Salted Caramel [24oz]¶

From the transcript of Claire Saffitz's Homemade Ice Cream Recipe (Salted Caramel) | Dessert Person.

Composition of the base

This recipe uses a classic French custard method (crème anglaise) mixed with a deep, dark caramel. Using egg yolks makes the ice cream very smooth and gives it a "stretchy" texture similar to high-quality gelato.

The main challenge is avoiding crystallization while cooking the sugar and ensuring the yolks don't scramble during tempering. Another tip is to cool the base quickly in an ice bath to keep it silky.

Ingredients¶

• 125 g Sugar (≈1/2 cup + 2 tsp) ^a) • for the caramel
• 20 g Sugar (≈4 tsp) ^a) • for the egg yolks
• 115 g Heavy Cream 37% (≈1/2 cup) ^b)
• 350 g Whole Milk (≈1.5 cups) ^c)
• 68 g Egg Yolks (≈3.5 large yolks) ^d)
• 2 g Kosher Salt (≈1/2 tsp) ^e) • add more to taste
• 1 Vanilla Bean (1 piece) ^f)
• 30 g Water (≈2 tbsp) • for the wet caramel; will boil off

Total Weight: ≈680g (without the water)

🥗 Sources of nutritional information: ^a) Sugar • ^b) Cream 37% (heavy) • ^c) Milk 3.5% • ^d) Egg, chicken, yolk, raw • ^e) Salt, table, non-iodised • ^f) Vanilla bean extract

Directions¶

1. Base Prep (Caramel): Put 125g of sugar and the water in a heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Use a wet brush to wash down any crystals on the sides. Stop stirring once it boils and swirl the pan until it turns a deep amber color.
2. Infuse: Warm the cream in a small pan with the vanilla bean seeds and the pod. Don't let it boil.
3. Deglaze: Slowly pour the warm cream into the dark caramel. It will bubble a lot. Stir until the caramel dissolves into the cream, then add the cold milk.
4. Blanch Yolks: In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the 20g of sugar until well mixed.
5. Temper: Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the warm caramel-dairy mixture into the yolks while whisking so the eggs don't scramble.
6. Cook Custard: Pour everything back into the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (≈170–180°F / 77–82°C). Stir in the salt to taste.
7. Aging: Strain the custard into a metal bowl to remove the vanilla pod and any egg bits. Put the bowl in ice water and stir for ≈5 minutes until it is cold.
8. Churning: Pour the cold base into your ice cream machine. Process for ≈25–30 minutes until it looks airy and holds its shape.
9. Hardening: Put the ice cream in a container and freeze it overnight until it is firm and scoopable.

Nutrition Facts¶