Today was one of those days where there were so many things going on in my kitchen I could barely think straight. For starters, I had beef in the crock pot all day for French dip sandwiches. Then I was working on multiple caramel recipes, trying to find the perfect sauce to go on my caramel apple cheesecake I’m entering in a competition next weekend. And then I made a dark chocolate peanut butter ice cream to eat with the caramel sauces.
Shepard was hanging out in the kitchen with me the whole time munching on pretzel crisps. He’s such a cutie. š
The first caramel recipe I tried was called Divine Caramel Sauce found on one of my new favorite food blogs, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. It was a pretty typical caramel sauce with sugar, water, butter, heavy cream, vanilla, and a bit of salt. I thought at first the sauce was way too liquidy for what I’m looking for in a cheesecake swirl and topping, but it thickened up the longer it sat.
The second recipe I tried was a Salted Caramel Sauce from a cookbook I picked up last weekend called Caramel. What really intrigued me about this recipe is that it called for mascarpone cheese instead of heavy cream. That seemed really bizarre to me, but definitely worth a shot. This one was a lot thicker, but it seemed a little less flavorful. And a teeny bit gritty.
The dark chocolate peanut butter ice cream was incredible. I got an ice cream maker for my birthday last year and have been slowly but surely trying out various recipes. I’ve had a few winners and a lot of duds. I think this one may be the best so far. I don’t think that homemade ice cream is any cheaper than store bought, but it’s so much tastier!
I decided to let Shepard go at a bowl on his own tonight. I don’t usually let him use silverware, or even ever have food that requires it, because I just don’t want to clean up the mess!
He was really loving it, though.
Despite how good they both were, I haven’t come to a caramel sauce conclusion yet. The first sauce was really good, but also thin and tasted too buttery, I think. The second sauce was more of the consistency I want, but it didn’t have enough oomph. I think I’ll try a third recipe tomorrow. And maybe a fourth. š
Divine Caramel Sauce
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1. In a small saucepan combine water and sugar on a low to medium heat. Stir gently until sugar is completely dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat up to medium and allow the mixture to boil. DO NOT STIR.
2. Let the sugar mixture simmer on the stove, gently shaking the pan every few minutes. Watch carefully once it starts turning into a golden color.
3. When the mixture is dark amber, take off the burner and immediately stir in butter. Then stir in heavy cream. If the caramel gets hard, put it back on the burner and continue stirring. Add vanilla and salt, stir.
Salted Butter Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup less 1 tbs sugar
2 tbs water
1/4 cup salted butter
1 heaping tbs mascarpone cheese
1. In a small saucepan combine water and sugar on a low to medium heat. Stir gently until sugar is completely dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat up to medium and allow the mixture to boil. DO NOT STIR.
2. Let the sugar mixture simmer on the stove, gently shaking the pan every few minutes. Watch carefully once it starts turning into a golden color.
3. When the mixture is dark amber, take off the burner and immediately stir in butter. Stir in mascarpone cheese.
Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
peanut butter, or any mix-ins you desire
1. Place milk, cream, and chocolate in a small pan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until warm, about 175 degrees.
2. Place the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Add about 1/4 cup of the chocolate mixture into the eggs, stirring constantly. Continue adding small amounts until the egg mixture is tempered. Then add that back into the saucepan and cook until 185 degree.s
4. Let custard mixture sit out until room temperature. Then pour into a container and refrigerate at least three hours.
5. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker. In the last five minutes add in any mix-ins you want. I probably added about 1/2 cup of peanut butter, by the spoonful. It was delicious. š
