Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

5 from 2 votes

Rich, creamy, and smooth with flecks of real vanilla bean, this is the ultra-premium vanilla ice cream of your dreams! This recipe requires an ice cream maker.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Churning and chilling2

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: Yield 1 quart

Calories: 453kcal

Author: Sally Cameron

Equipment

Ice Cream Maker

Ingredients

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
5-6 large egg yolks
⅔ cup sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk powder
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste see note below
½ teaspoon almond extract optional
1 pinch sea salt

Instructions

Set up an ice bath

Fill a large bowl half full with ice and cold water. Place a medium bowl inside with a fine strainer inside to strain the cooked ice cream base. This is to chill the custard base quickly after cooking.

Separate eggs

Separate the eggs, saving the yolks for the custard base. Save the whites for another use. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl until smooth and lighter yellow. Tip - eggs are easier to separate cold.

Heat the dairy

Combine the milk, heavy cream, and milk powder in a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until steaming but not boiling.

Temper the eggs

Move the pan to a cool burner. Slowly ladle small amounts of the hot dairy into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. This is tempering. It gently warms the eggs so they don’t scramble.

Cook the custard

When about half of the hot dairy has been whisked into the yolks, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Return the pan to medium-low heat.
Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard reaches 170°F–175°F. Do not go over 180°F. The custard should lightly coat the back of a spoon.
Draw your finger through it; the line should hold. A digital thermometer is more accurate.

Strain and flavor

Pour the custard through a fine sieve into a chilled bowl set over an ice bath. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.

Cool custard

Stir occasionally to release heat. Cool to 70°F or below, about 15–20 minutes.

Chill thoroughly

Refrigerate the custard base until very cold, at least 1–2 hours. You can also make the base one day ahead.

Churn the ice cream

Churn the cold base according to your ice cream maker’s directions.
To serve, enjoy straight out of the machine like soft serve or scrape the ice cream into a container and freeze for several hours or overnight.
If ice cream gets too hard, allow it to stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes checking to see it does not get too soft. Scoop and enjoy!

Freeze or serve

Serve right away for soft-serve-style ice cream. For scoopable ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze several hours or overnight.

Soften before scooping if needed

If the ice cream is very firm, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before scooping.

Notes

About vanilla paste: I use Tahitian Gold triple strength vanilla bean paste, so if you're vanilla bean paste is single strength, you will want to use 1 - 1 ½ teaspoons.

For fun variations, try adding finely chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips towards the end of churning. Make strawberry swirl ice cream with pureed or chopped strawberries (or other berry), drizzle in caramel sauce for caramel ribbon ice cream, add chopped nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or pistachios.

Yolk notes: I've made vanilla bean ice cream with both 5 and 6 egg yolks. Both are great! The extra yolk adds even more richness but 5 is fine.

Nutrition