Caramel Ice Cream Recipe
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Defining the perfect caramel ice cream is tough: Some people like it very sweet, others like it salty, some prefer burnt, and still others want just a hint of caramel. We’re fans of salted caramel ice cream, but we didn’t want the salt to overwhelm the caramel here. After numerous tests we settled on this rich, slightly salted ice cream with just the right amount of caramel flavor. We made it for our Caramel Sundae with Cinnamon-Sugar Chips, but it’s equally delicious on its own.
This recipe was featured as part of both our Super Bowl for a Crowd menu and our Family-Friendly Party Done Right photo gallery.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, scraped, and seeds reserved
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Prepare an ice water bath by filling a bowl halfway with ice and water; set aside. Combine cream, half-and-half, and vanilla seeds in a large bowl and set aside.
- Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan and stir until mixture resembles wet sand. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil until mixture turns dark amber in color and smells toasted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and slowly add cream mixture, whisking until evenly incorporated. Return the saucepan to the stove and place over medium-low heat to keep warm.
- Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks in a large bowl until pale yellow, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1 cup of the caramel sauce into the eggs. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining caramel sauce, stir in salt, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until it is as viscous as melted ice cream and coats the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. (When you draw your finger across the spoon, it should make a mark through the custard, which should not run back in on itself.)
- Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer into a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl over the ice water bath to chill, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the ice cream base is cold, cover and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least 3 hours or overnight. Once it’s chilled, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream will keep in the freezer for 1 week.
this tasted amazing, but didn't even make 4 cups for me. any idea what i did wrong? my base was very thick when it came out of the fridge, if that helps at all...
I made this this weekend. It was SO GOOD my friends asked me to make it again this weekend. Definitely recommend. I believe their quote was "the best ice cream I've ever had" and I didn't even make it quite so rich.
http://caramelandchili.blogspot.com
This is one of the best ice creams I have ever had, seriously. I made it in my new kitchen aid ice cream attachment (to the mixer) and it worked beautifully. They should warn in the recipe it is a bit alarming when you mix it all together towards the end and it 'freezes up' into candy. But just keep whisking and whisking... and whisking, and it all works out all right. And is so worth the effort. I added a touch more salt and was glad I did. Try this, it is terrific.
The Ice Cream attachment to the Kitchen Aid mixer, fyi, works great.
Way to go I love good home made ice cream
Please vote for my all new ice cream called the “Obama Cone”
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Hmm...sounds like a delicacy. I want to try this recipe with my ice 20 cuisinart...
My heart just stopped beating for a second, it was scary but now i know its right.
chefartist: you should be able to use panna da cucina without a problem. let us know how it goes!
Can I use Panna da Cucina for this?
Cheers.
Delicious...my fave form of caramel..
This one's a keeper. I gave it a generous teaspoon of salt. Very nice.
Looks great! I'll try making some. I'd recommend heating the milk mixture to reduce the temperature difference between it and the caramel, so it doesn't bubble as much when you mix them.
goodhealthgourmet—i think this recipe could stand up to a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. when i made it, i only used 3/4 c of sugar. I would think that with the full 1 cup, it could easily accommodate such a classy touch.
I made the custar last night and have to say that if the frozen part is as good as the warm custard then I am in for a real treat. While cooking the caramel did stiffen up quite a bit when I put the milk in. It seems as though most of that was absorbed after another 10 minutes on the stove. I am hoping the extra minutes on the stove will not hurt the end result? Seems the custard was fine this morning. Will update tomorrow.
"The salt was the best part. You couldn't tell it was there unless you knew about it in advance."
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the first thought i had when i saw the recipe was that a tiny sprinkle of flaky sea salt over the top before serving would probably be fantastic. was the ice cream sweet enough to handle that extra bit of salt?
I've made this twice now and it is absolutely delicious. Served it to company both times and everyone just groaned, it was so good.
Perfect recipe. Followed it exactly and it came out just like I wanted. Creamy, luscious, rich. Fantastic recipe that impressed the future in-laws, but most importantly, it impressed me.
The salt was the best part. You couldn't tell it was there unless you knew about it in advance.
Try using a ricer next time you serve ice cream. Gives a different "look" to the serving!
I just made this but with 2 C of whole milk and 1 C of heavy cream. I also only had superfine sugar so I had just used 1/8 a cup of water. I agree with baloney in that it wasn't that hard: the hardest part being making the caramel and the only thing you need to know for that is to not touch the caramel once the heat is on. Make sure eggs are room temp, it helps keep it from curdling. Next time I'll probably let the caramel go a bit more than 7 minutes as the caramel flavor didn't have that nice bitterness which made it a bit sweeter than I expected. All in all: great recipe. Also Tehama, go to David Lebovitz website: he has a technique to make ice cream without an ice cream maker.
I made this recipe yesterday and it was soooo good! And it was fairly easy, not sure if it qualifies as "hard" difficulty-wise.
My ohhhh my.... I agree with crowsonguy ... I want some now. I don't have an ice-cream maker. I don't guess there is any way to get around that part of the recipe is there? Can't I just freeze it? Please?
I want some NOW, that's what I think