Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
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- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 vanilla bean – split lengthwise and seeds scraped
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Nest a medium metal bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice. Pour the heavy cream into the inner bowl and set a fine-mesh sieve over the top.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the whole milk, granulated sugar, fine sea salt, and the vanilla bean (seeds and pod). Heat over medium until steaming, 3–5 minutes, then cover and let steep off heat for 30 minutes.
3. Rewarm the milk mixture until hot but not boiling. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth, then slowly ladle in about 1 cup of the hot milk, whisking constantly to temper. Return the yolk mixture to the saucepan.
4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the custard reaches 170–175°F and coats the back of the spatula, 5–7 minutes.
5. Pour the custard through the sieve into the chilled heavy cream and stir to combine; stir in the vanilla extract. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until completely cold, 4–12 hours.
6. Churn the base in an ice cream maker until softly mounded and pulling cleanly from the sides, 15–25 minutes.
7. Transfer to a chilled container, press parchment or plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and freeze until firm, 2–4 hours. Scoop and serve.
Vanilla ice cream is a custard-based frozen dessert with a silken texture and a clean, floral vanilla aroma. Its flavor is comforting yet nuanced, balancing dairy richness, gentle sweetness, and the warm perfume of real vanilla. It is equally at home in a sundae, alongside pies and cakes, or enjoyed on its own with a glossy, scoopable finish.
Ice cream as we know it took shape in Europe between the 17th and 18th centuries, with French cooks refining egg-thickened custards that set the standard for creaminess. Vanilla, an orchid native to Mexico, spread to European kitchens through global trade and became a prized flavor by the 19th century. Today, vanilla ice cream remains the foundational style in classic French glacés and a benchmark for texture and technique across the world.