How to make Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream

Make creamy vanilla ice cream at home is a cinch using ingredients that are commonly on hand.

Creamy vanilla ice cream can be made rather simply using tried and tested techniques that have been around for decades. Traditional creamy vanilla, you will find, is made using a sweet yet simple combination of eggs, sugar, heavy cream, condensed milk and vanilla. You can alter the consistency by adding any number of thickeners, gelatin and powdered milk for example, to create more of a gelato-like product, or you can stick with the classic recipe and still produce a result that is just as creamy, if not more so, as the store-bought brands.

Things You'll Need

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• Medium mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Heavy saucepan
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Storage container with lid
• Ice cream maker
• Wooden spoon
• Freezer safe storage container

Instructions

1. Beat four egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium mixing bowl with a whisk until lemon colored and thick.

2. Whisk together 1 cup of milk and one 12 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk. Heat the combination in a heavy sauce pan over low-medium heat until it begins to simmer.

3. Whisk the warm milk into the egg mixture quickly to temper the eggs. Pour the mixture back into the sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir constantly to prevent curdling. Once the custard base thickens to the point of coating the back of a spoon, remove the saucepan from the heating element.

4. Transfer the custard base to a container with a locking lid. Chill in the refrigerator over night.

5. Add 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract to the custard base and mix together until completely combined.

6. Transfer the mixture into your ice cream maker according to the machine instructions and process the ice cream until soft set. For a firmer ice cream, transfer the partially frozen ice cream to a freezer safe container and freeze until the ice cream reaches the desired firmness.

Tips & Warnings

• If your milk mixture begins to curdle, remove it from the heat source and process it in the blender until smooth.

• You can add additions to your ice cream just before pouring it into your ice cream maker. Fruit preserves are a great addition.

References

• What's Cooking America: Homemade Ice Cream Recipe
• Food.com: Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe; Johnson; 2004
• Very Best Baking: Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream
• CDKitchen: French Vanilla Custard Ice Cream Recipe