Caramelized Onion Ice Cream

 

My conclusion is that caramelized onion ice cream is for freaks. If you’re a freak like I am, then please enjoy this recipe.

I know I’ve already made roasted garlic ice cream, but I guess that wasn’t weird enough, because now I’ve made this.

I thought this recipe would be liked by more people than the roasted garlic one, my thought process being that caramelized onions aren’t too far a stretch from caramel ice cream, but it was surprisingly divisive. I will use less fat next time, as this recipe has a whopping 17% butterfat! That is very high in fat, meaning that the flavor of caramelized onions lingers.

To get the most flavor possible out of the caramelized onions, this recipe calls for not only steeping them in cream but also blending them in milk. This way, we let both water and fat molecules grab onto the flavor, making for a full-bodied, rich, and creamy dessert.

This ice cream is not for everyone. For one thing, it isn’t for people who don’t like savory and sweet flavors put together. It’s also rich and creamy to the point of fatty, and it leaves your lips feeling slightly greasy, if I’m being totally honest. Personally, as someone who enjoys weird flavors, the fattiness is my only hangup with this ice cream, and I want to make it lighter in the future. I’m still posting it because it’s not a complete fail, and maybe someone will get something helpful out of this.

I know I’m not exactly selling this recipe to you by calling it greasy, but it’s because I want to scare off anyone who might not enjoy it. I want to provide the full disclaimer that this recipe still needs tweaking, namely in the amount of cream, but if you like weird things, then this one’s for you. I have included the original amounts of ingredients that I used, but if I make it again someday, I would like to use much less cream.

This recipe would pair well with roasted garlic ice cream, crumbled potato chips, or a lush caramel topping.

My conclusion is that caramelized onion ice cream is for freaks. If you’re a freak like I am, then please enjoy this recipe.

Caramelized Onion Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

·       100 g caramelized onions (try this method for making them)

·       1 ¼ cups (296 g) heavy cream* (see notes)

·       ⅓ cup (71 g) sugar

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) salt

·       ¼ teaspoon (1.23 g) xanthan gum

·       66 g egg yolks (4 or 5 yolks)

·       1 ¼ cups (305 g) milk

·       ⅓ cup (71 g) invert sugar

·       1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract

Directions

1.       Cook caramelized onions with cream over medium-low heat for 10 minutes to let the flavors infuse, then set aside and let cool.

2.       Once the cream is cool, strain out the cream and set it aside in a bowl, saving the caramelized onions. Put the caramelized onions into a blender.

3.       Mix sugar, salt, and xanthan gum in a pot.

4.       Blend caramelized onions, egg yolks, and some of the milk together until liquid, then pour into the pot with the sugar. Add invert sugar.

5.       Stir well and cook until it reaches 170 F (76.7 C), then stir in vanilla extract and cream. Strain and refrigerate.

6.       Churn the next day according to machine instructions.

Notes

*While this is the recipe I have tried, my recommendation is to lower the cream at least down to 234 g (1 cup) to get rid of the greasy mouthfeel I experienced. You might want to go even lower depending on your preference.

Q and A

Q: What does onion ice cream taste like?

A: Caramelized onion ice cream tastes sweet, savory, roasted, and rich. It’s not for the faint of heart! This ice cream does not use raw onions, and I do not know what ice cream with raw onions tastes like, but I know it exists.

Q: What is the trick to caramelizing onions?

A: The trick to caramelizing onions quickly is to use a slurry of baking soda and water. I learned this technique from America’s Test Kitchen and highly recommend following their instructions for caramelized onions.

Q: Can I caramelize onions then freeze them?

A: Yes! For our purposes, you can absolutely freeze caramelized onions to make this ice cream. In fact, I recommend it. This way, you don’t have to cook both the onions and the ice cream base in the same day, and the onions have time to cool.