When I was growing up, if you said “caramel” then everyone knew just what you meant. In aisle 3 or 4 of every supermarket, you found the candies and there would be that big bag of Kraft caramels, individually wrapped in the cellophane that seemed quite unwilling to yield to your fingers. Sometimes, someone would try to slip you something they called a caramel, maybe something home-made or something from Paris, but those were never caramels. It had to be Kraft.
In the past few years, we find caramel everywhere. And often combined with salt which we know is a match made by the culinary gods. Caramel is here to stay: in our stores, our restaurants, and our bookshelves.
Caramel by Carol Bloom was published three years ago and remains the superior caramel reference. This is book you want close at hand. You can read review here. Or you can ignore me — I won’t mind because this is about caramel — and get to work on this ice cream.
I’m posting this early on Sunday morning. You need to chill the ice cream mixture for several hours, so it’s time to move. Now!
Caramel Ice Cream
Yield: 1 quart
Ingredients:
- 2 cups granulated sugar, divided
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
- ¼ teaspoon kosher or fine-grained sea salt
- 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Preparation:
Combine 1 ¼ cups sugar and the water in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan. Cook over high heat, without stirring until the mixture begins to boil. Brush around the inside of the pan with a damp pastry brush at the point where the sugar syrup meets the sides of the pan. Do this twice during the cooking process to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. Continue to cook the mixture, without stirring, until it turns a medium amber color, about 10 minutes
While the caramel is cooking, heat ¾ cup of the cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Stir the hot cream into the caramel, using a long-handle heat-resistant spatula. Be careful because the mixture will bubble and foam. Turn the heat off under the pan. Stir in the salt and blend well.
Whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer using the wire whip attachment, or in bowl using a hand-held mixer, until thick and pale and the mixture holds a slowly dissolving ribbon as the beater is lifted, about 5 minutes.
At the same time, heat the milk in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat until hot. Gradually pour ½ cup of the hot milk into he beaten egg mixture and blend. Then pour this mixture into the saucepan of the hot milk. Place the pan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly with a heat-resistance spatula, until the mixture thickens and reaches 185 degrees F on the candy thermometer, 10-15 minutes. At this point a line drawn through the custard on the back of the spatula should leave a clearly defined path.
Strain the mixture into a large bowl, stir in the remaining cream and vanilla, then add the caramel mixture, and blend together thoroughly. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap to preen a skin from forming on top and cool to room temperature. Then chill the ice cream mixture in the refrigerator for several hours. Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Be sure to process the ice cream long enough so that it sets up.
To make Banana Caramel Ice Cream, stir in 1 cup ripe mashed bananas to the ice cream mixture before chilling. To make Salted Caramel Ice Cream, increase the sea salt to 1 teaspoon. And, you can always add 1 cup of toasted nuts to any of these versions.
Source: Caramel by Carol Bloom [Gibbs Smith, 2013]