Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 300ml double cream
- 300ml full-fat milk
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod (including seeds)
- 3 large egg yolks
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- sauce pan
- electric whisk
- wooden spoon
- heat-proof/freezer-proof dish or bowl (e.g Pyrex bowl)
- food-safe, plastic storage bowl
Method
- Pour the milk and cream into a pan. Add to the pan all the seeds from the
vanilla pod. Cut the pod into two or three pieces and also add these to the
pan.
- Heat the pan gently stirring in half the caster sugar. *Do not let it
boil* - you should see only see a few bubbles at the edge. Once the sugar has
all dissolved, take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool, for half an
hour at least (while you perform the other steps, below, and giving time for
the vanilla favour to infuse into the liquid).
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and other half of the sugar, for
about 2 minutes. The mixture should be consistently mixed, and fall off the
beaters in ribbons.
- Add a quarter of the liquid from the pan into the egg/sugar mixture, and
whisk until consistent (should only take around a minute). Reheat the liquid
in the pan gently until it just boils. Remove the pan from the heat and mix
into the pan the remaining egg/sugar mixture from the bowl. Whisk until it is
consistent (should take around 1-2 minutes).
- Reheat the mixture in the pan *gently*, stirring constantly with a wooden
spoon. *Do not let the mixture boil, or let it curdle.* After around 10
minutes, the mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, and
bubbles should trying to burst the surface of the liquid. When this happens,
remove from the heat.
- Pour the mixture from the pan into the heat-proof dish and let it cool, but
keep stirring to avoid a skin forming. It may take around 15-20 minutes to
cool. Remove the vanilla pod pieces - the seeds can remain in the mixture.
- Once cool, place in the freezer for an hour. After this, whisk for 5
minutes. Put back in the freezer for an hour, then remove and whisk again for
5 minutes. Do this four times. On the last whisking, transfer to a plastic
storage bowl and place in the freezer overnight.
- The ice-cream should keep in a freezer for three months. Do not refreeze if
it melts.