Salted Caramel Ice cream

The 42 degree heat in Hyderabad is driving me absolutely mad! Im tempted to eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And while in this state of mind I was flipping through the Delicious magazine and I came across this incredibly interesting Salted Caramel Ice cream. As exotic as it sounds, the ingredients are surprisingly mundane, things you would always have in your store cupboard. So I made this the day I read the recipe, and it was a huge hit, especially with Mom who loves mild flavours.

What you need:

 For the ice cream

• 330 g caster sugar
• 80 g butter
• 500 ml milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 250 ml cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the salted caramel

• 110 g caster sugar
• 3/4 tsp sea salt

 How:
  
           For the salted caramel:

• Line a tray with baking paper. Stir the sugar in a small saucepan over low heat for 1-2 minutes to dissolve. Increase the heat to medium and simmer, without stirring, for a further 4-5 minutes until it's a golden caramel (watch carefully so it doesn't burn and working with sugar is a little bit of a pain). Remove from heat, sprinkle in salt and immediately pour onto tray in a thin layer. Cool completely. Crush three-quarters of the praline into small pieces, then break remainder into large shards. Set aside.
  
   For the ice cream
  

• Stir the sugar in a small saucepan over low heat for 1-2 minutes to dissolve. Increase the heat to medium and simmer, without stirring, for a further 4-5 minutes until it's a golden caramel (watch carefully so it doesn't burn). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, followed by the pure cream. Return the pan to low heat. Stir until smooth.

• In a large bowl, whisk the yolks by hand for 1 minute until frothy. Slowly pour in the warm caramel, whisking constantly. Return mixture to cleaned pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

• Fill a sink or large bowl with iced water. Pour caramel mixture into a clean bowl, then rest bowl in ice bath and allow to cool completely, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whip thickened cream and vanilla to soft peaks. Gently fold into cooled caramel mixture with crushed caramel.

• If you have an ice cream maker then, churn this beautiful golden mixture in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions, then freeze until firm. Else just freeze in an airtight container and bring out into the fridge and let it ripen for 20 mins before serving/ gobbling it.