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 Nothing plasters a smile on my face quite like ice cream, especially when it’s homemade! While ice cream is readily available in grocery stores, homemade ice cream is in a league of its own. When you make your own, you combine fresh, rich, ingredients with additions of your choice. This recipe will result in the richest, creamiest, silkiest ice cream that will give new meaning to the phrase "melt in your mouth." My recipe starts off with a Crème Anglaise base, which is heavenly in itself. It is then slow-churned until transformed into ice cream. Try this base recipe first, but then feel free to experiment and create your very own unique concoction. This dessert is perfect for one and even better for a crowd!
Note that you will need an ice cream churner. I've invested in one, and absolutely love it. They are very inexpensive, so buy one today...you won't regret it.
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Ingredients:
2 cups Whole Milk
2 cups Heavy Cream
10 Egg Yolks- room temperature
10 oz Sugar
1 Vanilla Bean
Directions:
1. Prepare an ice bath with a clean bowl on top, so that it is easily accessible when the ice cream base is made. Also, place a strainer on top of the bowl. I use a large bowl and fill it with ice. I place a smaller clean bowl on the ice, and rest my strainer on top.
2. Split the vanilla bean length wise and scrape out the seeds. Save both the seeds and bean.
3. Bring the milk, cream, vanilla bean, and seeds just to a boil and remove from heat.
4. Whisk the egg yolks with an electric mixer until they are pale yellow in color. This will take approximately 5-6 minutes.
5. Temper the egg mixture with the milk mixture. This step is very important because you don’t want your egg yolks to scramble. Tempering simply means marrying two temperatures by pouring a little bit of the hot milk at a time into your egg mixture while whisking.
6. Return the mixture to the pot and keep stirring with a wooden spoon on medium-high heat until the mixture has thickened. The mixture should coat the back of your wooden spoon. Be sure not to let the mixture get too thick. As soon as it’s saucy and coats your wooden soon, remove it from the heat immediately.
Tip- When the foam starts to disappear, that means it’s thickening and almost ready. Every second is important here, and is the key to a successful ice cream.
7. Strain the mixture onto the bowl over the ice bath.
8. Continue to keep stirring so that it cools evenly. The custard mixture should then be refrigerated at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight. Don’t skip this step, because it will be the difference between a silky, smooth ice cream and an “icy” ice cream.
Note- Once thoroughly chilled, you have Crème Anglaise! You can simply drizzle this over strawberries for a classy, gourmet dessert.
9. Once the Crème Anglaise is completely chilled, place into your ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer directions. Once you have mastered this basic recipe, be imaginative. You can add oreos, chocolate chips, or even crushed up samoas (my favorite cookie)! Experiment with different flavors as well such as coffee, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate, etc. Or make an ice cream pie with a store bought oreo crust, filled with your very own homemade ice cream, and drizzled with hot fudge. Have fun with it!
Sonal Vashi
Writer, SPICE magazine online
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Sonal Vashi is a Government Contractor & Certified Government Financial Manager by day, but her true passion is food. Growing up, her mother always told her that she "lived to eat rather than ate to live." Sonal took this to heart and developed an obsession with cooking and baking. She attended a pastry arts program at L'Academie De Cuisine to master her craft, and currently creates pastries in her free time for a local restaurant in Northern Virginia.
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