burnt orange ice cream

Gusting rain. Pockets of sun. Snow.

March is off to sort of a spinning start...

burnt orange ice cream

This recipe is completely amazing. You start by caramelizing freshly squeezed orange juice and if that doesn’t already have you sold, you end up with an ice cream that is deep and complex and totally, totally fantastic.

1 ½ cups whole milk

1 ½ cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons finely grated orange zest, from about 3 large oranges

¾ cup sugar, divided

½ cup strained fresh orange juice

4 large egg yolks (5 if you like your ice cream a bit more custard-like)

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the milk, cream, and zest in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Just after it starts boiling, remove the pan from the heat, and let stand, covered, for about 30 minutes.

When the cream mixture has been sitting for about 10 minutes, begin to make the caramel by combining ½ cup sugar and the orange juice in another medium saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then boil, without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally, until the syrup thickens and turns to a deep golden caramel.

Remove the pan from the heat and very carefully add ½ cup of the cream mixture and whisk until smooth. [Careful(!) with this step as it will bubble and steam. I recommend wearing an oven mitt with your pouring hand.] Continue whisking while you add the remaining cream in a steady stream. Cook caramel and cream mixture over low heat, whisking until the caramel has completely dissolved and everything is hot, then remove from heat and set aside for a moment.

Whisk together the egg yolks, remaining sugar (1/4 cup), and salt in a heat proof bowl. Slowly add the caramel/cream mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heat proof spatula or wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. It’s important to not let mixture boil.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and stir in the vanilla. Let mixture cool to room temperature and then refrigerate, covered overnight (or for at least 3 hours).

Freeze in a ice cream maker according to your manufacturer’s instructions.

Adapted slightly from Lottie + Doof