Caramel Ice Cream- Take two!

Since my first caramel ice cream recipe failed, Frieda over at Lovin' from the Oven, graciously sent me a much better recipe to try! Saturday night the bf was feeling a little under the weather, so we stayed home from our date night and it was the perfect opportunity to try it out. Unfortunately, about halfway through this recipe I badly burned myself and became glued to the sink with my hand under the faucet. The bf took over where I left off while I yelled read the directions to him from the sink-I'd come too far to give up! haha It really was silly of me, now that I look back on it. He was like "How's your hand? Who cares about the stupid ice cream?!", but I insisted he persevere and finish out the recipe. It was just a little more hectic because my accident happened during the critical time of melting the caramel (read: almost BOILING SUGAR) and mixing in the cream/eggs, etc. Anyway, he did a good job, but I kept screaming lovingly saying things like "Pour SLOWER!", "NOT the whisk!!"and "turn the burner down!" haha well I have to say this ice cream was much better than the other one! Not sure if I have a permanent Sous chef or if it was worth a badly burned finger though. :( The bf gobbled it up and said it was MUCH better than the last caramel ice cream, but he thought it was too rich to eat on its own. He suggested mixing it with the vanilla bean I normally make. Hmmm... We'll see. I kind of have my heart set on a cookie dough or cookies and cream ice cream next time...yum yum!

Salted Caramel Praline (To mix in)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp sea salt (NOT table salt)

Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or grease lightly with vegetable oil. In a heavy-bottom skillet, spread sugar in an even layer. Heat over medium until edges begin to melt, use a heat-proof spatula to push the melted edges in towards the middle. Stir gently until all sugar is dissolved. Cook, stirring infrequently, until sugar starts to smoke (I had a hard time telling if it was smoking or not, but figured out this step is right before it boils. DO NOT let the sugar boil or it will get a burnt taste.) Caramel will be the color of an old copper penny. Quickly sprinkle sea salt over caramel without stirring. Pour caramel onto prepared baking sheet, turning sheet to spread thinly. Set aside to cool and harden.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 TBSP salted butter ( I only had unsalted)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3/4 tsp vanilla

Make an ice bath by filling a large bowl 1/3 full with ice cubes and about 1 cup water (ice cubes should be floating in the water). Nestle a smaller, 2 quart bowl on top of ice. Pour 1 cup cold milk into bowl and place mesh strainer over top.

Spread 1 1/2 cups sugar in a heavy-bottom skillet in an even layer. Heat over medium until edges begin to melt, use a heat-proof spatula to push the melted edges in towards the middle.

Stir gently until all sugar is dissolved. Cook, stirring infrequently, until sugar starts to smoke (I had a hard time telling if it was smoking or not, but figured out this step is right before it boils. DO NOT let the sugar boil or it will get a burnt taste.) Caramel will be the color of an old copper penny. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and salt. (This is where I burnt myself on HOT HOT caramel when I added the butter. Add butter CAREFULLY!). Stir until completely melted. Gradually whisk in the cream, stirring constantly. If the caramel begins to harden, return pan to heat and continue stirring until melted. Stir in 1 cup milk. Whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl. Slowly add about 1 cup of caramel mixture into yolks, whisking constantly. Slowly add yolk/caramel mixture back into saucepan. Cook custard until it coats the back of a spoon and you can draw a line down the back of a spoon without custard running into it. Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk in the ice bath and add vanilla. Stir until mixture has cooled down.Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker for about 30 minutes.

While it is freezing, crumble praline bits in a large plastic bag with a rolling pin.
Sprinkle in bits after ice cream is churned. Pour into container with lid and freeze until firm (2-4 hours). While you're eating it, the tiny caramel bits will melt and add a nice ooey-gooey texture to your ice cream! Enjoy!

Like I said before, I love my ice cream maker, but it does have to washed by hand. :(
Sonny volunteered to wash it for me, but I figured licking it clean wouldn't be too sanitary...
For the brave, posted last are a few photos of my sugar burn Sunday morning. It's OK- when I'm eating this ice cream I forget that my finger hurts! :)







Hope you had a great weekend!