Salted Caramel Ice Cream {w/ recipes}

hello friends. hope you had a fabulous long weekend. it sure was hot in San Diego. perfect to enjoy a sweet and salty treat - salted caramel ice cream.

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If you've been following along with me these last few months, you may remember my post on Salted Caramel Butterscotch Pudding. I must admit, salted caramel is one of my favorite flavors as of late. But up until a few months ago, I had never taken my try at homemade caramel. {On a side note, I had made caramel corn (with brown sugar and butter, a recipe I will share once the weather changes), but not real caramel.}

Having been around the baking/cooking world in the blogosphere and the kitchen for a few years, I had heard many woes about the trouble with caramel. Everything from making sure your pan is completely clean and dry to checking the temperature every 30 seconds. And these woes are with good cause - as of today I have made 2 successful batches, and 2 complete flops. 

So now, despite a few botched attempts, I think I have got the hang of it. So hopefully you will have great luck on the first try, and not end up dumping a lumpy caramel-like mess in the trash. In hopes of your instant success, here are some of my tips.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Salted Caramel Sauce
1 c sugar
1 1/4 c heavy cream
1 t vanilla
1/2 t fleur de sel (flaky sea salt) {or to taste, up to 1 t}

1. In a 10 inch pan, heat sugar over medium heat. It will be helpful to use a light colored pan so you can better gauge the color, but not necessary. Using a fork, mix sugar so that it heats evenly. STOP mixing once the sugar begins to melt. Do not mix even just a little, as it will start to clump and not melt evenly. DO swirl the pan around so that the sugar continues to melt evenly. Continue until sugar is completely melted and begins to turn a rich caramel color.

2. Once the sugar reaches the desired color, reduce heat and add heavy cream, stirring until combined.

This step threw me for a loop the first time (my second attempt, since the first attempt resulted in clumpy melted sugar that I scrapped before this step). I assumed the hot, melted sugar and the cream would easily mix together. All recipes said to just mix the cream and sugar until it blends together. And they are completely right. What they don't tell you is that it looks like a complete wreck - the sugar will turn into a sticky, tacky mess and want nothing to do with the chilled cream. And can you blame it? The sugar had a good thing going on. And the heavy cream came and messed it all up. But, keep stirring. They'll work through their issues and turn into a beautiful, sweet caramel.

3. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt.

Ice Cream Base

You are of course welcome to use your favorite vanilla ice cream base (just omit the vanilla and most, if not all of the sugar), as the caramel will compensate. I prefer an egg based custard for my ice cream, but this is one of the few flavors where, in my opinion you can get away with just milk and cream. The caramel is just that good. 

*adapted from Alton Brown's Vanilla Ice Cream

1 1/2 c half-and-half

1/2 c heavy cream

4 large egg yolks

1/3 c sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, mix half-and-half and heavy cream, over medium heat. Bring mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. 

2. In a medium mixing bowl. whisk the eggs until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar. 

3. Carefully temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar, adding small amounts at a time until a third of the mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return to the saucepan over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from heat and allow to cool 30 minutes.  

4. Mix cream mixture with salted caramel and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. 

5. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions, typically 25-35 minutes. Freeze for another 3-4 hours. The ice cream will be softer than normal recipes due to the caramel. It will melt in your mouth, in more ways than one. 

 Enjoy!