Salted Caramel Ice Cream
If you love caramel as much as I do, this is the best ice cream I've ever made. There is a bit of time commitment in learning how to make caramel-- twice. The end result is so worth the wait. I'll show you how to make this on my food blog. The buttery caramel ice cream has bits of salted caramel praline that is incredibly good.
Servings 8 servings
Calories 421kcal
Equipment
- Ice Cream Maker
- Silpat (silicone mat, to make the caramel pralines)
Ingredients
For the caramel praline
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt such as fleur de sel
For the ice cream custard:
- 2 cups whole milk divided
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5 egg yolks
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the caramel praline:
- Spread the ½ cup of sugar in an even layer in a medium-sized, heavy duty saucepan. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or brush it sparingly with unflavored oil.
- Heat the sugar over medium heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.) Continue to cook, stirring infrequently, until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it’s just about to burn. It won’t take long.
- Without hesitation, sprinkle in the ¾ teaspoon salt without stirring, then pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet and lift up the baking sheet immediately, tilting and swirling it almost vertically to encourage the caramel to form as thin a layer as possible. Set aside to harden and cool.
To make the ice cream:
- Make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they’re floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quart) over the ice, pour 1 cup of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.
- Spread 1½ cups sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Cook over medium heat until caramelized, using the same method described in making the caramel praline.
- Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of the milk.
- Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, whisking constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom until the mixture thickens). If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read 160-170 F.
- Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled.
- Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- While the ice cream is churning, crumble the hardened caramel praline into very little bits, about the size of very large confetti (about ½-inch).
- Once your caramel ice cream is churned, quickly stir in the crushed caramel, then chill in the freezer until firm.
Notes
(Recipe adapted from David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop)