Salted Caramel Ice Cream
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus several hours’ cooling, chilling and freezing
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:About 1½ pints
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2cups heavy cream
- 1cup whole milk
- ⅛teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6large egg yolks
- ¼teaspoon flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
255 calories; 17 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 23 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 87 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
In a medium pot over medium heat, melt ¾ cup sugar with 3 tablespoons water, swirling skillet frequently, until sugar turns mahogany brown in color (it should be almost but not quite black).
- Step 2
Add heavy cream, milk, remaining ½ cup sugar and the salt; simmer mixture until caramel melts and cream mixture is completely smooth. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
- Step 3
Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
- Step 4
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Step 5
Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Sprinkle flaky sea salt into base during the last 2 minutes of churning. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Chum
The recipe asks to cook the Carmel base way too far. It should not be almost black, but medium brown when removed from the heat. It will continue to get a little darker, to the correct point, when removed from the heat.
Great recipe but tricky
This ice cream is very rich and delicious. Bee aware that the steps for the carmel may leave you thinking you've messed up when you haven't. Initially the sugar and water turn liquid and simmer, then the liquid dries up and leaves thick crumbly sugar, then the mixture begins to melt again and turn brown. This process can take awhile. At this point you add the cream, the caramel seizes up and solidifies, but with continual cooking it melts and flavors the cream mixture.
A bad cook
I don't blame the recipe for what happened. I should have stopped after dropping the eggs or after spilling half a bag of sugar. But yet. Things got really bad when making the caramel. I was using a cheap spoon made of cheap plastic. I didn't realize it was melting, because the caramel would stick to the spoon and distort the spoon. The melted plastic sort of mixed with the caramel before cementing to the pot. I owe my housemate a new pot. My tip: use a heat resistant spoon. <3
susan
This is THE most delicious ice cream ever. Be ware that carmelizing the sugar takes quite a while. It melts, bubbles, then gets hard and crumbly and then when those pebbles melt, it's getting to the right stage. I took it off when it was light caramel in color and it was PERFECT.
AMReing
Be SO careful making the caramel! I took the bubbling syrup off the burner when it reached a deep medium brown, but ever so quickly it continued to bubble and cook to dark brown / black, burnt? The end result flavor did have almost bitter edge. Not bad, but could have been better if I hadn't over cooked the caramel.
Caroline
I started with 2/3 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup as recommended by a couple reviewers. It worked—I had no problem and I am not an experienced caramel maker. When I added the cream, I poured slowly and whisked it in so it never got hard the way some other reviewers described. This caramel sauce technique video was helpful: https://www.onlinecookingschool.com/learn/course/ice-cream-ices-and-sorbet/core-technique-videos/making-caramel-sauce
Ave
I love how matters of *OPINION* are expressed as *ABSOLUTE FACT* in these comments! It SHOULD be very dark ... if one's opinion is that that's the way one likes it! Otherwise, make it lighter. I cook it until it is VERY dark mahogany and I think it's delicious that way. And the fact is that if you add the liquid at the exact moment that it is the color you like, that is the color it will remain.
Jen
This is one of the best ice creams ever.... after several batches made (one or two with the same situation as “Great recipe but tricky”), I’ve realized that if I go a bit under 3/4 cup sugar, closer to 2/3, it never turns into pebbles, just awesome caramel
kmg
Don't stir pot until it is already caramel
Add 1 teaspoon vodka
Scott Painter
I used a non stick cephalon sauce pan with a vented glass lid. The water from evaporation condensed on the lid and dripped back into the cooking sugar syrup thus preventing crystallization. As the syrup caramelizes you can remove the lid and control the browning. An excellent recipe, I'll definitely be making this one again.
John
Please be sure to heat the dairy a bit before adding it to the caramel mixture; otherwise, the cold milk will solidify the caramel and it'll become a solid rock.
Lisa
I substituted (I think it was also Melissa Clark's original idea in the raspberry chocolate flake ice cream) powdered buttermilk and vodka for the egg yolks. Delivers a great result without the eggs and the leftover egg whites. I was always a fan of the egg based and this approach is soooo much faster and the result is equally good. I also subbed buttermilk for the whole milk.
xpsteve
Excellent ice cream. Only thing, I found I needed the heat a bit higher when making the caramel. Have also made the coffee version and it also is great.
D
This ice cream is easy and delicious, halved the recipe and it was perfect with apple almond tart for 4.
philly girl
The comments about how hard it is to make the caramel are all too true. And when I added the liquid to the caramel, it turned into concrete in the bottom of the pan. I finally got it melted again, but the temperature was 190 at that point. Have no idea what this will be like once it’s fully chilled. Definitely not a recipe for the faint of heart or those with limited time.
MiamiWick
Delicious but very sweet. I might do 15% less sugar next time and try to get the caramel very dark.
Rita
Really good but seems so sweet. I omitted the water when melting the sugar but added 2 teaspoons corn syrup. Check the temp right away after adding the eggs into the pot as it quickly gets to 170.
Sharona
Just made this. Tastes like “Sugar Daddy” from my childhood. It’s really good. I didn’t have the salt flakes, so I didn’t add much salt. Mine might be unsalted carmel, but it’s yummy and has a great texture. No issues.
add less sugar
Great recipe, but definitely too sweet as is. Should have done like the others and cut the sugar.
Erik S
This is my first time ever doing custard ice cream so I am a relative novice. However, I would recommend or provide a couple tips. First, when I was doing the initial sugar and water melt, I would recommend doing it at least on medium high heat as the water completely evaporated and it was just a bunch of crystallized sugar in the pot. I had to add a few tablespoons of water to get it liquidy again so that it could caramelize. Second, monitor heat on last part closely-easy to overshoot 170!
Todd
I agree with others, the caramelizing of the sugar is too far. Medium brown is all that’s needed. But this is a shockingly delicious recipe. Will make again!
Jonny
For my taste, 1/8 tsp of salt was way too little. I added (by sight) what probably amounted to 1 tsp. I suggest you taste the custard before settling on tge saltiness. That said, I haven’t made the ice cream yet, not added the flakes at the end, but I still believe the base needs to be saltier.
magnamosa
caramel is tricky as others noted but i warmed up the cream and milk so didn't get too much hard clumps which melted down nicely. also just swirled the pan around a bit so i didn't burn a spoon. once it goes dark it goes quick so keep an eye out. great texture and flavor. next time i'll add some mini chocolate chips to make it like talenti. also while cooling the top gets a gelled layer but it blends right in when freezing.
RJ
My hard-to-impress nephews went crazy for this ice cream, enjoying it enormously even after being stuffed with a big Thanksgiving dinner. It's a winner, and ridiculously easy to make. Indeed, making it with a child is the only possible way of improving on it.
Paul
I believe that if sin had a taste, this would be it.
swessley
I think the caramel needs to get to almost bitter in order for the amount of sugar to work, and then it gets nice coffee/mocha flavors. Otherwise it ends up too sweet if you stop the caramel at what might seem the typical color.
Aleta
After reading the comments, I cut my sugar for the caramel to 2/3 cup, and cooked it until it was the color of bourbon. I warmed the milk and cream before adding it till it was steaming, and the caramel,didn’t seize up. Just for a little added depth of flavor, I added a couple teaspoons of vanilla extract. It came out perfect.
Kristen
I found it helpful to watch the video with this recipe. Melissa recommends the caramel be the color of « an Irish Setter » (not a Golden Retriever or a Chocolate Lab!). I used a small Dutch oven with a white enamel interior - provided slow even heat with an easy background to monitor the color change. Don’t stir it until you add the milk - gently swirl on low heat. I also used half and half instead of milk plus cream - simpler. And - I added a splash of bourbon at the end. Delicious!!
Susan
I should know better than to try a recipe before reading the comments. First try, I thought I screwed up when my syrup became crumbly, so tossed it out. Then I went back, read the helpful comment from a reader, and gave it another try. Success! Churned the ice cream this morning and I can't wait to serve it for dessert tonight. I MAY have left extras on the paddle for myself. Saving this one for sure.
JJ
I have made this recipe many times, and it is my favorite ice cream. When I saw the picture accompanying today’s recipe, I noticed the apparent presence of chunks of caramel in the ice cream, so I thought that perhaps this was an updated recipe. But it’s not. This recipe does not produce an ice cream with chunks of caramel. It is excellent, but it is a smooth ice cream. Of course, since it is poured through a sieve.
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