Burnt Sugar and Butter Ice Cream

I found a new favorite ice cream flavor. This summer when exploring North Hampton with my son and some friends after a very hot tour of U Mass Amherst, we made a stop at Herrell's. Their ice cream flavors were different and I would have loved to try every single one. Alec wanted the cake batter ice cream, but that particular day they didn't have regular cake batter, but a tipsy cake batter that had some whiskey in it if I remember correctly. I spotted a burnt sugar and butter flavor that sounded delish and tried a sample. It was heaven on a spoon. Alec decided to go with that instead and probably regretted sitting next to me, because I could not stop eating it. A few weeks later I joined a friend on a trip to Provincetown. At a place called The Nut House, I couldn't resist getting a dish of their burnt sugar and butter ice cream with brownie in it. OMG!!! It was even better with the brownies.

Even though technically, burnt sugar and butter would be caramel, this ice cream was not what I would describe as a traditional caramel flavor. It was more buttery than regular caramel. I began researching recipies for this flavor ice cream and kept finding the same thing and they sounded more like traditional caramel. My first attempt at my own recipe yeilded a failure. Adding the sugar directly to the burnt butter made the sugar seize and harden. The butter was too hot, and the brown sugar was not the way to go. Back to the drawing board. The next time, I started by browning the butter and letting it cool slghtly while I carmelized the sugar and then slowly(and carefully) added the butter and pinch of sea salt. When it was all mixed nicely, I added the cream slowly. The caramel did seize a little, but heating over medium low heat and stirring got it all melted in to a beautiful base for the egg yolks to thicken.

So I think this may be the first recipe online for Burnt Sugar and Butter Ice Cream. I hope you try it and love it as much as I did!

Burnt Sugar and Butter Ice Cream


1 cup whole milk

1½ cups sugar

6 tablespoons salted butter

scant ½ teaspoon sea salt

3 cups heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

¾ teaspoon vanilla extract


1. Cook butter over medium heat until it browns. Let it cool slightly.


2. Spread 1½ cups sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Cook over moderate heat, until caramelized.


3. Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup of the milk.


4. Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens.


5. Pour the custard through the strainer, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled.


6. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Temporarily Handicapped in the Kitchen

It happened so quickly I wasn't even sure what I had done. I was at work early one morning prepping the paninis for the day. I was pitting an avocado, when the newly sharpened knife went through the pit right into my hand. I knew right away it wasn't good because I lost the feeling in my middle finger immediately. I was taken to the emergency room where I received....one stitch. I was embarrassed not only by my poor knife skills but also that I went to the hospital for one measly stitch. Seriously? I did take my gauze wrapped hand back to work that day and continue the best I could. To make a long story short, I needed surgery on the hand to repair the nerve I cut. The surgery was obviously a little more invasive than the original injury and I was unable to use my left hand for quite some time.

I thought my family would step up and take care of me, but it seems that I need a lot more than hand surgery to get help around here. The first night I stood in the kitchen trying to make a salad with one hand. My left hand was still numb from the surgery. My husband was sitting at the island doing work and ignored my dropping things and frustrated grunts until I had almost finished. Then he said "why didn't you just ask me?" Needless to say we did a lot of take out that first week.

Alec, my 16 year old, did make dinner one night with my guidance. He did a wonderful job. The dish he made was one my sister in law had recently tried and suggested to me,chicken rollitini. He pounded out the chicken breasts and spread ricotta cheese and sprinkled mozzarella over that (he forget to add the fresh spinach I bought for this dinner)before rolling up, dipping in egg and bread crumbs. These are baked in the oven until the chicken is cooked and cheese is melty. He topped this with a simple marinara sauce and some more mozzarella and finished in the oven. To incorporate the spinach into the dish, I added it to the pasta after it was drained and topped with a little garlic oil. It was delish!!

My hand is on the mend and I should soon be back to the kitchen with a vengeance.