Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Instructions

I know the process of making the ice cream base might be a bit intimidating, but there is nothing to be afraid of! Follow each step and you should be alright. Here’s a little sketch I made that might be somewhat helpful for some:

1. Separate the egg yolks and add the to a clean bowl. You can save the egg whites for later (or freeze them) to make meringues, a Pavlova, marshmallows, etc.
2. Next, mix 1/3 of the sugar (1/3 cup or 80 grams) in with the egg yolks.
3. I suggest you measure all of the ingredients before starting to cook the sugar and everything else together, this way you can just dump all of the ingredients in the sauce pan as you go, without having to measure everything while the sugar is caramelizing.
4. Once you are done measuring the ingredients, add the rest of the sugar (2/3 cup or 170 grams) to a large sauce pan or pot on medium heat. Wait for the sugar to melt down and get a dark golden color. Do not mix into the sugar, it will cause it to clump up, just tilt the pan or pot from time to time. I suggest you keep an eye on the pan while the sugar is caramelizing, you do not want the it to burn.
5. Once the sugar is all golden brown, take it off the heat. It’s time to add the cream (400 grams or 1 2/3 cups) to the pan. Slowly start drizzling the cream in the pan, in a few rounds. Drizzle a little bit, mix, drizzle some more, and so on! Be careful not to burn yourself, there will be a lot of bubbling happening! If the mixture starts to clump up, just break it apart using a spatula. Most of the clumps will dissolve back in the liquid and we will strain out any potential sugar clumps at the end.
6. Next, add all the butter (60 grams, 1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons of butter) to the pan and mix until it has dissolved.
7. Add all the milk (300 grams or 1 1/3 cups) to the sauce pan and mix. Once all the milk is in the pan, start adding the salt (1 to 2 teaspoons or 6 to 10 grams). Add it in little by little, teaspoon by teaspoon, tasting the mixture after each time. Some prefer the caramel ice cream saltier than other people, so adjust the level of salt according to your own liking!
8. Next, once the milk, cream, butter, salt are all in, you’ll need to pop the pan back on the stove, on medium heat and wait for the mixture to come to a gentle simmer. I won’t give you a time estimate, just because you need to keep an eye on the pan at all times! Stir the mixture gently using a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
9. Once the mixture starts to simmer, take it off the heat once again. It’s time for the last step, which is tempering the eggs. Tempering is simply the process of bringing the eggs to a temperature that is closer to the temperature of the mixture they will be added to. This will prevent them from scrambling once added to the pan. If you were to add the eggs, as they are, to the hot liquid, they would start to cook immediately.
10. To temper the eggs, slowly start drizzling some of the hot caramel liquid in the bowl full of eggs and sugar using a large spoon, a measuring cup or a ladle while constantly whisking the eggs to prevent them from scrambling in the hot liquid. Just drizzle the liquid little by little, until you have added about a third of the liquid from the pan. Once you have tempered the eggs, it’s time to add them to the pot of liquid.
11. The very last thing to do with the salted caramel ice cream base is to bring it back on the stove, on medium heat for 1-2 minutes, while constantly stirring it. Again, keep an eye on it, you do not want it to come to a boil, the eggs will scramble.
12. Strain the hot liquid mixture into a clean bowl. Straining it will catch any caramel clumps or cooked egg pieces if there are any, leaving us with a silky smooth ice cream base.
13. Cover the ice cream base with cling film as shown in the photo to prevent the formation of custard skin.

    Let the mixture sit in the fridge until it’s completely cooled off (it should have the consistency of a runny, yet pretty thick custard cream), then add it to your ice cream machine and process it accordingly: churn it for 30 to 40 minutes, add it to a container then freeze for a few more hours.

    The best part about this ice cream is that whenever you want to serve it, you won’t have to take it out 10 hours in advance, it should be scoop-able as soon as it comes out of the freezer!