Vanilla Ice Cream

I made this recipe at the prompting of my youngest, who made a request for some homemade vanilla ice cream.  Homemade ice cream is so much better than store bought and this is a great recipe.  You can easily adapt it to almost any flavor and this recipe makes the perfect amount for a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
⅔ cup sugar
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 large egg yolks
1 Vanilla bean

Directions
In a medium sauce pan, add cream, milk, sugar, and salt until sugar. Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape down the sides. Add seeds and pod to the sauce pan. Simmer over medium low heat  until the sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes.   Do not let mixture boil.  Remove pot from heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks. Add the yolks into the sauce pot with the remaining cream. Return pot to low heat and cook until mixture reaches at least 160° and is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool the mixture to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve immediately, or place in freezer for an hour or two for a firmer texture.