Ballymaloe Vanilla Ice Cream
Really good cream makes really good ice cream. This recipe is made on an egg-mousse base with softly whipped cream. It produces a deliciously rich ice cream with a smooth texture that does not need further whisking during the freezing period. This ice cream should not be served frozen hard; remove it from the freezer at least 10 minutes before serving. You can add other flavorings to the basic recipe: liquid ingredients such as melted chocolate or coffee should be folded into the mousse before adding the cream. For chunkier ingredients such as chocolate chips or muscatel raisins soaked in rum, finish the ice cream, semi-freeze it, and then stir them through, otherwise they will sink to the bottom.
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 12 to 16
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy (keep the whites for meringues).
Step 2
Combine the sugar with 1 cup of water in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir over heat until the sugar is completely dissolved, then remove the spoon and boil the syrup until it reaches the "thread" stage, about 223-235°F: it will look thick and syrupy, and when a metal spoon is dipped in, the last drops of syrup will form thin threads. Pour this boiling syrup in a steady stream onto the egg yolks, beating all the time by hand. (If you are beating the mousse in an electric mixer, remove the bowl and beat the boiling syrup in by hand; otherwise it will solidify on the sides of the bowl.)
Step 3
Add the vanilla extract or vanilla seeds and continue to beat the mixture until it becomes a thick, creamy white mousse.
Step 4
This is the stage at which, if you're deviating from this recipe, you can add liquid flavorings such as coffee. Fold the softly whipped cream into the mousse, pour into a bowl, cover, and freeze.
