SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

This flavor was a hit from the day we opened our doors, and it continues to be one of our most popular flavors. Every week we make about 135 pounds of caramel just for this ice cream. Although salt and caramel might sound like a strange combination, it actually works marvelously: the slight bitterness of the dark caramel pulls your tastebuds in one direction while the salt pushes them in another, and the sweet cream rounds everything out. It’s a wallop of flavor, and incredibly addictive.

AT A GLANCE

MAKES: about 1 quart

TECHNIQUES: Ice cream, Caramel

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Ice cream machine

CHILLING TIME: 2 hours, or overnight

SHELF LIFE: 1 week

INGREDIENTS:

• 1¾ cups heavy cream, at room temperature
• ¾ cup granulated sugar ¾ cup 1% or 2% milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 large egg yolks

INSTRUCTIONS:

MAKE THE CARAMEL

1. Set the cream by the stove so it’s at hand when you need it. Measure out ½ cup of the sugar and set near the stove; you’ll use this for the caramel (the rest will go in with the yolks). Put 2 tablespoons of the sugar for the caramel in a heavy nonreactive saucepan and put the pan over medium-high heat. When the sugar is melted around the edges and starts to turn amber in places (about 2 minutes), stir the mixture gently and add another 2 tablespoons sugar to the pan.
2. Continue to add what remains of the ½ cup of sugar 2 tablespoons at a time, stirring frequently and allowing most of the sugar to melt before you add more. Watch carefully as the sugar darkens, stirring gently to help it melt evenly.
3. When the caramel becomes a dark mahogany color, remove the pan from the heat and immediately but slowly pour the cream into the pan. (The mixture will steam and bubble up, so wear oven mitts and be very careful to avoid splatters and steam burns.) When the bubbling subsides, gently stir to completely blend the cream into the caramel. If you have lumps of hardened caramel in your pan, simply put the pan over low heat and stir until the caramel is melted.

MAKE THE BASE

1. Once the caramel is completely smooth, stir in the milk along with the salt and put the pan over medium-high heat. When the mixture approaches a bare simmer, reduce the heat to medium.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just to break them up, then whisk in the remaining ¼ cup sugar. Set aside.
3. Carefully scoop out about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture and, whisking the eggs constantly, add the cream to the bowl with the egg yolks. Repeat, adding another ½ cup of the hot cream to the bowl with the yolks. Using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir the cream in the saucepan as you slowly pour the egg-and-cream mixture from the bowl into the pan.
4. Cook the mixture carefully over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it is thickened, coats the back of a spatula, and holds a clear path when you run your finger across the spatula, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
5. Strain the base through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container. Set the container into an ice-water bath, wash your spatula, and use it to stir the base occasionally until it is cool. Remove the container from the ice-water bath, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate the base for at least 2 hours or overnight.

FREEZE THE ICE CREAM

1. When the base is completely chilled, freeze in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning, put the container you’ll use to store the ice cream into the freezer. Enjoy right away or, for a firmer ice cream,
   transfer to the chilled container and freeze for at least 4 hours.

NOTE:

• This ice cream has a much softer consistency than other ice creams due to its higher sugar content, and as a result it does not work well in ice cream cakes and pies. Save this one for scooping.

SERVE IT WITH …

• Crème Fraîche Ice Cream
• Coffee Toffee Ice Cream (variation of recipe)
• Honey Lavender Ice Cream— a favorite combination of our guests!
• Hot Fudge Sauce and Marcona almonds