Lighter Salted Caramel Ice Cream

I officially started my residency this week, so I am now a working woman. So far, it's been a lot of orientation type tasks, but I am excited to finally be starting! I know the pace of things will pick up quite a bit over the next few weeks, but I plan to continue cooking. If nothing else, I have quite the stockpile of recipes saved to share with you!

Ice Cream. While many enjoy it year around, in my mind, it is synonymous with warmer temperatures. As a kiddo I remember root beer floats, "blizzards" from the local ice cream shop that was only open in the summer, and sundaes drenched with caramel. I have always had a soft spot for caramel, so when I saw this recipe, I was immediately interested. If caramel is good on top of ice cream, it has to be good frozen into it. 

Well, I was right. This ice cream is awesome! I didn't add the salt on top of each serving, but the salt included in the ice cream gives it a sweet-salty combination that is awesome. If you've ever had a salted caramel, it's in that league. It is a little bit more complicated than most ice cream recipes because you need to make a caramel, but it is worth it. Plus, there is a bonus in that this recipe is a little lighter than most. With only 1/4 cup of heavy cream, it uses mostly 2% milk. While it is certainly still considered a treat, you can feel a little bit better about enjoying that (larger) scoop. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Lighter Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Adapted from Cooking Light May 2010

Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups 2% milk
3 large egg yolks
1-1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. flake salt (optional)

Place milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Heat to 180 degrees (check temperature with a candy thermometer) or until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Do not boil. Meanwhile, place egg yolks in a large bowl and stir with a whisk. Once the milk reaches the correct temperature, gradually add half of the hot milk to the yolks, stirring constantly to temper. Add the rest of the milk mixture and stir to combine. Return the milk-yolk mixture to the saucepan.

In a separate large saucepan, combine sugar, cream, and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar melts. Cook 3 minutes without stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in the Kosher salt. Gradually and carefully add the caramel mixture to the yolk mixture, stirring constantly. Return pan to low heat and cook until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. Pour the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer into a bowl set over a larger ice-filled bowl until completely cooled, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate overnight.

Pour the mixture into the freezer bucket of an ice-cream freezer. Freeze according to package directions. The ice cream will emerge in soft-serve consistency. Freeze in a resealable container for a firmer consistency or for storage of any leftovers. To serve, sprinkle each serving with flake salt if desired.

I am linking this to Sweets for Saturday.