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Salted Bourbon Caramel–Cured Egg Yolks with Vanilla Ice Cream

Egg yolks add richness to (and improve the texture of) countless desserts—everything from cakes and cookies to crème br?lée and ice cream. We are very comfortable with egg yolks in our desserts. But what happens if we put an egg yolk on dessert? At Smyth Restaurant in Chicago, the kitchen offers a dish of a yolk lightly cured in salted licorice syrup served atop a yogurt meringue. At first blush it’s a jarring concept—but the textures and flavors come across as familiar. That dessert inspired me to try curing egg yolks in a salted caramel and using them to top ice cream. The exteriors of the yolks develop a thin, fudgy, caramel-like shell, while the interiors stay soft and runny. And the yolk and caramel sauce ooze over the ice cream adding a decadent layer of richness. I love custard-based ice cream, which is already rich in egg yolks, and I’m a big fan of salted caramel in desserts. This recipe combines lots of familiar (and delicious!) flavors and textures in a surprising package. And because all the work is done ahead of time, serving this innovative dessert to your soon-to-be-wowed guests is as easy as scooping ice cream.

Ingredients

400 g sugar  
100 g plus 100 g water, divided  
25 g corn syrup  
100 g plus 30 g bourbon, divided  
12 g kosher salt  
2 g vanilla beans (2 beans), sliced in half lengthwise, seeds scraped out (beans and seeds reserved together)  
330 g eggs (6 large eggs)  

Instructions

  1. Combine sugar, 100 grams water, and corn syrup in large saucepan and swirl saucepan until sugar is evenly moistened. Cook over high heat until mixture boils, starts to turn yellow in spots, and registers about 320 degrees F/160 degrees C, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook, swirling saucepan occasionally, until mixture turns amber and registers 350 to 360 degrees F/177 to 182 degrees C, 2 to 4 minutes longer.

  2. Carefully pour 100 grams water, 100 grams bourbon, salt, and vanilla beans and seeds into caramel mixture and swirl to incorporate (mixture will bubble and steam). Continue to cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute longer. Turn off heat and add remaining 30 grams bourbon; stir to combine. Strain caramel through fine-mesh strainer into loaf pan and let cool completely, 45 minutes to 1 hour; discard beans in strainer. (Caramel can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored at room temperature.)

  3. Working with 1 egg at a time, crack eggs, separate yolks from whites, and carefully transfer yolks to pan with caramel. Wrap pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until yolk exteriors are firm and translucent, at least 6 hours or up to 8 hours, using small spoon to gently flip yolks halfway through.

  4. Place scoop of ice cream in each of 6 small bowls. Using back of small spoon, make small indentation in center of each scoop. Using small spoon, transfer 1 yolk to each indentation. Drizzle additional caramel over yolks and ice cream as desired. Serve.