that into the heated base “so the oils in the walnuts adhere to the oils in the butterfat—this locks the walnuts’ distinct flavor into the cream.” By all means, go ahead and make it that way if you like. I took the easy way out and used black walnut flavoring, which means any of my low carb sweet cream bases can be used including the no-cook method.

Jeni explains what makes black walnuts so special:

Ohio black walnuts deserve a place among the world’s most prized nuts. The flavors of Piedmont’s hazelnuts, Marcona almonds, and pistachios from Sicily and Iran are all wonderful, but they pale in comparison to the piquant Ohio black walnut. Along with sweet corn and black raspberries, black walnuts capture the flavor of Ohio.

Black walnuts pack a lot of nostalgia for me. My grandmother Bette always makes meringue-like black walnut divinity candies, and our Black Walnut Divinity has an old-fashioned flavor profile.

It was impossible to find black walnuts locally. Even Trader Joe’s doesn’t seem to carry them. They had to be shipped from Amazon.

UPDATE 2019-03-27: Alpha Freezz has this flavor in an 8 oz. size and should taste similar to the one sold by LorAnn Oils.

Ingredients

¾ cup (90 g) black walnuts, toasted
Low Carb Sweet Cream Base
1-2 drams LorAnn Oils Black Walnut Flavoring

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Spread the walnuts out in one layer on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until just starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Add them to an empty ice cream container and put the container upright in the freezer.
2. Follow the instructions for the Low Carb Sweet Cream Base and mix in the flavorings. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, if necessary.
3. Follow your ice cream maker’s directions for making ice cream. Approximately 5-10 minutes before the ice cream is done, add the toasted black walnuts while churning. Remove from the ice cream maker using a silicone spatula and freeze until solid.