Sweet + Salty: Salted Caramel Ice Cream Recipe

To make Monday morning a little sweeter, I have a new recipe for you. And it involves one of my favorite desserts…ice cream.

If you’ve been around for a while, you probably already know that I love ice cream. A lot. But this recipe isn’t for just any kind of ice cream. It’s a recipe for my absolute favorite kind of ice cream (and hopefully yours too)…Salted caramel!

Bonus! You can reuse last week’s dulce de leche drizzle as the caramel. Need I say more?

Here’s how to make your own…

Ingredients

-1.5 cups whole milk
-1 cup heavy cream
-1 tbsp dark brown sugar
-1.25 cups of this salted caramel sauce / dulche de leche – recipe shared last week
-1 tsp salt (only if using a store-bought sauce)
-1 tbsp corn starch
-1 tsp vanilla

You’ll also need:

Ice cream maker // 2 quart sauce pan // Freezer-safe pans or containers // Whisk // Heat-safe spatula // Bowl (large enough to fit the sauce pan in with ice) // Ice // Thermometer

Instructions:

1. Freeze the ice cream freezer bowl for 24 hours in advance. The bowl must be thoroughly frozen before beginning. Keep the freezer bowl in the freezer until the churning step.

2. Combine 2 tbsp of the whole milk with the corn starch and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir until smooth and set aside.

3. Combine the rest of the whole milk with the heavy cream, dark brown sugar, and salted caramel sauce in the sauce pan. Set aside. If using a store-bought dulce de leche, then add 1 tsp of salt. Don’t do this, though, if you are using our salted caramel sauce (see recipe).

4. In the bowl, prepare an ice bath for the sauce pan. This will be used to chill the ice cream base afterwards.

5. Move the sauce pan with the milk mixture to the stove and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk.

6. Reduce heat to low and, while stirring, add corn starch mixture.

7. Increase back to medium heat and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

8. Remove from heat and submerge the sauce pan into the ice bath. Keep stirring! This will help cool the ice cream base more quickly and evenly.

9. Once the mixture registers 45 degrees Fahrenheit, add the mixture to the ice cream maker and turn it on. This step will take between 30 to 45 minutes (at the very least). Wait for the ice cream to begin developing a soft taffy-like texture and starts pulling away from the sides of the freezer bowl before stopping the churning process.

10. Once ready, stop the machine and scoop the ice cream into freezer-safe pans, cover with airtight lids, and freeze overnight. You’ll be ready for ice cream in the morning.

Scoop the finished ice cream into a bowl or waffle cone (my favorite) and you’re good to go.

Recipe by Linda Jednaszewski for Paper & Stitch
Styling and photography by Brittni Mehlhoff

Curious to know… What’s your favorite kind of ice cream? Is salted caramel one of your favorites?

P.S. Did you watch the Super Bowl last night? Because…dancing sharks! Also, Missy Elliott!! And…oh yeah, the football was interesting too, I guess.