This homemade vanilla ice cream recipe takes me back to when I was very young. The vanilla custard makes a rich ice cream! It is a classic vanilla ice cream recipe. Back then, my family and I used a hand churn ice cream maker. It took a long time but it was worth it. Today, we have home machines that do the churning for us. This recipe is for those home machines. I have a Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment for my mixer. One of the best presents I ever received. This recipe is a base for almost all of the ice cream recipes on my site. Once you get this one down, the other ice cream recipes fall right into place. The recipe is not difficult. Just some measuring, mixing, heating, and cooling.
Tempering the egg yolks for the ice cream custard
The yolks need to be in another bowl with enough room for the egg yolks and some of the cream mixture. In a medium saute pan (or something close to it) over medium heat, bring the sugar, cream, half and half, and salt to about 160 degrees F. Make sure you are whisking the mixture as it heats. When heated, pour about 1/3 of the cream mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks. Make sure you are whisking the egg yolks as you are pouring the cream mixture in. The point of tempering is to not scramble the eggs when combining with the hot milk mixture. Slowly adding the milk mixture and whisking as you add it will bring you success. Next, pour the tempered eggs back into the cream mixture and keep whisking. Continue heating and whisking until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. The ice cream custard mixture will stay on the spoon to coat it. This means it is thick enough.
Cooling and covering the custard
The vanilla ice cream recipe just has to cool and it will be ready for the ice cream machine. After the custard coats the back of a spoon, take it off of the heat. The next step is to strain it into an appropriately sized bowl. This will help keep the ice cream smooth. Then add the vanilla and mix well. Let the mixture cool to the touch. Then take a piece of plastic wrap and press it onto the surface of the custard. This keeps the custard from forming a “skin”. Set the covered custard in the fridge for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight, before making the ice cream. Then follow the directions provided by your ice cream maker manufacturer.
I hope you and your family enjoy the vanilla ice cream recipe! Try our bananas foster ice cream recipe, pumpkin pie ice cream, or caramel apple ice cream !
Equipment
- 1 Ice Cream Maker
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup half and half
- ¾ cup sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon of fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 egg yolks
Instructions
- In a medium saute pan combine sugar, whipping cream, half and half, and salt.
- Over medium heat whisk the milk mixture until the sugar dissolves and is hot to the touch. Around 160 degrees.
- Whisking as you are pouring, pour about ⅓ of the milk mixture into a separate bowl with the beaten egg yolks. This is tempering the egg mixture.
- Then pour tempered egg mixture back into the pan with the milk mixture and continue whisking.
- Whisk mixture over medium heat until it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Around 10-15 minutes.
- Strain custard through a sieve to get the lumps out.
- Mix vanilla into the sieved custard and let cool.
- Once cooled place a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of custard to avoid a “skin” forming.
- Place in the fridge and cool overnight or for at least 3 hours. Then follow the directions provided by your ice cream maker manufacturer.
