Chocolate Dipped Salted Caramel Ice Cream Bars
These Salted Caramel Ice Cream Bars are ultimate summer luxury - the crisp and crunchy chocolate shell hides a smooth and creamy, flavourful ice cream. Customise with dark, milk or white chocolate and add almonds or peanuts if desired.
Ingredients
- 100 g/ ½ cup Caster sugar
- 4 teaspoon Eater
- 200 ml/ ¾ cup + 5tsp Double (heavy) cream
- 200 ml/ ¾ cups + 5tsp Whole milk
- 4 Egg yolks
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Caster sugar
- ¾ teaspoon Sea salt crystals
To Cover
- 300 g/ 2 cups Chocolate - chopped (I used dark but milk or white would also be fine)
- 1 ½ tablespoon Favourless oil (such as groundnut)
- 50 g/ ⅓ cup Almonds or peanuts - chopped (optional)
Instructions
Make the Caramel Sauce
- Put the water into a heavy based saucepan. Spread the sugar on top in an even layer
- Set the pan over a medium heat and allow the sugar to gradually melt. As it melts you can gently swirl the pan a couple of times to ensure the caramel cooks evenly, but do not stir it
- Meanwhile put the sea salt into a pestle & mortar & crush lightly
- Once the sugar has melted, the caramel will begin to darken. Continue to let it cook until it reaches a lovely mid amber colour - but keep a close eye on the caramel as it can burn easily. Let it go darker for a more intense, almost burnt flavour
- Add ¼ of the cream and the salt, taking care as it can bubble up and is extremely hot. Mix with a small handheld whisk until fully incorporated. Add another ¼ cream, stir well then add the remaining cream, whisking until thoroughly blended
- Remove from the heat
Make the Custard Base
- Put the milk into a medium saucepan and heat to just below boiling
- Meanwhile beat the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks with an electric beater until pale and thick (about 3 minutes)
- Gradually pour the hot milk onto the egg mixture, beating constantly
- Pour the custard into the saucepan, along with the caramel and stir well. Cook on a low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. It is vital to heat slowly and stir constantly to avoid the custard splitting
- Once the mixture coats the back of a spoon, take off the heat, cover with a layer of clingfilm (to stop a skin forming), let cool, then chill for 4 hours (or overnight)
Making the ice cream using an ice cream maker
- Pour the custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions
- Carefully transfer the ice cream into your moulds and place in the freezer until hard
Making the ice cream by hand
- Pour the ice cream into a suitable freezer-proof bowl, cover and put it in the freezer for 1-1 ½ hours. The sides should be beginning to freeze, but the centre will be soft and slushy
- Remove from the freezer and, working quickly, use electric beaters to beat the ice cream until the ice crystals are uniform. Cover and place back in the freezer
- Repeat this process 4-8 more times at 1 hour intervals - the better the texture will be the more the process is repeated
- When ready, transfer the ice cream into your moulds and leave for several hours to finish freezing
Dipping in Chocolate
- Melt the chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan or barely simmering water. Ensure the water does not touch the base of the pan
- Once melted, remove from the heat, stir in the nuts (if using) and let cool for 10 minutes
- Line a baking tin or board that will fit inside your freezer with baking parchment
- When the chocolate is ready, remove the ice cream bars from the freezer. Unmould one bar and, working quickly, dip the ice cream into the chocolate to coat it completely (or use a large spoon to pour the chocolate over the ice cream. Allow any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl before laying the bar onto the greasproof paper
- Repeat this process until all bars are covered
- Return to the freezer to firm up for an hour, then wrap each bar in greaseproof parchment until ready to eat
- Eat within 2 weeks
Notes
The exact number of ice cream bars this recipe makes will depend on the size mould you use. I used Silkomart Silicon Moulds which take approximately 85ml (⅓ cup) per mould and got 6 bars out of the mix Any leftover chocolate can be stored in a jar and reheated to pour over ice cream