Salted Caramel Brown Butter Hazelnut Brownie Chunk Nutella Swirl Ice Cream

By stancec44

Caramel and Ice Cream components here. Brown Butter Hazelnut Brownies separate.

Ingredients

• FOR CARAMEL:
• 12 ounces cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 1/2 ounces butter
• 7 ounces sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• FOR ICE CREAM:
• 20 ounces (1 batch) caramel, still warm
• 3 ounces milk
• 3 ounces cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 2 ounces egg yolks
• 2 ounces sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt, or more to taste
• 6 ounces brown butter hazelnut brownie chunks (See separate recipe)
• 2 ounces "Nutella"

Preparation

Step 1

CARAMEL:
Bring the cream to a boil with the vanilla bean. Steep for an hour, or as long as you can. If you don’t have that kind of time, use 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract instead.

Caramelize the 7 ounces of sugar by setting a large pot over a medium flame. Sprinkle with some of the sugar to form an even coat over the bottom of the pan. As the sugar melts, sprinkle in a little more. This is a slow process. Shake and swirl the pan to mix, don’t stir. If you notice a hot spot that is caramelizing too fast, sprinkle extra sugar there to “put it out” so to speak. When all the sugar has been added and liquefied, cook until it reaches a foxy brown color.

Immediately pour in a quarter of the cream, and stir. It will bubble and foam and if you didn’t listen to me and used a small pot, you may experience a dangerous overflow, burn your toes, and spend the rest of the day cleaning caramel from your stove. But, if you have a large pot, you’re safe. The mixture will foam up, but not out. Stir, being careful of the steam that’s undoubtedly coming from the pot. The sugar will clump. Worry not.

When the foam subsides, pour in more cream, repeating until it’s all been safely added. Stir and simmer until any clumped up sugar has dissolved. Then stir in the butter, salt, and vanilla bean scrapings.

You can strain the mixture if you like, to sieve out any bits that may have not dissolved. I like to leave the vanilla bean in until just before serving, so it continues to infuse the caramel.

Sticking the caramel-y vanilla bean into your next pot of coffee is decidedly not a bad idea.

ICE CREAM:
In a small pot, bring the milk and cream to a simmer with the vanilla bean pod. When the mixture begins to bubble, shut off the heat and cover with a lid. Steep for one hour.

If you haven’t already made the caramel, this would be the perfect time. Either way, once you’ve got it, put the caramel in a medium bowl and place a sieve over it. Set aside until later.

When the dairy has finished steeping, return it to a simmer. Whisk together the yolks, sugar and salt in a small bowl.

Once the dairy begins to simmer, fish out the vanilla bean and use a spatula to scrape out all of the heavily flavored cream from inside the pod. That stuff is liquid gold, make sure not to lose a drop. It’s easier to scrape out the vanilla pod while it’s still warm (hence bringing the mix to a simmer) because when cold, the vanilla-goo congeals and sticks more resolutely to the bean.

Now, whisk some of the hot dairy mixture into the egg yolks, one ladle-full at a time, until the egg mixture is quite warm. Then whisk the egg mixture into the pot of cream and turn the heat to medium low. Stir constantly, making sure to scrape all along the bottom of the pot while to avoid allowing any of the mixture to curdle.

Continue cooking and stirring until the ice cream base thickens markedly (“coating the back of a wooden spoon” being the popular description of done-ness).

Immediately shut off the heat and strain the custard through a sieve and into the bowl of caramel. Whisk them together until thoroughly combined.

Give the base a taste and see if you’d like to add more salt. I call for a 1/4 tsp of salt, but really, that’s just a starting point; some people like their “salty caramel” really salty and others like just a hint. Just bear in mind the ice cream will be paired with brownie chunks and "Nutella", so salt plays an important roll in offsetting all that sugar.

Cool in an ice bath and refrigerate overnight. Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. In my experience, this ice cream can take much longer to freeze than other ice creams. Don’t be alarmed, it will churn up eventually, just give it some extra time.

While the ice cream is churning, toss the brownie chunks with the "Nutella" in a medium bowl, until evenly coated. The measurements given are rough; you may find you want more chunks or more "Nutella." Use your judgement; remember more is more.

When the ice cream has finished churning, fold in the "Nutella" coated brownie chunks, transfer to a container and freeze.