Vanilla Bean Salty Caramel Ice Cream

WARNING: This ice cream is extremely addicting! The vanilla and the caramel are the perfect duo. I served this alongside my Old Fashioned Apple Pie, and as good as the pie was, everyone came back to get second servings of the ice cream. I bought pint sized containers that I could fill with this ice cream to give out to friends and relatives during the holidays, and it was a wonderful gift. The ice cream is essentially two different recipes that are layered once completed. If using an ice cream machine where it is necessary to refreeze the canister, you can make both recipes on day one, freeze the vanilla in the ice cream maker on day one, and then freeze the caramel on day two.

VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM:

3 cups half-and-half

2 cups sugar

8 egg yolks

3 cups heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean split and scraped

Heat the half-and-half, sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Whisk the egg yolks.

Pour half of the heated half-and-half mixture into the egg yolks while continually whisking (this is called tempering the eggs and will prevent them from cooking when added to the hot pan later).

Pour the egg mixture back into the large saucepan over medium heat. Continually stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture thickens (may take between 5 and 10 minutes). The mixture will become very thick, but stop cooking before you see any chunks of cooked egg visible.

Pour into bowl with heavy cream and stir until combined. Chill and then freeze in ice cream maker. I had to freeze in two batches, as all of the mixture would not fit in my ice cream maker.

Put the completed ice cream in the freezer and allow to get firmer overnight or for 8 hours.

Makes about 2 quarts.

SALTY CARAMEL ICE CREAM:

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 1/4 cups whipping cream

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk

3 eggs

First, to make the caramel, heat 1 cup of sugar in a large saucepan. Use a long handles metal spoon to continually stir until the sugar turns dark amber. 

Add 1 1/4 cups whipping cream. The mixture will bubble and is very hot. Be careful not to burn your skin while continually stirring. 

Once all of cream and sugar is combined and most of the bubble dissipate, transfer to a glass bowl and add vanilla extract and sea salt. Allow to cool.

In a large sauce pan, heat while milk, 1 cup of whipping cream, and 1/4 cup of sugar just to a boil. 

Whisk eggs in a bowl. Add half of hot mixture to eggs while continually whisking. Once incorporated pour all of contents back into saucepan over medium heat and stir until liquid reaches 170 degrees (or until mixture begins to leave a thin film on rubber spatula). 

Pour contents of saucepan into a bowl. Stir in the caramel. Chill the mix and freeze in ice cream maker.

Place in freezer to allow to get firmer. The caramel ice cream is very rich and not as firm and icy as the vanilla. This is okay because when layered with the vanilla, it has the perfect texture to complement the texture of the vanilla ice cream.

Makes about 1 quart.

MAKING THE VANILLA BEAN SALTY CARAMEL DUO:

Layer the completed vanilla bean ice cream with the salty caramel ice cream. Use a rubber spatula to help spread the ice cream. 

Total yield: about 3 quarts.

Enjoy!

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

I feel like I have been baking up a storm, but my lack of blog posts makes it look otherwise! I made this butter pecan ice cream when I first got my ice cream maker. It is a classic and one of my personal favorites!

BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1/8 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup whole mile
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chopped pecans



In a small saucepan over medium heat, boil brown sugar, water, and salt. Once boiling, continue heating for 2 minutes while continually stirring.

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Slowly add half of the melted sugar mixture to the eggs while whisking. This is called tempering the eggs and allows them to heat up before combining them with all of the hot sugar mixture.

Pour all of the egg mixture into the saucepan with the brown sugar mixture. Continually stir over medium heat until the mixture reaches 170 degrees. Since this recipe contains egg whites, over cooking will yield large pieces of cooked egg in the finished product.

Remove from heat and add the unsalted butter to the sauce pan and stir until milted.

Refrigerate the mixture until cold. Add the vanilla extract and whole milk.

Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream into the rest of the mix.

Freeze in ice cream maker, adding pecans right before taking out of the mixer.

Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker

Enjoy!

Blackberry Ice Cream

I told you about the new ice cream maker that I bought on Black Friday, so you are probably wondering if I have tried it out. The verdict...I LOVE IT! It is so easy to use and makes the perfect ice cream. I have to say I was skeptical as to whether I could make ice cream that had a good taste and texture. However, now I have put trust in my ice cream maker that I will get a delicious batch every time. Per my usual tendencies, I couldn't settle on making just one flavor, I had to try two different flavors in the first go-round. After looking for the two perfect and most appetizing ice cream recipes on the internet (haha, like I will never be able to make ice cream again), I decided on a Fresh Blackberry Ice Cream and Brown Butter Pecan ice cream. A little sweet and salty duo! The flavors were so much better than any store bought ice cream - I am in love with my new ice cream maker. It was worth every penny, and if you like ice cream even remotely as much as I do, I suggest buying one.

BLACKBERRY ICE CREAM

1½ cups half-and-half
1 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1½ cups heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1½ cups strained blackberries purée (blend fresh or thawed frozen berries)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Place blackberries in a blender. I bought four small packages, and probably used a total of 4 cups to get 1.5 cups of purée. After the berries are blended, pour the mixture through a strainer to get out the seeds. Use a spoon to help press the mixture through a strainer.

Whisk together the egg yolks with half of the sugar.

Warm the half-and-half, pinch of salt and about half of the sugar in a medium saucepan. 

Slowly pour the warm liquid into the egg yolks, whisk constantly, then once mixed, pour back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.  

Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top. Pour the saucepan ingredients through the strainer into the cream.

Mix in the raspberry purée and lemon juice, then stir until cool.

Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze according to ice cream makers instructions.

Makes 1.5 Quarts

Recipe from A Whisk and A Spoon
Happy Baking!