Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - A Little Spoon

Get the Recipe: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

This from-scratch, French-style Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is made from a crème anglaise (vanilla custard sauce) that freezes like a dream and stays rich and creamy to the last spoonful.

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Yield6 cups (1.4L)

Prep30

Cook1

Chill6

Total7 30

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 cup heavy whipping cream or double cream, divided in half
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 tablespoon Nielsen-Massey, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean paste
6 large egg yolks, room temperature, (approx. 90-95g total)
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, (optional, see notes)

Equipment

1 kitchen scale
measuring Cups
Measuring spoons
1 spatula
1 Small Sauce Pot
1 Whisk
2 medium bowls
1 Fine Mesh Strainer
1 ice cream maker

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Instructions

Mix and heat half the cream (1c, 240ml, or 245g), the milk, sugar, and salt in a saucepan until all of the sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the vanilla bean paste, turn off the heat, and let the mixture sit until its temperature comes down to 140℉ (60℃).
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs yolks until they froth and lighten in color slightly. Then, slowly temper the cream mixture into the egg yolks by gradually adding small amounts of cream to the eggs, whisking constantly, until all of the cream mixture is combined.
Add the remaining cup of cream to a large bowl, place a fine mesh strainer on top, and set it aside.
Scrape the fully combined mixture back into the saucepan and stir it constantly over medium-low heat with a heatproof spatula until mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Make sure to check the temperature while you heat the creme anglaise. The optimal temperature for thickening is 180℉ (82℃). I tend to keep mine between 170-175℉ (76-79℃) to be on the safe side.
If you are really worried about overcooking the creme anglaise, you can always use a double boiler as a safety net. You'll know it is done when you can run your finger across the coated spatula and the creme anglaise doesn't run back together. (see notes)
Now, pour the thickened custard through the strainer and into the bowl of chilled cream. Stir the custard and cream together and add in the vanilla extract, to complete the ice cream base. Then, chill the mixture completely in the refrigerator. It should take roughly 4-8 hours.
When ready to churn, pour the vanilla ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once done, scrape the ice cream out of the mixer and into a freezer safe container. Freeze the semi-frozen ice cream for at least another 4 hours or overnight for best results.

Notes

DON’T FORGET to freeze your ice cream machine’s bowl if you have a bowl style ice cream maker.
The vanilla extract in this recipe is optional, but it does impart a stronger, brighter vanilla flavor, because the alcohol in the extract allows for more aroma and thus a stronger flavor. Cooking extracts will reduce their aroma and thus their flavor, so only add it after the base is done cooking.
If you cannot find vanilla bean paste, you can substitute with a single vanilla bean pod. You can also substitute vanilla extract at a 1:1 ratio. Remember, add extract at the end!
There is no real timeline for how quickly your custard will thicken. If it seems like it’s staying runny, DO NOT turn up the heat, just have patience and keep stirring. (more in the FAQs for doneness cues)
A lot of ice cream recipes use ice baths after tempering. You don’t need it for this recipe, because the custard is poured into the second cup of cold cream, which stops any carry over cooking.
That being said, an ice bath will save on refrigeration time before churning. If you really want to, you can completely negate the need to chill before spinning the custard, as long as you get the ice cream base down to 43°F (6°C) before churning it.
The ice cream texture is its creamiest/freshest within 2 weeks of making it. However, it can last as long as 1 month in the freezer before developing freezer burn and/or a stale mouthfeel.
This recipe fills up a 9x5x2.5 (22.86×12.7×6.35cm) loaf pan about ¾ of the way. So, if you want to use a different vessel or insulated ice cream container, just make sure it can hold up to 8c or 1.9L of ice cream.

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