caramelized white chocolate ice cream
Ingredients
12 ounces caramelized white chocolate
3 cups lactose free half and half, divided (or 1.5 cups heavy cream and 1.5 cups whole milk)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
5 egg yolks, whisked together
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons rum
Instructions
Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water. Place a medium mixing bowl fitted with a fine mesh strainer inside the ice bath.
Add caramelized white chocolate to a small mixing bowl.
Pour 1 cup of half and half into a small saucepan and heat at medium heat, stirring frequently, until small bubbles begin to form around the outside of the saucepan (or until half and half reaches 180 F). Remove from heat.
Pour the heated half and half over the caramelized white chocolate, and whisk together until you have a smooth ganache.
Pour caramelized white chocolate ganache into a small saucepan, and add sugar, salt, and remaining half and half. Whisk together.
Add egg yolks and whisk together.
Cook at medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (about 170 F on an instant read thermometer). Do not allow custard to boil!
Remove custard from heat and immediately pour through fine mesh strainer into the bowl over the ice bath.
Add vanilla and rum to custard and stir.
Allow custard to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Cover with a layer of plastic wrap pressed directly over the surface of your custard. Place custard in refrigerator and chill until cold (I leave mine overnight).
Make ice cream according to ice cream machine instructions.
Serve immediately as soft serve ice cream. For a firmer consistency, freeze for a few hours before serving.
Note: if you use heavy cream and whole milk instead of half and half, use one cup of the heavy cream to make the caramelized white chocolate ganach in steps 3 and 4. Add the milk and remaining cream in step 5.
About this recipe
Don't sleep on caramelized white chocolate, even if you aren't a fan of normal white chocolate. Caramelized white chocolate has a beautiful depth of flavor and now that I've made it, I want to add it to everything! The flavor reminds me of dulce de leche, but with a cocoa butter twist. This ice cream is creamy and rich without being overly sweet.
There are a few different methods for making caramelized white chocolate, but I happen to be a big fan of the process I developed, using a pressure cooker. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make caramelized white chocolate in the oven or on the stove.
Check out my Instagram page for a video of me making this recipe!
