Vanilla Ice Cream
Custard serves as an incomparable ice-cream base. Also called French ice cream, frozen custard usually consists of a combination of egg yolks, milk, and cream. What makes it different from other ice cream, such as Philadelphia-style (which contains no egg), is the base, which is a variation of crème anglaise, a cold sauce that often accompanies soufflés, cakes, poached fruit, and meringues. (To make the sauce, simply follow the recipe below, substituting 3 cups whole milk for the skim milk and cream and omitting corn syrup; do not freeze after straining and chilling.) Unlike many store-bought versions, ice cream made from scratch has a deeply luxurious texture. It’s voluminous and soft, able to envelop whatever delectable flavors you plan to blend into it. And as long as you have an ice-cream machine, there’s not much to the preparation. It’s just a matter of cooking the custard, chilling it, and then letting the machine handle the bulk of the work. Ice cream has the best texture when it has just finished churning; it’s somewhere between soft-serve and regular ice cream. If making ice cream ahead of time, make sure to take it out of the freezer 15 to 30 minutes before serving (depending on the room temperature) to soften slightly.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 1 1/2 quarts
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Infuse milk and cream Combine cream, milk, salt, and half the sugar (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Scrape vanilla seeds with the tip of a small paring knife into pan; add pod. Heat the mixture over medium heat until hot (do not let boil), about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 30 minutes.
Step 2
Temper yolks Prepare an ice-water bath. Whisk together yolks and remaining sugar in a medium bowl. Add a ladle of the cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking to combine (this is called tempering and prevents the eggs from curdling). Add another ladle of cream mixture and whisk to combine. Pour this mixture into remaining cream mixture in pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (it should hold a line drawn by your finger) and registers 170°F on an instantread thermometer, 5 to 7 minutes.
Step 3
Strain and chill Strain mixture through a fine sieve (to remove vanilla pod and any cooked pieces of egg) into a bowl set in the ice-water bath. Stir in corn syrup. Let stand until cold, stirring occasionally.
Step 4
Freeze and serve Pour mixture into ice-cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. The ice cream is ready when it will hold its shape when the machine is stopped but it still sags slightly. Serve immediately, or transfer to a chilled container, cover tightly, and freeze up to 3 days.
Chocolate Ice Cream
Step 5
Stir 6 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate into warm cream mixture just before tempering yolks, and proceed with recipe.
Peach Ice Cream
Step 6
Reduce sugar to 1/2 cup and add 1/2 cup high-quality store-bought jam (or the homemade version that follows), when the ice cream is almost done churning. Just before putting it in the freezer, fold in another 1/2 cup jam.
Equipment
Step 7
Ice cream machines with internal condensers are excellent, though they can be expensive. Less costly models should work just fine. If your machine relies on a prefrozen canister, remember to place it in the freezer at least one day ahead (or store it there, if you have the space). For the same reason, it’s worth buying an extra canister and freezing both. This way, you can make more than one batch at a time.
Using Vanilla Beans
Step 8
Vanilla beans have a deeper, more complex flavor than extract. To expose the tiny seeds, split the pod: Lay it flat on a cutting board, and hold one end while slicing bean open lengthwise with a paring knife. When a recipe calls for the seeds to be scraped, run the tip of the knife along each cut side. And since the pod itself is flavorful, don’t toss it out after scraping the seeds. Place a whole pod in a jar of sugar, sealing the lid. Leave it for at least one week, shaking daily to be sure the flavor is absorbed evenly. Use vanilla sugar in baking and to sweeten drinks; it should keep for several months.
Ingredients
Step 9
Skim milk might seem like an unusual addition, but, when it is combined with heavy cream in the custard base, the resulting texture of the ice cream is light and airy.
Step 10
A small amount of corn syrup added to the custard base helps maintain the creamy texture and prevents crystals from forming, particularly when you are adding fruit.
