Salted caramel ice cream (French custard base)

Pour the milk and cream into a pan, whisk, add the small amount of sugar and bring gently to a simmer over medium-low heat.

Put the egg yolks in a small bowl, mix in a little of the warm milk, then pour the mixture back into the pan.

Cook the custard, checking with a thermometer, until it reaches 82 degrees Celsius; going past 82 may curdle the yolks.

Immediately strain the custard through a sieve into a bowl to remove any coagulated egg.

Heat a small pan on high, add the large amount of sugar and a bit of water to slow the caramel down.

Cook to a caramel: 180 degrees Celsius on a thermometer, or until a little smoke starts to appear.

Take off the heat at once, add the butter and salt and mix, then pour straight into the warm custard and whisk until the caramel is fully dissolved.

Age the base: cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight with plastic wrap touching the surface so no crust forms.

Strain once more just before churning.

Pre-freeze a passive machine's bowl at least 12 hours, or run a compressor machine about five minutes until the bowl frosts.

Pour in the mixture and churn, about 15 to 20 minutes for 600 ml, up to 30 on some machines, until a soft-serve consistency with streaks; do not over-churn or it turns icy and sandy.

Transfer to a right-sized container chilled in the freezer and freeze two hours for a scoopable consistency. Best eaten the day it is churned.