Caramel ice cream

I’ve found my new favorite ice cream flavor.

I can’t even describe what salted butter caramel tastes like. The closest I could think of is an abrasive ‘dulce de leche’ that has a harsh overtone, but no, that’s not quite right. In fact, I’m licking away spoonful after spoonful, trying to figure out the right words to do this flavor justice.

Hm, now let’s see… I think the easiest way is to describe the experience of eating it.

It’s definitely creamy for one. Not like an orange-creamsicle creamy, but like a caramel pumpkin latte creamy that you get during the brisk days of fall. Digging the spoon into the carton is like digging your feet into sand. The ice cream gives away easily, leaving traces of a rugged trail. It’s as close to soft serve as you can get, but with the consistency of a hardened ice cream. And even when the ice cream melts, it turns into a thick, brown, golden puddle.  When it refreezes, it unexpectedly retains some of its soft creaminess.

It’s also complex. When it first sits on your tongue, you can taste a strong toffee flavor. Let it linger, and that toffee turns sweet for the slightest second. In the final moment, the ice cream turns bitter, but not bitter enough to remain for the aftertaste. And the aftertaste? Well, it just tastes like pure caramel.

I love the way this custard base chills, getting thicker by the hour until it becomes reminiscent of caramel pudding. I love the way this ice cream churns, so smoothly like silk rubbing against your skin. I love the way this ice cream freezes, a shade darker than the moment before. I love everything about it, from the moment I crack and separate the yolks from the egg whites to the moment the spoon lands into my mouth. Everything about this ice cream is perfect.

Although Clare and Amy can’t see eye to eye with me on salted butter caramel ice cream, I know that Angela, Jenny, and Jungyon can. I gave them a teaser taste the night before this flavor was set to debut and it made my day just to see their eyes widen while marveling at this unknown flavor. And on the night when the ice cream did debut, we killed off a good 90% of it, going back for seconds, then thirds, and even fourths for some (ahem, Angela). Though we couldn’t finish the whole thing, we started right where we left off less than 10 hours later, for breakfast. This was so irresistible that I made a second batch… right after the three of them left.

Thank you David Lebovitz- you’ve made me a very happy girl.