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Salted Honey Ice Cream

Salted honey ice cream made with a smooth honey custard base and churned for a dense, spoonable texture. Warm honey aroma with a lingering salty finish from sea salt in every scoop.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Honey custard base
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup good-quality honey (wildflower or clover)
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 0.75 tsp sea salt
Finishing
  • 1 flaky sea salt for finishing

Equipment

  • 1 ice cream maker
  • 1 saucepan

Method
 

Make the honey custard
  1. In a saucepan, heat heavy cream, whole milk, and good-quality honey until steaming and the honey dissolves completely. Keep the heat at medium and watch for a light simmer before moving on.
  2. In a bowl, whisk egg yolks until glossy, then slowly whisk the hot cream mixture into the yolks. This should look smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Continue until the custard reaches 175F and holds a custard-like sheen.
  4. Strain the custard into a clean container, then stir in vanilla extract and sea salt. Transfer the custard to an ice bath and cool until completely cold.
Chill, churn, and serve
  1. Refrigerate the custard at least 4 hours until thoroughly chilled. It should feel cold all the way through with no warmth in the container.
  2. Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The mixture will thicken and look like soft-serve as it churns.
  3. Freeze the churned ice cream until firm. Scoopable texture should hold shape when served.
  4. Finish each serving with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Add it just before serving so the flakes stay bright and crisp.

Notes

For the silkiest texture, cook only until the custard hits 175F—overheating can cause graininess. Chill the custard and refrigerate the churned ice cream as directed; store covered in the freezer up to 2 weeks. Freezing is yes, but expect texture to firm up after a couple of days. For a lactose-reduced option, use lactose-free whole milk and lactose-free heavy cream while keeping the honey and egg yolks the same.