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.