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Home » Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

May 30, 2018 by Debi 15 Comments

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

This is a lovely soft delicious Salted Caramel Ice Cream that’s so much better than anything I can get in the store. Homemade ice cream may be a bit of work, but it’s well worth the time and energy. Salted Caramel no longer has to be only a topping!

One scoop of Salted Caramel Ice Cream is all you need to enjoy a sweet & salty homemade frozen custard dessert. Get lost in the delicious flavor and treat yourself to the perfect treat. Scroll down to get the recipe and enjoy!

This is a lovely soft delicious Salted Caramel Ice Cream that’s so much better than anything I can get in the store.

We appreciate your support

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Custard ice cream recipe

This type of custard-based ice cream that uses eggs, is technically called French ice cream, though I think that many Americans call it frozen custard.

A custard ice cream is where you make a custard (a pudding-like dessert) base, cooking it on the stove with eggs and cream until it’s thick and rich. This custard is mixed into more cream and the flavorings.

Custard ice creams have a great texture.

There are no icy crystals to get in the way of the creaminess and flavor. They tend to be richer, softer, and easier to eat than the no-churn or no-cook ice creams.

Custards require slow cooking and gentle heat in order to prevent separation, or curdling.

For this reason, custards are often made in a double boiler, or a pan set over gently boiling water.

For this Salted Caramel Ice Cream custard base, you don’t have to do the double boiler method, so it does save a bit of time, but you need to make sure to watch and stir the custard constantly. To make sure it doesn’t curdle.

Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Homemade sauce or store-bought caramel topping?

I highly recommend making your own homemade salted caramel for this recipe.

It’s buttery. Rich. And so good. You’ll be so happy with it.

But, if you want to save yourself a step, and I totally get that, you can easily use a jar of salted caramel sauce from the grocery store or from Amazon like this one.

Go with a good brand, and if you can find it, go with a salted caramel sauce over a plain caramel. The added flavor will make a better end ice cream.

Salt in the salted caramel!

I suggest two different kinds of salt for this recipe.

Fleur de sel for inside the ice cream, and a garnish of pretzel salt.

Fleur de sel is a salt that forms as a thin crust on the surface of seawater as it evaporates. I love the beautiful pure flavor that it has.

Typically, it’s used as a finishing salt, meaning it’s sprinkled over the food right before serving.

But, in this ice cream I wanted that sweet pure flavor. Fleur de sel can be expensive, so if you want to use another salt, it will work just fine.

Try to use a salt with a good flavor, like Kosher or sea salt, and avoid simple table salt which can have a metallic flavor.

Pretzel salt is nice big crystals of salt that look pretty and have a good clean taste.

Taste for salt

Be sure to taste for the amount of salt in the cream mixture before you add it to the machine for final churning.

I knew I wanted to garnish it with the large crystals of pretzel salt, so I went light on the salt inside the caramel ice cream.

Also, the level of salt in the caramel that you use in the recipe will effect the flavor, so again, I highly recommend you taste it before putting it in the ice cream machine to see if you’re happy with the salt level.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream - made with homeade or store-bought caramel sauce

Where was salted caramel invented?

Salted caramel originated in France in the late 1970’s, by a chocolatier by the name of Henri Le Roux.

Le Roux’s father, Louis, owned a pastry shop.

Because there was so much high quality salted butter in the region, Le Roux highlighted that ingredient by coming up with a salted butter caramel with crushed nuts.

More recently, Pierre Hermé, a Parisian pastry chef, invented a salted caramel macaron in the late 1990s. Bringing salted caramel to the popularity that it is today!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream - super premium ice cream made at home

Why does sweet and salty taste good?

Don’t ask, just eat!

But really, there are five primary tastes that our taste buds are able to pick up: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.

The two flavors of sweet and salty combined, equals twice the flavor. Also, salt is a flavor enhancer, so it makes caramel taste even better.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream - super premium ice cream made at home

Ice cream machine

I love my ice cream machine (this is the brand and model that I have now), and use it all the time.

Even if I didn’t write a food blog, I would use it.

I’m currently on my second ice cream machine. My first one developed a scratch in the frozen bowl part, and the liquid inside seeped out.

So, treat those bowls with kindness. Never use anything metal in them. Clean them out as soon as possible after using, and store them in a cool dry place.

I just have one of the canister style ones. They’re less expensive and work great.

And they take up less room that some of those big ones!

Just place the canister in the freezer until completely frozen. When you’re ready to make ice cream, remove the canister from the freezer, insert it into the machine along with the beater bar, turn the machine on, and pour the cream mixture into the canister.

Just to repeat, I always turn on the machine before adding the cream, because that way the beater bar won’t get stuck on any frozen bits of cream that may have already formed.

After the ice cream is made, you’ll want to store some of it in the freezer (you know, the amount you didn’t eat right then and there!).

I love this ice cream container that you see in the picture. It’s insulated to help keep the ice cream soft and fresh.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream - my favorite ice cream storage container

Toppings or mix-ins

  • Toasted pecans
  • A drizzle of more caramel sauce
  • Large grain salt like pretzel salt
  • Hot fudge sauce
  • Magic Shell topping
  • Marshmallow topping
  • Crumbled chocolate chip cookies

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Recipe

Salted Caramel Ice Cream - super premium ice cream made at home

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Debi
This is a lovely soft delicious Salted Caramel Ice Cream that’s so much better than anything you can get in the store.
5 from 13 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 3 cups
Calories 461 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 + ¼ cup heavy cream divided use
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 10 to 11 ounces salted caramel sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or other sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pretzel salt

Instructions
 

  • Place the milk, 1 cup cream, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
    1 cup whole milk, 1 + ¼ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup sugar
  • Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl just until frothy.
    3 large eggs
  • Slowly add half the hot milk mixture to the eggs, whisking constantly as you pour the milk mixture in; then pour this mixture back into the saucepan.
  • Place the saucepan back over medium-low heat, and cook the custard, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon; keep a close eye on it, as it should never come to a boil. When thick enough, the custard should register 170°F on a candy thermometer. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl, and set it aside.
  • Wash and dry the saucepan, and add the caramel, remaining ¼ cup cream, salt, and vanilla. Cook and stir the mixture over medium-low heat, until completely smooth, stirring often. Thoroughly stir the warm caramel into the warm custard, leaving no streaks. Cover the surface of the custard mixture with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 or up to overnight.
    1 + ¼ cup heavy cream, 10 to 11 ounces salted caramel sauce, ¼ teaspoon fleur de sel, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Taste the cream mixture for salt, adding more if desired. Freeze the custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Transfer the finished ice cream to an airtight container and place it in the freezer until ready to serve. To serve: top with a sprinkle of pretzel salt and a drizzle of caramel, if desired.
    Pretzel salt

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 10gFat: 36gSaturated Fat: 21gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 281mgSodium: 333mgPotassium: 232mgFiber: 1gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 1539IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 170mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword ice cream, salted caramel
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!
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Filed Under: Desserts Tagged With: caramel, Cooking, desserts, Food, ice cream, recipe

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about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. MegUnProcessed

    May 31, 2018 at 2:11 pm

    Salted caramel is one of the best flavors! Homemade is always best!

  2. Kayle (The Cooking Actress)

    June 13, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    5 stars
    Salted Caramel is one of my fave ice cream flavors! Love how creamy and perfect this recipe looks

  3. flgirl

    September 10, 2018 at 7:20 pm

    5 stars
    By far the best ice cream I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a lot! Great recipe, perfect instructions. 5 stars!

  4. Julie Menghini

    May 18, 2019 at 11:26 am

    5 stars
    I love the salted caramel combination! This is perfect for our Sunday dinner dessert!

  5. Sandra Shaffer

    May 18, 2019 at 11:43 am

    5 stars
    Homemade ice cream is the best! I’ve never tried salted caramel. That sounds amazing and totally not something we easily find in the stores. Buying that ice cream container. Thanks for sharing the link!

  6. Deb

    May 19, 2019 at 9:18 am

    5 stars
    Oh my, salty, sweet and heavenly!! Love this creamy, custard ice cream – it was such a treat, just delicious!!

  7. Angela

    May 19, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    5 stars
    This ice cream is calling my name!!! I absolutely love the sweet & salty combo.

  8. michelel

    May 20, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    5 stars
    I LOVE the container you show…. that will fit perfectly in my freezer! But Im not sure Id have any of this ice cream leftover… it sounds just heavenly!

  9. Jennifer A Stewart

    May 20, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    5 stars
    You had me at the word salted! I broke out my ice cream maker just to have this this past weekend and it was worth it!! So good!

  10. Michaela Kenkel

    May 20, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    5 stars
    We made this this weekend and it was amazing!!

  11. Kathy

    May 21, 2019 at 2:33 pm

    5 stars
    I would win mother of year by making this for my kiddos summer time treat! Love the sweet and salty combo!

  12. Amy Nash

    May 22, 2019 at 6:20 am

    5 stars
    I didn’t realize salted caramel was such a fairly recent creation in the food world. It’s one of my favorite flavors! This ice cream was wonderful!

  13. Jason

    June 29, 2020 at 1:20 pm

    5 stars
    My whole family loves this Ice Cream recipe! Do you happen to have a cookies and cream recipe that uses the same custard base? Thanks and keep up the amazing work!

  14. Debi

    June 29, 2020 at 1:55 pm

    Jason, I don’t have a cookies & cream one, though I am on an ice cream kick lately, so maybe I’ll have to work that up for you! It sounds perfect! Here’s a listing of all the ice cream recipes I have: https://lifecurrentsblog.com/Beverages/ice-cream/ if you want to take a look through them. 🙂 The Lemon Ice Cream is another of my favorites!

  15. SDMalone

    June 4, 2023 at 10:00 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe will have you calling out to your higher power. Seriously one of the best things I have ever made. Thank you for sharing this masterpiece!

5 from 13 votes

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Hi! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents, where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes with some great desserts and other goodies mixed in! Read More >>>

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