Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

My first ice cream attempt was Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream, enabled again by an appliance Meg owned that I do not. The fact that I lack an ice cream maker hasn't stopped me from bookmarking recipes. I saved this one in 2007 and jumped at the opportunity to finally put it to use.

Preparing the caramel/custard base required a significant amount of time, but the heavenly smells along the way and the final result are worth the effort. I used kosher salt and half and half for all the required liquid instead of whole milk and heavy cream. Next time I might want to play with the amount and type of salt I use though since slightly salty ice cream didn't win me over completely.

The ice cream has a very rich, sweet caramel flavor; the 2.5 scoops below were a bit much even for my sweet tooth. And I skipped making the mix-in caramel praline! It freezes nicely, has a creamy texture, and is easy to scoop - no need to let it come to room temperature prior to serving. The only strange thing, and this is probably due to some error on my part, is my spoon always ended up with a slightly grainy texture after I indulged. Oh well! Still totally edible and eaten.