Coffee ice cream with caramel

Over Christmas week I had to prepare desserts for a lunch and a dinner with different people so I decided to re-use certain elements of the desserts. Both desserts used ice cream and caramel. You can find the recipe for the salted caramel sauce here.

Whenever I prepare ice cream I always try to choice interesting tastes. This coffee ice cream with streaks of caramel sauce hit the right taste buds.

You cannot really see it in this picture but the ice cream has caramel in it as well.

Recipe Origin: Buck ´n Run Ranch

Ingredients

• 540 ml heavy cream
• 140 ml whole milk
• 2 shots espresso
• 165 g granulated sugar
• 5 egg yolks, at room temperature, beaten with a fork
• 4 tbsp caramel sauce
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp vanilla

Method:

1. Warm the milk, sugar, 240ml heavy cream and salt in a saucepan.
2. Heat the mixture but don't bring to boil. Once the mixture is hot and steaming remove from heat.
3. Stir in the espresso and vanilla. 
4. Use 1 cup of the mixture and add into the beaten egg yolks a bit at a time, whisking constantly.
5. Pour back the egg mixture into the sauce pan.
6. Add the remaining heavy cream to the sauce pan.
7. Continue heating on low heat until the mixture thickens slightly.
8. Remove from heat and strain into a bowl.
9. Place the bowl in an ice water bowl and stir until cooled.
10. Chill in the refrigirator until cold.
11. Prepare the ice cream according to the ice cream machine instructions.
12. Place the ice cream storage container in the freezer and take out when ice cream is ready.
13. Drizzle some caramel sauce at the bottom of the container. Add a layer of ice cream followed by more caramel.
14. Continue layering the ice cream and caramel sauce.
15. Use a butter knife to make swirls of the caramel.
16. Add a final drizzle of caramel on top.
17. Freeze until firm.

Salted Caramel

I've always wanted to try and make caramel but never had a dessert that needed caramel in the past. I had heard that it's difficult to get right especially if you don't have a thermometer. I didn't have the right thermometer but still tried the recipe and it came out perfectly.

This caramel tastes like you're eating the caramel of a Mars bar. You can drizzle it over cake, brownies, ice cream, cup cakes or anything sweet really.

I got this recipe from Two Peas and their Pod and basically stuck to their recipe apart from using normal sea salt and no thermometer use.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 170 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sea salt flakes

Notes:

• The melted sugar can be very hot. Be extremely careful not to burn yourself.
• If the caramel burns it won't taste good, so you have to pay close attention not to burn it.
• If sugar starts sticking to the whisk you can use a wooden spoon. 

Method:

1. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat in a heave saucepan. When the sugar start to melt start whisking the sugar. Continue until all the sugar melts. You can swirl the pan to move the sugar around.
2. Continue cooking the sugar until it turns into a deep amber colour. Many recipes suggest to use a thermometer. Temperature should reach 176 ^oC.
3. At this point add the butter in small batches, whisking continuously until the butter is melted.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the heave cream.
5. Whisk until the caramel is smooth.
6. Whisk in the sea salt flakes.
7. Let cool for around 10 minutes n the pan.
8. Pour the caramel into a jar and cool to room temperature.
9. Place the caramel in the refrigerator for storage. The caramel can be stored for up to a month. 
10. When you want to use the caramel take out of the refrigerator before use so that it is more easy to drizzle on your desserts.
    
    
    
    

    

    The salted caramel drizzled over a brownie

Recipe Origin: Two Peas and their Pod