Although I wasn’t the first to discover this flavor, like everyone else I discovered it by making a mistake and almost burning caramel. The toastiness of the caramel is just amazing. If you like this flavor, you will probably become — as most people do — obsessed with it.

Steps

1. Place the sugar and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, without stirring, until it turns a deep brown and begins to smell toasty, 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly and very carefully add the cream. Continue whisking until the cream is incorporated. Slowly add the milk and cook over low heat, whisking from time to time, until warm, about 175 degrees. Add the vanilla extract and salt.
2. Place the egg yolks in a small metal bowl and whisk until completely mixed. Add ¼ cup of the warm-milk mixture to the eggs, whisking all the while. Continue adding milk to the eggs, ¼ cup at a time, until you have added about 1½ cups.
3. Slowly, whisking all the while, return the now milk-and-egg mixture to the remaining milk mixture in the pan and continue cooking until it just begins to thicken or reaches about 185 degrees. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Pour through a medium-fine strainer into a metal bowl, discard the solids, and set aside until it reaches room temperature.
4. Cover and refrigerate until it reaches 40 degrees, about 3 hours. Transfer to an ice-cream maker and proceed according to the manufacturer’s instructions.