Salted Caramel Ice Cream

i have this thing about gelato

i might have mentioned before

that i spent a year in florence during college

and at the end of the year

a group of friends and i

celebrated with a gelato walk

each of us picked our favorite place

and favorite flavor

let's just say

the freshsman 10

has nothing on

the florence 20

and starting on that day

25 or so years ago

i began to notice

subtle differences

in frozen treats

recently, while in bologna

i tasted the featured gelato at a place called grom

salted caramel

and it blew me away

so amazing

and today

i made an attempt to duplicate it

as an ice cream

which was good

but maybe a tad bit too salty

unless you are just going to have a taste

then it is just perfect

but you can't eat a lot of it (maybe that is good?)

however

if you then add a bit of melted chocolate and some roasted almonds

the salt is perfect

and you can over-indulge

which is what ice cream is all about

no?

Salted Caramel Ice Cream
(printable recipe)

2 cups milk (i used 2%)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 Tbs unsalted butter

generous 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup half and half (you can use cream if you prefer)

6 large egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

add to make turtle ice cream:

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips--melted (optional)

1/2 cup roasted almonds (optional)

whisk egg yolks and sea salt in a bowl, set aside.  in a saucepan, cook sugar until it becomes caramel in color.  be careful to swirl so all bits are melted, but do not over-stir. watch the sugar closely, as it can go from perfect to burned in an instant.  remove from heat and drop in butter and milk.  mixture might seize, but if it does, put it on a gentle heat until it becomes liquid.  add the half and half and bring to a simmer.  temper the eggs with the hot milk mixture and pour back into the saucepan. cook over low heat until the cream becomes thickened to a nappe. be careful not to overcook.  pour through a sieve into a bowl and chill until ready to use.  the ice cream custard should be fully chilled before putting into the machine.  churn according to manufacturer's instructions.  when the ice cream is almost done, pour chocolate by spoonfuls into machine (if using). it will create frozen pieces and strands of chocolate in the ice cream. mix in almonds just before transferring to freezer container.


 this ice cream remains soft even after freezing--which makes it easy to sneak a bite while passing through the kitchen. if you don't want to be tempted...i suggest you buy a freezer and put it in the neighbor's basement. store your salted caramel ice cream there.