Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons Ice Cream

Recipe for Salt & Straw's Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons Ice Cream, by freshfromthe.com.
Did you know that I love ice cream? So why haven't I made any homemade ice cream on here since, oh, 2013? I'll tell you exactly why - using the Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker Attachment is super annoying when you have what seems to be an extremely tiny freezer. Honestly, the fridge in my apartment is nice and all, but it is constantly running out of space, and that freezer is no exception. And the Kitchenaid attachment is, shall we just say, LARGE. Like, huge. So not only finding the space, but also remembering to put it in there at least 24 hours ahead of time is nigh impossible.
Recipe for Salt & Straw's Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons Ice Cream, by freshfromthe.com.
Enter: this Christmas and the gift of a fancy ice cream maker that requires no pre-freezing of a bowl. What's this magic? An ice cream maker made in Italy that has a built-in compressor that allows you to make ice cream pretty much on the fly: the Lello 4080 Musso Lussino. She's a hefty beast that certainly takes up space either on a counter or in a cupboard (lift with those LEGS!), but after making one batch of ice cream so far I can report that it makes the smoothest ice cream I've ever had in a homemade ice cream, and that's even after freezing it fully in the freezer.
Recipe for Salt & Straw's Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons Ice Cream, by freshfromthe.com.
Indeed, while in the past the ice creams I have made have tasted better when they first come out of the maker and are more of a soft serve situation, this ice cream was actually better after fully freezing. Part of that has to do with the consistency of the caramel when you put it together, because it gets hard while the ice cream is quickly melting directly out of the maker, so it's an odd combo. But once fully frozen? So much better! This recipe is from the Salt and Straw Ice Cream Cookbook - Salt & Straw holds a place in my heart because it started in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. I also have one of their ice cream scoops, so I had to give it the inaugural whirl in the new machine.
Recipe for Salt & Straw's Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons Ice Cream, by freshfromthe.com.
Salt & Straw takes a different approach than your typical ice cream. Rather than using eggs and making something of a custard, they use xanthan gum as the binder. It's not as rich as an ice cream with eggs in it (and maybe slightly healthier?), but it's still very creamy. My next recipe will be something a little more typical in its ice cream construction, so it will be interesting to taste the difference. Until then, if you want a little sweet cream/caramel ice cream situation in your life, check out the recipe below...

Write recipe photo description here

A slightly salty, sweet cream ice cream with a swirl of deeply flavored caramel ribbons.

Ingredients:
    Ice Cream
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons dry milk powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fleur de sel
  • Caramel
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions:
  1. Combine the sugar, dry milk, and xanthan gum in a small bowl and stir well.
  2. Pour the corn syrup into a medium pot and stir in the whole milk. Add the sugar mixture and immediately whisk vigorously until smooth. Set the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat if necessary to prevent a simmer, until the sugar has fully dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove the pot from heat.
  3. Add the cream and whisk until fully combined. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 6 hours, or up to 24 hours for deeper flavor. Stir the base back together if it separates during the resting time.
  4. Meanwhile, make the caramel. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan, and stir until all of the sugar looks wet. Cover, set the pan over medium-high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely melted, about 3 minutes.
  5. Continue to cook, covered but this time without stirring, until the mixture has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking, without stirring but paying close attention, until the mixture turns the color of dark maple syrup, about 5 minutes more.
  6. Take the pan off the heat and immediately and gradually pour in the heavy cream, going slowly at first and then speeding up to a nice steady stream, whisking as you pour.
  7. Put the pan over medium-high heat again. Let the mixture simmer away, stirring occasionally, until it register 230F on an instant read or candy thermometer, about 3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and add the butter and salt, stirring slowly but constantly until the butter has completely melted.
  8. Let the caramel cool to room temperature, then use it right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two weeks. If it separates, just give it a stir before use. You're only using 1/2 cup in the ice cream, so you'll definitely have some left over.
  9. Once your base has cooled and you're about ready, combine 1/4 cup water and the fleur de sel salt in a small saucepan, set it over medium heat, and cook, stirring, just until the salt has completely dissolved, less than 1 minute. Let it cool to room temperature.
  10. Put the ice cream base and the salt mixture into a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and turn on the machine. Churn until the mixture has the texture of soft-serve. Time will vary depending on the machine, anywhere from 20-30 minutes.
  11. Put the caramel in a warm place or warm it in a small saucepan over very low heat just until it's drizzleable, but not so warm that it'll melt the ice cream.
  12. Quickly alternate spooning layers of the ice cream and drizzling on a generous spiral of caramel in freezer-friendly containers.
  13. Cover with parchment paper, pressing it into the surface of the ice cream so it adheres, then cover with a lid (you should make your final layer ice cream as the caramel will stick to the parchment paper). Your parchment can hang over the rim, that's fine. Store it in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 6 hours. It will keep for up to 3 months.
Recipe from Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook
Recipe for Salt & Straw's Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons Ice Cream, by freshfromthe.com.

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