Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Submitted by Heather

There are many salted caramel recipes everywhere you look these days. While other recipes combine the caramel with brownies or cakes, this one showcases the lovely caramel flavor without any competition. It is smooth, and caramelly (not sure that's a word...) and salty and perfect. It does involve a couple of steps, but if you could taste the goodness that awaits you at the end of this process you wouldn't bat an eye at what you have to do to get there.

I don't make ice cream very often, but I can't wait to make this one again. I initially planned on making chocolate ice cream, but I'm so glad I noticed this recipe and changed my mind. I brought it to an ice cream themed baby shower, where there were many delicious offerings. I think we should have more occasions where there's an ice cream bar - it was an awesome idea! My favorite way to eat this ice cream is to serve it with toasted pecans that have been tossed with browned butter.  

Note: I actually made this ice cream a teeny, tiny bit lighter based on some recommendations from the comments in the recipe.  You can make the recipe as written below, or reduce the heavy cream to 1 1/4 C. and substitute 1 C. half and half for the other cup of heavy cream.  It was divine lightened, so I'm sure it's even better with all cream!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Yield: Makes about 1 quart
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 4 hr

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt such as Maldon (or 1/2 -3/4 tsp kosher salt)*
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3 large eggs

*I don't know what the substitution would be if you used regular table salt, but I'm guessing not more than 1/4 tsp.

Equipment: an ice cream maker

Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.  Note: make sure to get the caramel a nice medium-dark brown. If the caramel is too light the finished product won't have an intense enough caramel flavor, though I'm sure it would still be good.

 Just the sugar - melted until a dark amber

 

 Caramel with cream added

Warm 1 1/4 cups cream in the microwave and add to the caramel (mixture may splatter) Cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.  Ice cream keeps 1 week.

Source: Slightly adapted from Epicurious.com

Creamy, Dreamy Chocolate Ice Cream

Go and make this ice cream right now!  It is seriously some of the creamiest, chocolatiest ice cream ever.  I received a KitchenAid ice cream attachment last Christmas and was so excited to try it this summer.  I've made a few different kinds, like peach, vanilla and mint Oreo, but this was definitely my favorite.  It was really decadent right out of the ice cream mixer, but I think I preferred it after it spent a couple of hours in the freezer.  And the mix-in possibilities are endless!  Oreos, chopped, toasted almonds, mint cookies, peanut butter, and it goes on and on.  I went to the store and bought some cheap-o chocolate ice cream for the kids because I thought they weren't appreciating this ice cream as much as I was.  Yeah, I'm nice like that.

Chocolate Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

2. Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

3. Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer).  (I found that it doesn't take long at all for the mixture to come to 170 degrees, so be ready to take it's temperature right away. You don't want to overcook this.) Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

4. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)

From browneyedbaker.com who got it from  The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Peanut Buster Parfait Bars

Submitted by Hannah

I think I have been feeling a bit nostalgic lately. I have made a lot of recipes that we ate as kids and this happens to be one of my favorites probably because it has ice cream in it. Who needs the Dairy Queen when you can whip this up at home. My Grandma Kolberg always had this for us on a hot summer day when all you wanted was something cold. With an oreo crust, vanilla ice cream, peanuts and a chocolate sauce that could be served on cardboard and still taste fantastic, I think this could become one of your favorites also.

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened

15 ounces of Oreo cookies, crushed until fine like graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

peanuts

chocolate sauce (recipe below)

Chocolate sauce:

2/3 cup chocolate chips

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup of butter

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

Boil all ingredients for 8 minutes in a saucepan, stirring constantly. Let it cool completly before putting on ice cream.

Directions:

Mix the crushed oreos with the butter. Spread and pat firmly in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and freeze. When firm, put a layer of peanuts over the cookies. Spread softened ice cream on top of the peanuts. I also put peanuts on top of the ice cream and then freeze until firm. When the ice cream is frozen, spread the chocolate sauce over the ice cream and put back in the freezer. Once the chocolate sauce has set on top you are ready to eat.