This recipe demonstrates how to incorporate syrups and other sugary ingredients in ice cream. This flavor features sweet and pungent birch syrup, one of the products of our northern forests. But you can substitute maple or other local syrups like cane or sorghum. This recipe also demonstrate the role of enrobing nuts and other ingredients in butter.

There are three species of birch trees that grow in Alaska. The most common is the paper birch, which grows in interior Alaska and is the most prolific birch tree in the state. The Kenai birch (Betula papyrifera var. Kenaica) grows on the Kenai Peninsula and at daayí, the western paper birch (Betula papyrifera var. commutata) grows in Southeast Alaska, primarily near Haines. All three varieties produce sap that can be turned into syrup by reducing its water content. Similar to maple syrup, birch syrup is intensely sweet but has a more complex flavor, and comes across well in ice cream and baked goods.

Birch trees were used in traditional cultures, for medicinal, nutritive, and crafting purposes. Peoples such as the Cree in Canada used the inner cambium for medicine. Other cultures used the bark for basket and canoe-making and the sap (sometimes fermented) for a refreshing beverage. It is unlikely that traditional cultures made syrup from the sap, due to the large amount of energy needed to reduce the sap into syrup.

We sourced our birch syrup from Kahiltna Birchworks, a producer in Talkeetna, Alaska, south of Denali National Park. For years, this company produced birch syrup in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness, powering its birchworks with firewood. After moving their plant to the road system, they continued making delicious birch syrup from their trees and those of their neighbors. The company sold in 2023 to Alaska Wild Harvest.

the birch syrup making process at Kahiltna Birchworks

Birch syrup requires a lot of work and energy to produce. Unlike maple syrup, which requires roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup, birch syrup requires up to 100 gallons of sap to make the same amount of syrup. Tapping birch trees in early spring in Alaska can also mean wading through deep snow to gather the required sap.

This ice cream flavor showcases the pungent sweetness of birch syrup concentrated in a ribbon, which also ties into a more subtle birch flavor in the ice cream base. If you can, use late run syrup for its more intense flavor. The butter in the caramel helps give body to the caramel in the ice cream. I also add salted buttered pecans to the ice cream for texture and to contrast with the sweet birch flavor. You can use any nut you’d like here. The butter covering the nut prevents the water in the ice cream from softening the nuts. I also love using alder smoked salt here, to tie into the birch flavor. This flavored salt comes from the Alaska Pure Sea Salt company in Sitka.

Birch Butter Pecan Ice Cream Recipe

BIRCH SYRUP CARAMEL

INGREDIENTS

• 5 t butter

• 1/4 c brown sugar

• 2 T heavy cream

• 2 T birch syrup

• 1/4 alder smoked flake salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat.

2. Add heavy cream to stop cooking.

3. Add birch syrup and alder salt. Whisk to combine.

4. Cool in refrigerator until caramel is pourable but not hard.

BUTTERED PECANS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ c pecans (or almonds, walnuts, etc)

• ¼ cup butter

• ¼ t kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chop pecans. Roast pecans with butter and salt at 350F for 10-12 minutes. Stir butter halfway to coat nuts.

2. Cool before adding to ice cream so butter is solidified.

ICE CREAM BASE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 c cream

• 1 c milk

• 3/4 c sugar

• 3 egg yolks

• 4 t birch syrup

• 1 t vanilla extract

• 1/2 t kosher salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth.

2. Prepare an ice-water bath in a larger bowl for chilling the base before refrigerating.

3. Combine the cream, milk, and salt in a medium saucepan.

4. Heat over medium-high heat until simmering. Remove from heat.

5. To temper the egg/sugar mixture, stream in 1/2 cup of warmed cream mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of warmed cream mixture.

6. Slowly stream in tempered egg/cream mixture into the cream mixture in the saucepan stirring with a heatproof spatula.

7. Continue to heat over medium, stirring constantly, gently scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir, until thickened. (The mixture should coat the back of a spatula or wooden spoon, holding a clear path when you run your finger through it. The base should be thick like tomato soup but no thicker, roughly 165F.)

8. Pour the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a container for chilling. Carefully set the container into the ice-water bath, and stir the base with a clean spatula or wooden spoon until cool. Add birch syrup and vanilla extract and stir until combined. Remove base from ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until base reaches 40F.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

1. Once all ingredients are cooled, add ice cream base to machine and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Remember to be careful to avoid over-churning). When ice cream is churned, swirl in birch caramel and sprinkle in buttered pecans while ice cream is still spinning.

2. When ice cream is ready, remove ice cream and place in freezer safe container (chill ahead of time in freezer so ice cream doesn’t melt on contact).

3. Cover, and freeze for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).