Chef notes
Many of you must have tried salted caramel in your lifetime, but I urge you to try miso caramel — think of it as salted caramel's cooler, more edgy cousin. The umami punch from the miso, paired with sweet caramel, creates such a wonderful harmony of flavors and stops your dessert from being too sickly sweet. The downside, however, is that it becomes dangerously moreish. My miso caramel no-churn ice cream combines a simple creamy and slightly salted vanilla ice cream with that rich, miso caramel for a beautifully balanced, quick and easy dessert that is perfect on its own, scooped onto apple pie, sandwiched in between two cookies or served with a hot brownie — the options are endless.
Technique tip: Making caramel can often seem like scary business, but I have a few tips and tricks that should help you get perfect caramel every time. Go slow and steady with the caramel, and you'll be set!
Swap option: If you really don't have the time or patience for the caramel, you can use shop bought caramel sauce and add in 1½ tablespoons of miso paste to this. Just make sure to combine this thoroughly, ideally whisking the miso with 2 tablespoons of warm cream, before mixing this into the caramel.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup double cream or heavy cream
- 1½ tablespoons red miso paste
- 1 cup light brown soft sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 2½ cups double cream or heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons vanilla bean paste or extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 (14-ounce) can condensed milk
Preparation
For the miso caramel:
1.Pour the cream into a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat until steaming, but not boiling. Add 1½ tablespoons miso paste to the warm cream, and mix until dissolved.
2.Place the soft light brown sugar and water in a separate deep saucepan on a low heat and stir together until the sugar has dissolved. Once dissolved, bring this to boil without stirring.
3.Once boiling, pour the preheated cream slowly into the sugar mixture.
4.Cook this on a low heat and cook until this reaches 220 F.
5.Once the caramel reaches 220 F, whisk in the butter until dissolved, transfer this to a separate dish and leave to the side to cool down whilst we make the ice cream base.
For the ice cream:
1.Pour your heavy cream, reserving about 3 tablespoons, into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl if using a handheld whisk). To this, add your vanilla extract and salt, and whisk until soft peaks. Make sure not to overmix.
2.Pour the 3 tablespoons of reserved cream into a small bowl and place in the microwave for about 20 seconds, until this is warm. To this, add in the miso paste and whisk this until incorporated.
3.Add this mixture to the cream and whisk to combine.
4.Then, pour in your condensed milk and use a spatula to fold this through until no streaks remain.
To assemble:
1.In your loaf tin or container, pour in half of the ice cream base and smooth this out. Then pour in half of the caramel sauce and use a palette knife or a skewer to swirl this through.
2.Then, add the rest of the ice cream and swirl in most of the remaining caramel, reserving a few tablespoons (to pour over the top when serving, if you like).
3.Cover with cling film and place this in the freezer for 7 hours or overnight.
