Just reading the words “salted caramel” makes me happy. Making salted caramel ice cream? Even better.
And don’t worry: There’s no need to actually make caramel.
Salted caramel ice cream
(Photo: Ayelet Hirshman)
This is the quick, soft kind of homemade ice cream, made simply by whipping dulce de leche into heavy cream. I first encountered the combination as a child, when the Argentine mother of a friend used it to make popsicles.
But it was Nigella Lawson, forever a goddess, who had the brilliant idea of adding salt and turning the combination into ice cream. This recipe is inspired by hers.
Salted caramel ice cream
Kosher: Dairy
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes, plus freezing
Difficulty: Easy
Makes: About 2 liters
Ingredients:
- 500 ml heavy cream
- 600 ml dulce de leche
- 1 gram fine salt, about 1 teaspoon
- 30 ml whiskey, brandy or another alcohol, about 2 tablespoons
Instructions:
- Pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer and whip until firm peaks form. Add the dulce de leche and salt and continue whipping for 3-4 minutes, until thick and creamy.
- Taste and decide whether it needs more salt. Remember that flavors become less pronounced once frozen, so the finished ice cream will taste less salty than the mixture does at this stage. Add a little more salt if needed.
- Add the alcohol and fold it in by hand.
- Transfer the mixture to a suitable container and freeze for at least 6 hours. It can be kept frozen for up to two weeks.
- Serve as is, or top with grated chocolate or caramelized nuts. It is also excellent served over pecan pie or another cake.