The inspiration for this ice cream came from Turtles Chocolates. Creamy caramel and crunchy pecans coated in rich chocolate. Mmmmmm, I love turtles. When I told my husband I was creating Turtle Ice cream, he had no idea what I was talking about. Clearly, his mother did not have a candy drawer in the living room where she “hid” the chocolates that were meant for company.

Of course that drawer was a magnet for my sisters and I. We’d try to quietly sneak chocolates, but the drawer had a brass knocker handle that would clunk every time we opened and closed the drawer. The variety box of chocolates would be filled with half-eaten cherry and cream filled chocolates. All the nut and caramel ones were gone. My mother would be so embarrassed and angry at us when she went to serve the chocolates to company. Ah, sweet childhood memories!

Turtles were the most coveted box in the drawer and it was always filled with empty candy cups. For my version of Turtle Ice Cream, I started with a base of salted caramel ice cream from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s book, “Rose’s Ice Cream Bliss.” You will need an ice cream machine to make this recipe.

The blogosphere is awash with quick, no-churn ice cream recipes. Essentially, no churn ice cream does not contain eggs, and relies on sweetened condensed milk to thicken the ice cream. The big draw to most of these recipes is that they do not require an ice cream machine. You just mix the ingredients and freeze. Sound perfect until you taste the ice cream. No matter what flavour you add, I find that the sweetened condensed milk overpowers everything. Plus, it has a strange texture. I don’t understand the appeal.

Rose’s recipe is extremely detailed and fool proof. She walks you through all the steps and explains why things work. I’m a big fan. Her first book “The Cake Bible” is the most dog eared book on my shelf. Published in 1988, it has stood the test of time.

I dipped the top of the sugar cones with melted chocolate and rolled it in toasted pecans, because we’re fancy here at saltandserenity. Plus, it makes a pretty picture. It’s all in the details.

To the base of salted caramel ice cream, I added buttered toasted pecans and chunks of caramel candy. You can make your own caramel candy, or just buy the Kraft caramels and cut them into quarters. For the chocolate, I envisioned ribbons of hot fudge sauce rippling through the ice cream. I made a simple hot fudge sauce and layered it through the ice cream before freezing. Then I drizzled on some extra after scooping.