Leite's Salted Caramel Ice Cream

By stancec44

This perfectly balanced salty sweet ice cream concoction is one of countless examples of why Cenk Sonmezsoy is considered to be a baking and dessert phenom. We can’t stop gushing over—or stuffing our faces with—his homemade ice cream made insanely delicious with intensely dark homemade caramel and sea salt. We’re willing to bet you won’t be able to stop gushing or stuffing, either.–Angie Zoobkoff

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups whole milk
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Preparation

Step 1

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the milk and cream to just below a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
2. Dump the sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and shake the pan so the sugar comes to an even depth. Slowly pour the water into the pan along the inside edge. Set the pan over medium-high heat and cook, without stirring, until the caramel turns a very dark brown, just short of black, or registers 400°F (205°C) on an instant-read thermometer, 13 to 15 minutes.
3. Immediately take the pan off the heat and, holding it at arm’s length, immediately pour in about 1/3 of the warm milk mixture. Be very careful; the caramel will bubble up vigorously and hot steam will rise. Stir in the rest of the warm milk mixture, set the pan over medium-low heat, and whisk until the caramel melts completely, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep the mixture hot.
4. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and cold water. Place a large bowl over the ice bath with the bottom touching the water. Set a fine-mesh strainer on top.
5. In a medium saucepan, use a narrow wire whisk to mix the yolks until they lighten in color, 2 to 3 minutes. While whisking the yolks constantly, drizzle in about 1/3 of the hot caramel mixture. Then add the rest of the hot caramel mixture along with the vanilla and salt.
6. Cook the custard over medium heat, using a silicone spatula to constantly stir and scrape the bottom of the pan, until it’s thick enough to coat the spatula or the custard registers 175°F (80°C) on an instant-read thermometer, 6 to 12 minutes.
7. Pour the custard into the strainer and scrape to push the custard through the strainer. Remove the strainer and scrape any custard clinging to the bottom into the bowl. Stir the custard frequently to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes. Remove the bowl from the ice water, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
8. Whisk the chilled custard until smooth, scrape it into the bowl of an ice cream maker, and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
9. Scrape the ice cream into a heavy-duty plastic container with a tight-fitting lid and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the ice cream. Cover and freeze for at least 8 hours or overnight before serving. The ice cream will keep in the freezer for up to 1 week.