To dress it up, serve this ice cream between thin ginger or chocolate cookies for a sophisticated version of an ice cream sandwich. Place a scoop of slightly softened ice cream on a cookie, then top with another cookie and gently press them together to flatten the ice cream evenly. Place the sandwiches in the freezer in individual resealable bags or a freezer-safe container for at least 1 hour or up to 1 week before serving.
Fleur de Sel Caramel Ice Cream
4 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
12 egg yolks
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 tsp. fleur de sel
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk and cream and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside. In a heavy, deep saucepan over medium-high heat, cook sugar until it begins to melt around the edges, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sugar has melted and turned a dark amber, 3 to 5 minutes more. Carefully add butter, then pour reserved milk-and-cream mixture down side of pan in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, carefully stirring, until caramel is completely melted and mixture has returned to a bare simmer. Remove caramel mixture from heat and set aside.
Fill a bowl three-fourths full with ice water and set aside. In a bowl, vigorously whisk together egg yolks and vanilla until mixture turns pale and volume has doubled, about 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly add caramel mixture to egg mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour mixture back into saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon or until it registers 175 degrees F on a candy thermometer, 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let it boil. Remove from heat and immediately pour hot custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl.
Immediately set bowl in ice-water bath and stir custard occasionally until cool. Remove custard from ice bath, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
Pour custard into an ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and stir in fleur de sel. Press a piece of parchment paper onto surface of ice cream and freeze until firm, at least 2 hours or up to 1 week, before serving. Makes about 2 quarts.
source:http://blog.williams-sonoma.com/