Salted Caramel Swirl

There's a shortcut for this flavor. It comes in a jug, it's the color of a school bus, and it tastes like sugar pretending to be caramel. We've never used it.

Ours is made in-house in small pots, sugar cooked slowly until it turns deep amber and starts to smell like it's about to go too far. That edge — the whisper of bitterness right before burnt — is the whole point. Pull it early and you get syrup. Hold your nerve and you get caramel.

It goes into the base as a thick ribbon rather than a blend, so every few spoonfuls you hit a vein of it. Flaky sea salt on top of that, and the sweetness snaps into focus.