Pears are such a wonderful winter fruit, but often I find that their mild flavor can be masked or easily lost in some recipes. So when I heard of this pear caramel ice cream, I was interested to see if the pear flavor would really come through. Of course, I never should have doubted that David Lebovitz would hit the nail on the head. The pear flavor comes through beautifully, followed by the deep, rich caramel taste. This is also one of the creamiest ice creams I have made yet, even though it is not made with a custard base.
If you have not had much practice with making caramel, this recipe could make you a bit nervous because the whole batch seizes up as soon as the pears are added to the pan. However, this is completely expected and you just need to continue cooking the mixture until it has smoothed out once again. The mixture is pureed, but I think it would also be great with some chunks of pear left in the batter as well and I may try that next time around.
More treats for fellow caramel lovers:
Caramel Corn
Banana Caramel Cupcakes
Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake
Caramel Cocoa Crispy Bars
Caramel Apples