Salty Caramel Ice Cream (And a GIVEAWAY!)

Here it is, Friday already. The final day of Ice Cream Week! I can’t believe we’ve made it through a week of recipes already! But I saved the best for last! It’s one of the signature flavors from one of my favorite ice cream places ever. Today, we’re making Jeni’s Salty Caramel Ice Cream! And if you stick around til the end, there might just be something in it for you too.

One of the best things about going to a Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams shop is that you can sample as many flavors as you want before you decide. Which can also be a bad thing, because I usually have a hard time making a decision after I’ve tried everything! I’ve gotten a little better at narrowing it down to 3 flavors for my “trio” (3 small scoops in a bowl), but there was a time I’d walk out with a bowl overflowing with scoops because I couldn’t narrow it down to less than 5! And one of them was ALWAYS Salty Caramel. Apparently I’m not alone in my love of the Salty Caramel. According to Jeni’s book, the flavor makes up more than 20% of the total sales of all the flavors offered. 20%! That’s one in every 5 people walking out the door with a scoop of Salty Caramel! So you know it has to be good.

I was a little terrified of making caramel for the ice cream. I don’t have a lot of experience with caramel (1 success and 1 drippy failure), and I’ve never made it using the dry method suggested (melting the sugar in a pan with no water). But I only messed up once! I didn’t follow the golden kitchen rule of mise en place-- making sure you’ve got everything ready to go before you even start, including a place to set the hot pan away from the heat. I realized too late that I didn’t have anywhere to set my pan to add the cream, except my counter, which I was scared of burning. So I ended up burning the caramel instead. Round 2 went much better though, and my caramel came out perfectly.

The finished product is a smooth, creamy bite of rich salted caramel. Mine’s not as salty as I would like it to be because I made the mistake of using just table salt rather than the good quality sea salt, but it’s still really good. Definitely one I’ll make again and again. And hopefully you will too! What’s that? You don’t have the book? Well, we’ll just have to change that won’t we?

I told you there was something in it for you! I’m throwing a giveaway! You could end up with your very own copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home! Yay!

But if that’s not cool enough for you, how about I sweeten the deal a little more… Let’s make it an autographed copy of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.

Oh, heck. While I’m at it, why not make it TWO autographed copies!

So how do you win one of these? Easy!

Just leave a comment on this post between now and 11:59PM EST on Friday, August 19th (1 week from now!), telling me what your favorite ice cream flavor is. It’s as simple as that!

Two winners will be chosen by Random.org and will be announced on Monday, August 22nd. Winners will also be notified by email, so make sure you include a valid email address or some way I can contact you. If I don’t hear back from a winner in 72 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Also, the giveaway is limited to US residents only.

Want an extra entry? Just follow @thebustybaker on Twitter, and tweet:

I want to win an autographed copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home from @thebustybaker. You can too! http://bit.ly/oSsoHs #giveaway

Then come back here and leave me a comment telling me you did! (Please leave either a link to the tweet or your Twitter name in the comment too, so I know who you are.)

**The giveaway has now ended! Thanks for participating!**

*Giveaway disclaimer: All opinions on Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home are my own. I have not been paid for endorsement in any way. The books for the giveaway were bought by me, with my own money, and I went to a book signing to obtain the autographs. (And looked like a crazy, sweaty, spastic creep while I was there. But I did it all for you.) The books will be shipped to the winners via United States Postal Service as soon as I can get to the post office.

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Salty Caramel Ice Cream
Adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home
Makes about 1 quart



2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 ½ ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla



1. Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese and salt until smooth; set aside.
3. Mix the heavy cream with the corn syrup in a measuring cup with a spout; set aside.
4. Fill a large bowl with ice and water to create an ice bath; set aside.
5. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, spread an even layer of sugar over the bottom of the pan. Heat, without stirring, until there is a full layer of melted sugar on the bottom, but still some white unmelted sugar on the top. When the edges start to turn a golden color, gently pull it towards the unmelted sugar with a heatproof spatula to help melt the center. Continue pushing the sugar until it is all melted and evenly amber in color (like an old copper penny).
6. Remove from heat and gradually add the cream mixture to the pan. It will bubble up, so be careful! It’s extremely hot. Stir until well combined, then return pan to heat and add the milk. Bring mixture to a rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually stir in cornstarch mixture.
7. Bring back to a boil and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 2 minute. Remove from heat and pour through a fine mesh strainer into cream cheese, whisking until smooth. Add vanilla extract and whisk until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in the prepared ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as needed, until well chilled, about 30 minutes.
8. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions.