Apple, Browned Butter, & Sour Cream Ice Cream Recipe

Updated February 26, 2025

Closeup of an Apple, Browned Butter, & Sour Cream Ice Cream — Serious Eats / Max Falkowitz

Apples and sour cream first crossed paths on my plate during a latke party I hosted years ago. I was wary of the sour cream—love it though I do, it felt wrong on a latke—but I decided to give it a try. Long after the latkes were gone I was spooning sour cream and apple sauce onto my plate and lapping it up like a starving dog. There's something special about plopping applesauce and sour cream unceremoniously on something warm and fatty. They seep into its cracks just so, and every bite is a creamy union of sweet and tart.

The time has come for us to end this ice cream series, October being halfway to Halloween. We wanted something to complement fall's palette of desserts: crumbles, crisps, cakes, and quickbreads, filled with apples, pears, walnuts, and cinnamon. With that in mind, apples and sour cream were a no-brainer, a lusciously tart rejoinder to rustic late-harvest food.

Sour cream ice cream is the perfect dessert topper. Unencumbered by eggs, it melts easily into a cool, creamy pile—not a puddle—on a plate. As ice creams go, it's refreshing and won't weigh you down. And when you add in an eightfold reduction of apple cider, a sticky and gloriously acidic syrup, you may just have heaven on a plate. I say "may" only till you add the browned butter. Then it's a done deal.

Our experiments gave us two versions of this ice cream, and they're both worthy of your next dessert course. The first is more tart than sweet, light and apple-y, nutty and caramelized from the browned butter. It's refined and lovely and exactly the dessert topper we were looking for. It's tangy enough to balance sweet crumbles or some apple butter (pictured), and it melts into a delectable sauce for oven-fresh cakes.

The second version has twice as much browned butter and brown sugar, and tastes like an especially intense caramel apple. The apple flavor is dialed back and it's much less tart, but a half pound of browned butter speaks for itself. It's an overindulgent, caramelized mess best left unadorned by anything seeking to dilute its intense, albeit unrefined glory (though you may miss some of the tartness). Which version you choose is up to you, how sweet you like your ice cream, and the other items on your dessert plate. Or make a pint of each and apologize for nothing.

This recipe was developed with the help of Ethan Frisch.

Recipe Details

Apple, Browned Butter, & Sour Cream Ice Cream Recipe

Prep 10 mins

Cook 30 mins

Churning/Freezing Time 8 hrs 40 mins

Total 9 hrs 20 mins

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Ingredients

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, cut into small chunks [or 2 sticks for second version]
4 cups apple cider, plus 1 tablespoon, divided (see note)
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup whole milk [or 1/2 cup for second version]
1/4 cup brown sugar [or 1/2 cup for second version]
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Directions

In a skillet, melt butter on medium heat. When fully melted, increase heat and let butter brown to a rich amber. When the color has darkened significantly and you see black particles in the pan, pour off into a heat-proof container, straining out the black particles on the bottom, and set aside to cool.
In a medium saucepan, bring the four cups of apple cider to a boil and add the nutmeg. Reduce until you have 1/2 cup of syrup, about 20 minutes. Do not reduce further. Keep an eye on it when bubbles start stacking up, as it will reduce very quickly. Set aside to cool.
Whisk together sour cream, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl. When the butter and apple cider syrup have cooled, whisk them in very thoroughly. The butterfat must be completely emulsified into the base, or it will get grainy when frozen. You can do this step in your blender if you like. Add the last tablespoon of apple cider, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The base will also keep for up to a week.
The next day, spin the base in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. The ice cream is at its peak at this point as soft-serve, or after an hour in the freezer, which will firm it up a bit. If you plan to serve it later, leave it to thaw on the counter for at least half an hour before serving, or it will be grainy.

Special Equipment

Ice cream maker

Notes

Use the best apple cider you can get, but take a look at the nutrition facts. This recipe is formulated for cider with 120 calories (two tablespoons of sugar) per cup. If your four cups of apple cider have less than 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, 480 calories) of sugar, add enough brown sugar to compensate.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
2492	Calories
189g	Fat
190g	Carbs
19g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories	2492
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 189g	242%
Saturated Fat 109g	545%
Cholesterol 534mg	178%
Sodium 1137mg	49%
Total Carbohydrate 190g	69%
Dietary Fiber 2g	8%
Total Sugars 167g
Protein 19g
Vitamin C 392mg	1,960%
Calcium 820mg	63%
Iron 2mg	11%
Potassium 1932mg	41%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.