There are some really delicious ice creams out there and yes, I do buy ice cream at times, but there really is nothing like some good old-fashioned homemade ice cream. You know what’s going in it and you have complete control over flavor. Making ice cream from scratch isn’t difficult but it does take patience. But once you have the formula and the timing down, it’s a breeze and you will want to make it all of the time!
Here’s what you need:
Remove seeds from the vanilla pod.
Use a paring knife to split the pod lengthwise. Run along the inside of each half with the back of the knife to remove the tiny black seeds. Don’t throw away the remaining pod. There is still a lot of good flavor in there! I always chuck it into the milk as it heats. The custard will be strained in the end, anyway!
Make custard.
The vast majority of my ice cream recipes follow this exact same formula with these basic ingredients. The only difference lies in the additional flavorings. Once you have this formula down, you will be an ice cream wiz!
Pour cream, milk, salt and vanilla beans along with the remaining pod in a medium saucepan and heat to medium. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
Temper the egg yolks.
Heat the milk mixture for a few minutes until it is very warm but not scalding. Next, begin drizzling the hot milks into the yolk/sugar mixture, whisking as you do it. Keep doing this until about 1/4 of the milk mixture has been whisked in.
This process is called tempering. What you are doing is cooking the egg yolks gently by whisking in the hot liquid. This is pretty standard for this type of custard. The tempered yolks will make the custard that will become ice cream nice and thick.
Once the yolks are tempered, pour the entire contents of the bowl back into the saucepan with the remaining milks. Continue to stir and heat on medium until it reaches no more than 165 degrees.
Strain the custard, then let it chill.
Use a fine mesh strainer to ensure no bits of egg, undissolved sugar or the vanilla pods end up in the ice cream.
Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the custard, letting it lay directly on (touching) it to prevent it from forming a skin. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and let it chill. Be prepared to wait. It needs to be as cold as the refrigerator before you try to turn it to ice cream or it won’t set up properly.
Pour the chilled custard into your ice cream maker and churn according your particular machine’s instructions. For me, it takes around 15 minutes. Once the ice cream is ready, scoop it into a lidded container and place it in the freezer to finish hardening. This should only take around an extra hour.
This vanilla bean ice cream recipe is a classic and it is perfect on its own, but it is also a great canvas for other toppings! Try drizzling over some delicious homemade Chocolate Syrup, Salted Caramel Sauce, Strawberry Sauce or Berry Compote!
Scoop it over Spiced Pear Crumble, Fudgy Nutella Brownies or Cinnamon Apple Cake!
Other recipes to try:
Classic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 vanilla bean pod
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Use a sharp paring knife to slice the vanilla pod down the middle lengthwise. Open the pod, revealing the tiny black vanilla beans inside. Use the back of the knife to scrape down the inside of the pod to remove the beans. Place the beans in a medium saucepan with the milk, cream, salt and the remaining bean pod. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks and sugar. Turn the stove onto medium to heat the milks for a few minutes until they are very warm but not scalding.Slowly begin ladling the hot milk mixture into the yolks while continuously whisking. Once about 1/3 of the milks has been tempered into the yolks, go ahead and pour the entire contents of the bowl, (yolks, sugar and the 1/3 of the milks) back into the saucepan. Continue to heat on medium, while stirring until the custard reaches no more than 165 degrees. Remove from the heat and strain into a mixing bowl. Cover the custard with plastic wrap, actually laying the plastic directly on top of it to prevent a skin from forming. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to chill. It must be very cold before it can be churned so give yourself at least 4 hours, if not overnight before churning. Once chilled, pour the custard into your ice cream maker and churn for 15 minutes, or however long specified by your machines's instructions.