Salted Caramel Ice Cream Revelation~

Announcement: This is the best ice cream I have ever made. I admit that I am in love with anything containing the words salted caramel and the rich flavor that implies. This ice cream delivered exactly what I had anticipated!

I've owned my copy of Jeni''s Splendid Ice Creams at Home since last summer and just recently brought it off the shelf again. Jeni uses an egg-less approach to ice cream using with a small amount of cream cheese and cornstarch to take it's place.

The hardest part of making this flavor is the process of melting the sugar using the dry-burn method.  You need to carefully watch the saucepan of dry sugar until it starts to slowly melt and caramelize.  You also need to be very careful when stirring the hot, sticky liquid sugar so you don't get any on yourself - but it is so worth the effort and diligence.  It was proclaimed delicious by all who tasted it.  

Add a few finely-chopped smoked almonds if you're feeling nutty ;)

On a personal note, we've been enjoying every possible moment outdoors and away from the computer to make the most of our short, Wisconsin summer. We recently returned from a trip to Manitowish Waters in northern Wisconsin where one couple in our gourmet group hosted all 10 of us for a "North Woods" gourmet at their lake retreat home. There were many fun moments, included a North Woods fish fry, a casual and delicious gourmet dinner, several pontoon boat tours of the Manitowish Waters Chain of Lakes, eagle and loon sightings, and jovial camaraderie. We won't talk about the mosquitoes!

Here's to summer ~  may it decide to stay a little longer this year :)  

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Printable Recipe

Makes approximately 1 quart of ice cream

2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar (I used an organic, fair trade sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

This is a dry-burn technique without adding water to the sugar before putting it on the heat. It caramelizes faster, but watch very carefully so that it doesn't burn and have the cream ready to add.

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

Whisk the room temperature cream cheese and salt in a medium, heat-proof bowl until smooth. (I used a 2 qt Pyrex bowl with spout.)

Mix the cream with the corn syrup in a large measuring cup with a spout.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Heat the sugar in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until it is melted and gold to dark amber in color. Jeni advises not touching the sugar until you see the sugar start to melt on the edges.  Then carefully stir toward the center and keep stirring until all of the sugar has melted and reaches a dark, golden amber color.

Remove from the heat and, stirring constantly, slowly add a spoonful of the cream and corn syrup mixture to the caramel: It will fizzle and pop but keep stirring until well combined, then add a little more, a little more, etc., and keep stirring until all of it is incorporated.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the milk. Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.

Bring back to a boil over medium-high and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. If any caramel flecks remain, pour the mixture through a sieve.

Gradually whisk the hot milk and cream mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and whisk. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Pour into frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid.

Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

My Notes: Be sure to have the cornstarch mixture, cream cheese mixture, cream mixture, milk and vanilla all ready and waiting by the stove when you start to caramelize the sugar.

Also, I didn't pour the mixture into a zip-lock bag since as I didn't want to risk having melted plastic in my ice cream.  I simply poured the mixture back into a 2-qt glass heat-proof (Pyrex) container and put that in a sink of cold, icy water up to the level of the mixture. I stirred it every 5 minutes.  When cool enough, I then put it into a plastic zipper bag and refrigerated it until cold, about 45 minutes, then added it to my ice cream maker.