Salted caramel ice cream

I was wandering through the "blue ribbon" top-ranked recipes on epicurious.com the other day, looking for an interesting dessert to cap off a dinner party, and there it was. Salted. Caramel. Ice cream. Yes!

This recipe is awesome. I realize that's an inelegant description but it feels the most accurate. The texture is exceptionally smooth and creamy. And while you can taste the salt humming in the background, it's predominantly sweet and very decadent; a one-scoop portion was just right. I whipped up a little homemade hokey pokey to crumble on top, which I highly recommend. (But I eated it all before I took a picture. Sorry. Well, not really.)

How cute is my ice cream scoop? It used to belong to my grandfolks.

Like many of the reviewers I increased the amount of salt, so I've modified the recipe to reflect that below.

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
1 tsp flaky sea salt, I used cute pink Murray River salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
3 whole large eggs

Pour 1 cup of the sugar into a small dry pot and cook over medium heat, swirling often, until it's completely melted. Stirring causes the sugar to form crystals, so mix by swirling only. If you see or smell any smoke and burn the sugar, start over. Once it's all melted and amber, pour in 1 1/4 cups of the cream and cook, stirring now, until all of the caramel dissolves into the cream. Gourmet warns that the caramel will splatter when you add the cream, which had me all freaked out and chicken about it, but mine didn't splatter whatsoever. Have no fear. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the salt and vanilla. Allow to cool.

Pop the pot back onto the stove and combine the milk with the remaining cup of cream and 1/4 cup of sugar over medium heat, stirring often, until just to a boil. Whisk together the 3 eggs in a large bowl and temper by whisking in a couple of spoonfuls of the hot milk mixture, then pour all the eggs into the pot and allow to cook until the custard coats the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees). Don't let it boil. Strain custard into the pot with the caramel cream and mix until homogenous and delicious. At this point, I actually strained it again because it wasn't completely smooth, and then it was perfect. Your mileage may vary.

Refrigerate overnight or until completely cold, then freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions. This took longer than usual to me, and as the recipe warns, it will still be pretty soft when it's done. Transfer to an air-tight container and freeze overnight before serving.