There are primarily two methods in making ice cream. One is called Philadelphia-style and only requires mixing together your cream and sugar with another flavoring, then dumping into the ice cream maker. The other (my favorite) is called French-style and includes cooking up a custard base to give the ice cream a richer taste and creamier texture. Today, I'm sharing with you the French-style method.
Don't be afraid of the egg yolk custard. And, while you're at it, save the egg whites to make ice cream cones (recipe to come). Also, don't fear the price for vanilla beans. You can find the best deal here without sacrificing the quality. It's also important to use good vanilla extract, which I also found at a decent price from the same shop.
Vanilla is the ice cream I make most often because it can be used in so many ways. You can eat it plain, create your favorite sundae, serve it alongside a favorite pie, or do something I did with it that I'll be sharing sometime next week. 🙂 You can't wait, can you?
Recipe Card
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, French-Style
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream
- Pinch of salt
- 1 vanilla bean , split in half lengthwise
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the pod as well. Stir and cover. Remove from heat and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to avoid curdling, then scrape back into the saucepan.
- Heat over medium heat, while stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula and scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir. Continue to heat and stir until the mixture thickens into a custard and coats the spatula. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top. Strain the custard through the mesh strainer and stir it into the 1 cup cream. Transfer the vanilla pod into the strained custard, mix in the vanilla extract, and stir until cool over an ice bath.
- Chill overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla pod, rinsing and reserving for another use, and then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Source: The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz
