adapted from David Lebovitz

Caramel Praline (Mix-in)

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Ice Cream Custard

2 cups whole milk, divided

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 tablespoons salted butter

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup heavy cream

5 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

To make the caramel praline, spread the 1/2 cup sugar in an even layer in a medium saucepan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush sparingly with cooking spray.

Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a wooden spoon to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges of the pan - stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts to bubble at the sides and begins to smell like it's just about to burn. It won't take long.

Without hesitation, sprinkle in the 3/4 teaspoon salt without stirring. Pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet. Lift up the baking sheet immediately, tilting and swirling it almost vertically to encourage the caramel to form as thin a layer as possible. Set aside to harden and cool.

To make the ice cream, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about half full with ice cubes and adding water so that the ice is floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts) over the ice. Pour 1 cup of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.

Spread 1 1/2 cups sugar in the sauce pan in an even layer. Cook over moderate heat, until caramelized, using the same method as earlier with the sugar brittle. Once caramelized, remove from the heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted. Gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a whisk, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. An instant read thermometer should read 160-170.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath. Add the vanilla. Stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the appliance instructions. While the ice cream is churning, crumble the hardened caramel praline into very little bits, about the size of very large confetti. Add the confetti to the ice cream mixture just as it is finishing churning.