Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream

There are few things that I enjoy more than a good ice cream and cooking shows.  I prefer the professional type shows, others are such a train wreck you can't help but watch.

A few weeks ago my wife and I were waiting for our table to open up at the restaurant, so we headed over to Williams Sonoma.  We looked through the tools and equipment and finished up at the books.  Michael and Bryan Voltaggio just put out a cookbook, they have a unique style and compliment each other nicely so I took a look.  Not only was their book out, but they had a special coming right before Thanksgiving.

I just so happened to be home that night, working in kitchen and decided I would see what they were up to.  As luck would have it the show became a 60 minute commercial were the boys go shopping at Williams Sonoma.  At this point I went back to whatever I was working on, then something caught my attention - Caramelized White Chocolate.

We had been working with this for a few years trying to perfect it.  Following blogs and demonstrations to see what the best way was to get the best flavor.  It is exactly what it sounds like, basically you "burn" the chocolate.  The chocolate is overheated to the point that the milk solids caramelize and develop into a very complex flavor.

A majority of the time this achieved by placing the chocolate in pan and cooking it in the oven temperatures and times vary providing different colors and flavor.  I was in search of more, this technique may be new to some while others may have no idea what it is.  Bryan vacuum packed his white chocolate then placed it in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes.  It reminded me of Christmas morning, what will I find when I open the pressure cooker.  To my surprise it was exactly what he had on the show, a deep dark caramelized white chocolate.  

This result was nothing that I could accomplish in the oven.  The chocolate had a slightly bitter flavor, which I enjoy.  The sweetness of the chocolate was dramatically reduced.  We figured since we had it available it was time to make some ice cream.  

Caramelized White Chocolate Ice Cream Philadelphia Style

819  gr        Whole Milk

36    gr         Non-Fat Milk Solids

33    gr         Granulated Sugar

38    gr          Inverted Sugar

5      gr          Ice Cream Stabilizer

239  gr          Caramelized White Chocolate

Method

1. In a bowl combine non-fat milk solids, granulated sugar and stabilizer

2. Place milk and inverted sugar in a saucepan, whisk in dry ingredients

3. Heat this mixture to 185F - do not boil

5. Add chocolate and warm mixture to 189F

6. Emulsify mixture and strain through a chinois

7. Refrigerate overnight, emulsify again

8. Freeze according to manufacturers instructions

I have found a Pacojet to provide the best results, a conventional batch freezer will work as well.  Caram