Loaded Caramel Ice Cream

I have these friends (you know who you are!). They enjoy food, and I enjoy cooking for them. It's a WIN-WIN situation. And because I always care too much about what other people think about my food, they always have a laugh at my expense by saying that whatever I have made is 'the best in the world'.

I make fudge? It's the best fudge in the world. I make pasta? It's the best pasta in the world. I roast a chicken? It's the best roast chicken in the world. I make cupcakes? Yes. You guessed it. They're the best cupcakes in world! I know better than to take their word for it being the best in the world, but they usually eat up all the food, and so I know it was tasty. But with this ice cream, if they tell me it's the best caramel ice cream in the world, I might actually believe them a little bit. I don't know if it's the best, but it would come pretty darn close! Too bad there's none left over for them to 'certify'! :D

Ever since I bought my Cuisinart Ice Cream & Sorbet maker about 6 years ago, I have experimented with several ice cream flavors. Some more successful than others. My favorite flavors have been Vanilla bean, Mocha, Triple Chocolate and my version of Cherry Garcia. And now, I am so excited by how successful this recipe has been. I call this flavor Loaded Caramel Ice Cream. It is a caramel ice cream with a peanut butter-caramel ribbon and fudgy brownie chunks. Would you like me to go on?

Before I do, I have one request. Please make this ice cream. It is so good! In fact, if you want to continue reading, you must decide to make this ice cream. If you don't have an ice cream maker, there are still ways to make this. Read this article. It will help. But you MUST make this ice cream.

Okay. You are still reading this, and so I assume you have decided to make this ice cream. Good choice! You are a smart cookie!

For the Caramel Ice Cream base, I used David Lebovitz's Salted Butter Caramel Ice cream, but I made a few changes. Mainly, I reduced the sugar because I was afraid the ice cream was going to turn out too sweet, in spite of the caramelization. And besides, I was going to add that ribbon. So it made sense.

The ribbon I made by modifying my Hot Fudge Sauce recipe, which I will share with you soon. The brownie was from a leftover fudge brownie I baked (not the Bacon brownie, though bacon and caramel sound like a match made in heaven!). I reserved one brownie from a batch I made a few days ago for something just as momentous as this ice cream.

Don't get put off by how long the recipe is. If you read through, you will see that it is a fairly simple recipe.

Caramel Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 tbsp salted butter
Scant 1/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
500ml whole milk
6 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla

Method
1. In a wide, heavy-based pan, spread the sugar out in an even layer & put it over a medium flame. Wait till the the edges start to melt. Then slowly start stirring the sugar with a spatula, starting from the outside and working your way slowly to the center. Stir only gently. Once the sugar has turned into one big puddle, stop stirring and keep a very careful eye on it. You want it to go a deep golden brown, not a dark brown. Then it's gone too far. For a more detailed explanation on caramelizing sugar, David Lebovitz has yet another excellent article.
2. Once the sugar is caramelized, take it off the heat and immediately add the butter & the salt and stir quickly until dissolved.
3. Stir in the cream and bring the mixture back onto the stove. David warns us here that the sugar might seize up, but I didn't have any trouble with that.
4. Add half the milk and stir well.
5. In a medium dish, lightly beat the egg yolks. Pouring very slowly and whisking the eggs at the same time, add about 2 cups of the the hot mixture, half a cup a time.
6. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan and continue cooking on medium heat until the mixture thickens. You want a slightly thick custard mixture.
7. Take it off the heat, and stir in the remaining milk & vanilla. Allow the mixture to cool, and then refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or preferably overnight. During this time, you could also cut your brownie into bite sized pieces and freeze them. Frozen brownie bits are easier to stir in than soft ones. Unless you want brownie crumb ice cream. I learned this the hard way.
8. Freeze in your machine, as per the manufacturer's instructions. While your ice cream is freezing, take the caramel sauce out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. If it is still very thick when your ice cream is ready, microwave it for a few seconds, till it reaches room temperature. Don't let it get warm.
9. Once the ice cream is set, transfer 1/3 of the ice cream to a large bowl. Drizzle over about 1/4 cup of the caramel sauce, and sprinkle a few frozen brownie bits. Add another 1/3 of the ice cream and drizzle with another 1/4 cup of the sauce, and a few more brownie bits. Top with the remaining third of the ice cream. Add some more sauce & brownie bits. Run a butter knife in slow, random swirling motions through the bowl for about 10 seconds or less.
10. Transfer to an air-tight box and store in the deepest part of your freezer for at least a couple of hours before serving.

Peanut Butter-Caramel Ribbon
Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2 generous tbsps liquid glucose
3 tbsp salted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter

Method
1. Caramelize the sugar & liquid glucose just like you did in the ice cream recipe. Follow the exact same rules.
2. When you reach the desired stage of caramelization, take the caramel off the heat, and quickly stir in the
butter and salt.
3. Stir in the cream and bring back onto the heat and cook for a further one minute.
4. Take it off the heat, and let it sit for about 2 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter and mix until it is completely incorporated.
5. Refrigerate till needed. If you are using it immediately in this ice cream recipe, make sure it has completely cooled to room temperature before using.

I hope you try this ice cream flavor. I loved it and I know you will too! I ate it with more caramel sauce, and a generous sprinkle of crushed, salted peanuts, and every time I got a bite of brownie, the ice cream tasted a little bit like a Snickers bar. And if you know me, you know I love me my Snickers!

My only 'complaint', if you can call it that, is that this ice cream is really soft. I guess you could call it extra soft-serve ice cream. The weather here being as hot as it is, didn't help either. And so, getting a picture of this ice cream was a nightmare! Hence, the runny ice cream in some of the pictures. But, take my word for it. Less than 12 hours after it came out of the ice cream maker, and it's all gone. It was darn good ice cream.

P.S. - On a completely unrelated note, thanks to my new hobby - blogging, I had the chance to meet a group of food lovers in my city. Together we shared a lovely meal at a restaurant the group was invited to review. In my next post, I will share with you a little about Chennai Food Guide, and about my meal at the Italian restaurant, Tuscana on Chamiers.

Oh, and I am also elated to report that I got my first bunch of foodie blogger awards! So exciting! I cannot wait to share them with you & to pass them on! I would have done it in this post, but I though this one was long enough already.

Technorati Tags: Ice, Cream, Caramel, Salted, Ribbon, Brownie, Recipe