Best Caramel Ice Cream Recipes

SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat the sugar in a dry heavy-bottomed sauce pan over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat the sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and swirl the pan so the sugar melts evenly, and continue cooking until it is a dark amber color.
• Carefully add the heavy cream (the mixture will splatter) and cook, stirring until all the caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl and stir in the sea salt. Set the caramel mixture over a bowl filled with ice water and stir until chilled to room temperature. Combine the caramel mixture with the Ice Cream Base and add the vanilla.
• Freeze in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's directions.
• Heat the milk in a sauce pan over medium-low heat.
• Prepare an ice bath by setting a 2-quart bowl over a larger bowl partially filled with ice water.
• Set a strainer over the smaller bowl and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow in color and the sugar has dissolved. Gradually pour the warmed milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour the mixture back into the same saucepan you used to warm the milk. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
• Strain the custard into the top bowl of the ice bath to stop the cooking process. Add the heavy cream and stir over the ice bath until cool. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a medium pot over medium heat, melt 3/4 cup sugar with 3 tablespoons water, swirling skillet frequently, until sugar turns mahogany brown in color (it should be almost but not quite black).
• Add heavy cream, milk, remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the salt; simmer mixture until caramel melts and cream mixture is completely smooth. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream.
• Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
• Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. Sprinkle flaky sea salt into base during the last 2 minutes of churning. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.

SALTED CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.
• Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.
• Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.
• Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

CARAMEL APPLE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Cook apple in melted butter in large skillet over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in apple cider and apple pie spice; cover and simmer 5 minutes.
• Whisk sweetened condensed milk and cream in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in apple mixture. Fill a large bowl about halfway with ice cubes and very cold water. Set the medium bowl containing the ice cream mixture inside the large bowl. Stir until very cold, about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Spread in 8- or 9-inch square pan. Cover and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. Scoop ice cream and mound in pan. Drizzle caramel topping over entire surface, allowing caramel to seep into ice cream. Pack ice cream back into pan. Cover and freeze until ready to serve.

CARAMEL PECAN ICE CREAM DESSERT

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, pecans and brown sugar. Add butter; mix well. Spread in a thin layer in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Crumble while warm; cool., Press half of crumb mixture into a 13x9-in. dish. Drizzle with half of caramel sauce; spread with ice cream. Top with remaining caramel sauce and crumb mixture. Cover and freeze until firm. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving.

PEACH-PECAN ICE CREAM PIE WITH CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter in medium bowl until crumbs are evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust is set and pale golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
• Make caramel sauce:
• Combine sugar and 1/2 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high; boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Gradually add cream (mixture will bubble vigorously). Stir over low heat until any caramel bits dissolve and sauce is smooth, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla. Let stand until cool but still pourable, about 1 hour.
• Drizzle 1/4 cup cooled caramel sauce over bottom of crust. Freeze until caramel sets, about 10 minutes. Spread 1 quart ice cream over caramel in crust. Sprinkle chopped pecans over ice cream. Drizzle 1/2 cup caramel sauce over ice cream. Freeze until caramel sets, about 10 minutes. Spread remaining ice cream over. Freeze until top of pie is firm, about 1 hour.
• Arrange pecan halves in 3 concentric circles around top of pie. Drizzle 1/4 cup caramel sauce over pie. Freeze pie until frozen solid, at least 4 hours. (Can be prepared 5 days ahead. Cover tightly with foil; keep frozen. Cover and chill remaining caramel sauce.)
• Rewarm remaining caramel sauce over low heat, stirring often. Cut around pan sides to loosen pie. Let pie soften slightly at room temperature, about 10 minutes. Remove pan sides. Serve pie with warm caramel sauce.

CARAMEL ICE CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the cream, water and corn syrup until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat. , Stir in butter and vanilla until butter is melted. Serve warm or cold over ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers.

CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In 2-quart saucepan, heat sugar over medium heat until sugar begins to melt. Stir until sugar is completely dissolved and becomes deep golden brown to amber in color. Remove from heat; gradually stir in 1 cup of the whipping cream (mixture will boil and splatter at first). Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until any hardened sugar bits dissolve; remove from heat.
• With whisk, stir in remaining 1 cup whipping cream, the milk, egg yolks, salt and vanilla until well mixed. Cook over medium heat just until mixture comes to a boil, stirring constantly (do not allow mixture to continue to boil or it will curdle). Immediately remove from heat.
• Pour milk mixture into chilled bowl. Refrigerate uncovered 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until room temperature. At this point, mixture can be refrigerated up to 24 hours before completing recipe if desired.
• Pour into 1-quart ice-cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

CARAMEL BANANA ICE CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Spread 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust. In a large bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Add ice cream; mix well. , Spoon into prepared crust. Top with whipped topping. Drizzle with remaining caramel topping; sprinkle with chopped candy bar., Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until firm. Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.

EASY ICE CREAM PIE WITH BUTTERMILK CARAMEL

Steps:

• Gently stir the ice cream and caramels-reserving a few caramels to sprinkle on top-in a large bowl, then transfer the mixture to the crust and sprinkle the remaining caramels on top. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and freeze until very hard, at least 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan over low heat, combine the sugar, butter, corn syrup, baking soda and 1/2 cup buttermilk and bring just to a boil, stirring constantly. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan and continue to cook and stir until the mixture boils, becomes a deep amber and reaches 220 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup buttermilk, then the vanilla and salt-the mixture will bubble and foam, so be careful! Once smooth, return to the heat and cook until it has returned to a deep amber color and thickened slightly, another 3 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Remove the pie from the freezer. Remove the pie from the metal pie plate to a platter. Slice and pour the caramel over the slices. Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL BANANA ICE CREAM PIE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Pulse the graham crackers, butter, sugar and vanilla in a food processor until fine crumbs form. Press evenly into the bottom and up the side of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until firm, about 15 minutes; let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Put the chocolate and 1/4 cup ice cream in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until the mixture is almost melted; whisk until smooth. Beat the remaining ice cream in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy but not melted, about 3 minutes; beat in the chocolate mixture. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, arrange the banana slices in the pie crust. Spread the dulce de leche over the bananas and freeze until cold, about 30 minutes. Scoop the ice cream over the bananas and dulce de leche and smooth with a rubber spatula. Freeze until very firm, 4 hours.
• Make the glaze: Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate and corn syrup until melted and smooth. Let cool, whisking occasionally, until spreadable, about 15 minutes. Slowly pour the glaze over the ice cream; return to the freezer until set. Let the pie soften 10 minutes at room temperature before slicing.

CARAMEL MACCHIATO ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Whisk together milk, instant coffee granules, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, then cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.
• Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions until it reaches "soft-serve" consistency. Transfer half of the ice cream to a one- or two-quart lidded plastic container. Pour half of the caramel sauce over the top, then repeat the layers with the remaining ice cream and caramel. Swirl the caramel into the ice cream using a chopstick or knife. Cover surface with plastic wrap and seal. For best results, ice cream should ripen in the freezer for at least 2 hours or overnight.

PECAN CARAMEL ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place caramel ice cream topping into a microwave-safe container and heat in microwave until slightly warmed and softened, 10 to 30 seconds.
• Whisk caramel topping, milk, sweetened condensed milk, instant vanilla pudding mix, vanilla extract and salt in a large mixing bowl until pudding mix has dissolved and batter is smooth.
• Cover bowl and chill batter thoroughly, at least 6 hours to overnight.
• Pour chilled batter into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions; stir pecans into soft ice cream at end of freezing time.
• Serve soft if desired. If a harder ice cream is preferred, pack pecan ice cream into a lidded container and freeze to desired consistency.

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES WITH CHOCOLATE ALMOND CAKE AND MARCEL'S CARAMEL-BANANA-CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12 by 17-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and brush the sides of the baking sheet with melted butter.
• In a large bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, then stir in the almond meal.
• In an electric stand mixer or in a large bowl with handheld electric beaters, whip the egg whites until frothy, then add a pinch of salt. Whip the whites to soft peaks, then add the sugar gradually. Continue whipping until the peaks are firm yet glossy. Gently fold in one-third of the dry ingredients, then fold in the remainder.
• Pour the batter onto the prepared baking sheet and spread evenly. Bake until the cake springs back when touched, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely, then place the baking sheet in the freezer until the cake is cold.
• For the ice cream: Peel the bananas and mash them roughly with a wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap directly against the mashed bananas, and set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine 6 tablespoons of the sugar, the lemon juice, and 1/4 cup water. Cook over medium heat, swirling the pan until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook until the syrup begins to turn a rich caramel color, about 3 minutes. Once it begins to change color, it darkens quickly, so watch carefully, swirling the pan so the caramel cooks evenly. Remove the pan from the heat and add the half-and-half and cream-carefully, as they will splatter. Stir in another 6 tablespoons sugar and return the pan to medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon to dissolve the caramel.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar until thick and pale. Whisk in about 1 cup of the hot caramel mixture to warm the egg mixture, then pour the combined mixture into the saucepan of caramel and cook, stirring, until it visibly thickens and reaches 178°F on an instant-read thermometer. Pour over the bananas and stir well. Chill quickly in an ice bath. When cold, stir in the chocolate chips.
• Churn in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer container and freeze until the ice cream is firm enough to spread without melting.
• Take the cake from the freezer. Put a sheet of parchment paper and a cooling rack on top, then invert the cake. Remove the baking sheet and top sheet of parchment, and cut the cake in half across the middle of the long side. Spread one half with ice cream, making an evenly thick layer. Invert the other half, including the parchment sheet under it, over the ice cream. Return the cake to the freezer for at least 2 hours.
• To serve, take the cake from the freezer and remove the top sheet of parchment. With a serrated knife, trim the edges of the cake neatly. Cut the cake in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 5 triangles. Transfer the triangles to a serving platter, lifting them away from the bottom sheet of parchment. Serve immediately.

CARAMEL-MOCHA ICE CREAM DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange crackers in a single layer in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in pecans. Pour over crackers; spread to cover crackers., Bake 8-10 minutes or until bubbly. Cool completely on a wire rack., Crush cracker mixture into coarse crumbs; sprinkle half into an ungreased 13x9-in. dish. Spread with dulce de leche ice cream. Cover and freeze for 1 hour or until firm., Drizzle with ice cream topping and sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture. Cover and freeze 30 minutes or until ice cream topping is set., Spread with coffee ice cream; freeze. In a small bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in coffee liqueur. Spread over top of dessert. Cover and freeze 4 hours or until firm., Remove from freezer 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with chocolate curls.

APPLE AND CARAWAY TARTLETS WITH CINNAMON-CLOVE ICE CREAM AND CIDER-CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• For crust:
• Blend flour, sugar, caraway and salt in processor. Add butter and process, using on/off turns, until butter is cut into pea-size pieces. Add 5 teaspoons ice water. Blend until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Press each piece of dough into 4 1/2-inch-diameter tartlet pan with 3/4-inch-high sides and removable bottom. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover each crust; chill.)
• For filling:
• Place 3/4 cup Cider-Caramel Sauce in heavy large skillet. Add apples and cinnamon. Cook over high heat until apples are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Cool filling completely.
• Place rack at lowest position in oven; preheat to 375°F Divide filling among crusts, overlapping apples, if desired. Place tartlets on oven rack; bake until apples are tender and crust is brown at edges, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool 30 minutes. Push up pan bottoms, releasing tartlets. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
• Rewarm remaining sauce in small saucepan. Place tartlets on plates. Top with ice cream and some warm sauce. Garnish with grapes and mint, if desired.

PASSION FRUIT ICE CREAM WITH RUM-VANILLA CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• For the ice cream: Pour the cream into a large chilled bowl and whisk to firm peaks, either by hand or with an electric mixer. Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a second large bowl and mix in the vanilla and passion fruit nectar. In three additions, fold the whipped cream into the condensed milk until just combined. Pour the mixture into an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap, pressing lightly on the surface to keep air out. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours and up to overnight.
• For the caramel sauce: Pour the sugar into a small saucepan with 1/4 cup water and set over medium heat. Add the lemon juice. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean halves and add the pod. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, swirling the pan occasionally and brushing down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush as needed, until the sugar syrup is a dark amber color, about 10 minutes.
• Carefully add the cream--it may bubble up--and stir to combine. Whisk in the butter, a few pieces at a time. Add a pinch of salt, then whisk in the rum. Let the sauce cool until just warm, about 15 minutes.
• While the sauce is cooling, remove the ice cream from the freezer to soften. Serve the warm sauce over the ice cream.

ORANGE CARAMEL ICE CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook and stir brown sugar and cream over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil; cook until mixture is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in milk and orange extract. Cover and refrigerate. , Just before serving, warm over low heat. Serve with ice cream or dessert of choice.

ICE CREAM SUNDAE WITH HOMEMADE CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Spoon two large scoops of ice cream into each of four dessert bowls. Divide the chopped peanuts between the bowls; then sprinkle each with some cookie crumbs, drizzle with some caramel sauce, and top with a dollop of whipped cream. Serve.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the sandwich cookies to a food processor and pulse to coarse crumbs. Spread the crumbs out evenly on a baking sheet and drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Use crumbs as an ice cream topping, for crunch.
• Combine the brown sugar, butter, cream and salt in a medium saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the mixture is smooth and saucy, about 5 minutes.

PEANUT BRITTLE AND CARAMEL CRUNCH ICE CREAM PIE

Steps:

• For caramel sauce:
• Place cream in small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring just to simmer. Mix in butter and sea salt; set vanilla cream aside.
• Stir sugar, 1/3 cup water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, brushing down sides with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla cream (mixture will bubble). Set sauce aside.
• For pie:
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 9-inch-diameter pie dish with foil. Finely grind graham crackers and brown sugar in processor. Add butter and vanilla; blend until moist crumbs form. Add nuts; blend just until finely chopped. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumbs firmly onto bottom and up sides of foil-lined pie dish. Freeze 15 minutes.
• Bake crust until brown, about 15 minutes. Freeze 1 hour. Using foil, lift crust from dish; carefully peel off foil. Return crust to pie dish. Drizzle 1/2 cup caramel sauce over bottom of crust. Freeze 30 minutes. Spoon 1 1/2 pints ice cream into crust; smooth top. Drizzle 3 tablespoons peanut butter over, then 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup brittle. Freeze 1 hour. Spoon remaining 1 1/2 pints ice cream over; smooth top. Drizzle 2 tablespoons peanut butter over, then 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle edge of pie with 1/2 cup brittle. Freeze 4 hours. DO AHEAD: Pie can be made 3 days ahead; tent with foil and freeze. Cover and chill remaining sauce.
• Cut pie into wedges. Rewarm sauce and pass separately.