French Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Freeze the bowl. ---

2. 2

   Before we start making the ice cream, we need to make sure that the ice cream bowl for the machine is completely frozen. Put it in the freezer the night before you plan to make the dessert.

3. 3

   --- Warm the milk and heavy cream. ---

4. 4

   Pour the 1 1/2 cups milk and 1 1/2 cups heavy cream in a sauce pan. Cut a vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds. Put the seeds and the bean to the milk mixture, together with a pinch of salt.

5. 5

   Bring the mixture to simmer over the medium heat (It will take about 10 minutes).

6. 6

   --- Whisk the yolks and sugar. ---

7. 7

   While the milk mixture is warming up, we can work on the egg yolks.

8. 8

   Put 4 egg yolks and 2/3 cup sugar in a mixing bowl and beat them very well. Mix them for a few minutes, until it becomes pale in color and will have a smooth and airy texture.

9. 9

   --- Temper the eggs. ---

10. 10

    When the milk mixture is starting to simmer and the egg yolks are whisked, we can start tempering.

11. 11

    Using a ladle, slowly and gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the egg/sugar mixture, while constantly whisking the egg yolks.

12. 12

    After you add a couple of ladles of hot liquid to the beaten eggs, and they are warmed up, you can add the rest of the milk mixture to the bowl and mix very well.

13. 13

    --- Cook the base mixture. ---

14. 14

    Pour the tempered mixture back to the saucepan and put it on a low heat. Cook it for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture start to thicken and the internal temperature reaches 170-175°F.

15. 15

    --- Strain the base mixture. ---

16. 16

    Pour the mixture to a clean mixing bowl through a fine-mesh strainer. That will help to remove any cooked egg pieces and the vanilla bean.

17. 17

    --- Cool. ---

18. 18

    Let the mixture cool on the counter for 30-40 minutes. Then cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until it’s completely cold.

19. 19

    --- Churn. ---

20. 20

    Churn the ice cream according to manufacturer’s instructions

21. 21

    --- Freeze. ---

22. 22

    When done, transfer it to an air tight container and freeze overnight before serving.