Ice cream has got to be one of my favorite foods of all time. Seriously, I think it might be my all-around favorite dessert! I don’t think you can ever go wrong with enjoying a bowl or a cone or a milkshake, no matter what the occasion or time of year. I really wanted to try making my own and figured the basics were the best place to start – so this creamy vanilla bean recipe was the first one I made. Now my husband and I don’t buy ice cream at the store anymore because that’s how easy and delicious this is!
*Note: The ice cream base chills overnight in the fridge once cooked, so it should be made a day in advance of when you want/need it.
You Will Need:
- Ice cream maker
- Mixing Bowls
- Heavy Bottomed Saucepan
- Measuring Spoons & Cups or Food Scale
- Whisk & Rubber Spatula
- Strainer
- About 45 minutes for prep & cook time
Ingredients:
- Heavy Cream – 2 cups (470 grams)
- Milk – 1 cup (245 grams)
- Sugar – 3/4 cup (150 grams)
- Salt – 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 grams)
- Vanilla Bean – 1 whole bean, scraped (or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste)
- Egg Yolks – 6 large
- Vanilla Extract – 1 teaspoon (4.5 grams)
Directions:
Cut the vanilla bean pod down the center lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the beans. Add one cup of the heavy cream, the milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean pod + seeds (scraped out) into the saucepan. Cover with a lid and warm on medium heat until it starts to simmer around the edges. Take it off the heat just before it starts to boil, and let it steep with the lid on for 20 minutes. During this 20-minute waiting period, crack your egg yolks into a mixing bowl and whisk them up.
After the 20 minutes, remove the bean pod and slowly add the warm cream mixture to your bowl of egg yolks, whisking constantly. You want to add the warm cream very slowly and a little bit at a time and temper the egg yolks to create a custard base, not scrambled eggs! Once the cream mixture is fully combined with the egg yolks, pour it all back into the saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until the custard begins to thicken. You should be constantly stirring with a rubber spatula to prevent the custard from curdling and sticking to the bottom of the pan. The mixture will start to thicken, and it should coat the back of the spatula once it’s cooked enough.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the remaining cup of heavy cream into a bowl (you can use the previous bowl from the egg yolks, it’s perfectly fine). Strain the custard over the heavy cream and whisk to combine. Next, add the vanilla extract and stir until it’s fully incorporated. Your mixture should be a pale-yellow color with beautiful flecks of vanilla bean all throughout. At this point I usually dip a spoon into the ice cream to make sure it tastes good 🙂
Create an ice bath in a larger mixing bowl and set the ice cream base in to cool all the way to room temp. This typically takes at least an hour, but you want it to cool completely before covering it and putting it in the fridge overnight. After refrigeration overnight, prepare the ice cream according to the instructions for your ice cream maker! The ice cream is amazing when eaten totally fresh, but it stores well in the freezer for about a week (I cannot attest to longer freezer times because it never lasts longer than that in my house!).
Here is a picture of freshly made ice cream alongside some homemade Oreos 🙂
Here is the ice cream maker I use! Hope you enjoy this sweet treat.
