Check ingredients Add the pecans, maple syrup, and salt to a small saucepan.
Heat on medium, stirring constantly until the maple syrup crystallizes around the pecans.
Remove from the heat and let cool completely before chopping and using in the ice cream.
In a medium sized bowl, add the cashews and cover with boiling water. Cover with a plate and let soften for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, in a saucepan, add the maple syrup and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a low simmer and continue cooking until the maple syrup is slightly darker in color and has reduced by approximately half in volume. This should take about 25 minutes. Watch very closely to prevent from burning.
Remove the maple syrup from the heat, measure ½ cup of it and and transfer that ½ cup to a high speed blender along with the drained cashews. Save any remaining maple syrup for pancakes or use in other recipes.
To the blender, add the soy milk, silken tofu, dark brown sugar, whisky, cornstarch, guar gum, and salt. Cover and blend until silky smooth.
Pour the ice cream mixture into a saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Once boiling, allow the mixture to thicken to the consistency of a loose pudding or a rich hollandaise sauce.
Remove from the heat and stir in the maple extract.
Transfer to a container with a lid. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until cold (I like to let mine chill overnight).
Turn on your ice cream machine and slowly pour the cold maple ice cream base.
Churn for 20 minutes or until it has the consistency of thick, creamy soft serve ice cream.
Sprinkle in most of the chopped candied pecans and churn to incorporate for another 2 minutes.
Scoop the ice cream into a container, garnish with the remaining chopped candied pecans, cover, and transfer to the freezer to set for 2 to 4 hours.
Enjoy in a bowl or with in a waffle cone. If you notice that the ice cream is too hard to scoop. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes to soften a little before scooping.
