Description
A simple, creamy recipe for old-fashioned homemade vanilla ice cream made with heavy cream, whole milk, yolks, and sugar. (Note: This 10-year-old recipe was updated June 2021. I swapped the additional ingredient of half and half for equal parts heavy cream and milk. One less ingredient to buy with the same great results.)
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/2 c. whole milk
- 2 c. heavy cream
- 1 c. + 2 tbsp. pure cane sugar, divided
- 1/2 tsp. flaky kosher salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or dutch oven, large enough to hold the liquids if they were to double in size, combine the whole milk, heavy cream, 1 cup of the sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Heat over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves and begins to simmer, whisking occasionally so as not to scald the mixture. Turn down the heat as necessary.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks and 2 tablespoons of sugar until creamy and slightly more pale than when you began, about 1 minute. Set aside.
- Once the milk mixture comes to a low simmer, carefully measure out about one cup. Pour about 1/3 of it into the egg mixture, whisking constantly to temper the eggs. (You’ll want to work quickly and constantly here so that you don’t curdle/scramble the egg as you temper them.) Whisk in the remaining milk, whisking constantly to combine. Now add the egg mixture into the saucepan, whisking continually. Cook for about 1-2 minutes more until the mixture begins to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour mixture in a large bowl over a fine-mesh sieve to catch any egg clumps. Cover and place in the fridge to cool, about 3 hours. To speed up the cooling process, place a bowl in an ice bath or place in the freezer sans ice bath for 30 minutes.
- Once the mixture is cold, make ice cream according to your machine’s instructions. Ice cream is best after an overnight freeze post churning.
Notes
Here’s the Ice Cream Maker I use. It’s necessary that the basin is completely frozen before use, about 24 hours, so plan accordingly.
- Prep Time: 10 min.