Popcorn Ice Cream w/ Salted Caramel

By Gigirox

Ingredients

• Ice Cream ingredients:
• 1 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 60 grams prepared buttered popcorn
• Salted butter caramel sauce ingrdients:
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 2/3 cups heavy cream
• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 1/4 tsp fleur de sel or coarse sea salt (or to taste)

Details

Adapted from almostbourdain.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Ice Cream:
-Heat the milk, cream, popcorn and half of the sugar in a saucepan until it's just below the boiling point and starts to bubble. Remove and sit for 30 minutes until the popcorn has thoroughly infused its flavor into the cream mixture.
-Strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer.
-Whisk together the other half of the sugar, vanilla and egg in a bowl to a ribbon stage.
-Still whisking, pour the cream mixture into the egg mixture and pour this back into the cleaned-out pan and cook till custard stage(170*f).
-When it's thickened, take it off the heat.
-Pour into a bowl and let it cool
-Churn in an ice-cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
Caramel:
-Spread the sugar in an even layer in a large metal Dutch oven or casserole, at least 6 quarts (6 L). Set over moderate heat and cook without stirring, until the sugar near the edge just starts to liquefy.
-Using a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, begin gently stirring, encouraging the melted sugar around the edges toward the center and delicately stirring up any sugar melting on the bottom as well. The sugar will start to look pebbly as it cooks, but keep going; it will melt completely as it turns amber.
-Continue to cook until the sugar turns deep brown and starts to smoke. (Don't worry about any large chunks of caramel.) The darker you can cook the sugar without burning it, the better the final sauce will taste. It's ready when it's the color of a well-worn penny, and will smell a bit smoky.
-Remove from heat and quickly stir in about a quarter of the cream. The mixture will bubble up furiously, so you may wish to wear an oven mitt over your stirring hand. Continued to whisk in the cream, stirring as you go to make sure it's smooth. Stir in the butter and salt. Serve warm.
-Serve with Popcorn Ice Cream.