How to Make Homemade Ice Cream Custard

Homemade ice cream custard is not difficult to make at home, though the process may seem intimidating to a novice. This recipe calls for a vanilla bean for flavoring, but once you've mastered the basics, try your own flavor. It's simple to add citrus zest, coffee beans, mint or spice to taste.

Things You'll Need

• Ice cream maker
• Pot
• Spatula
• Strainer
• 2 mixing bowls
• Whisk
• 8 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Instructions

Making Custard Base for Ice Cream

1. Combine the cream, milk, vanilla bean and half the sugar in a pot and heat until about to boil; remove from heat. Meanwhile, place egg yolks in your mixing bowl and whisk the rest of the sugar into the yolks.

2. When the liquids are hot, ladle a couple ounces at a time into the egg yolks, whisking. Do not pour the milk mixture over the yolks; you want to gently combine the two in order to avoid curdling the yolks.

3. Scrape the dairy-yolk mixture into a pot with a spatula and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook custard, scraping your spatula across the bottom of the pot throughout, until it is thick enough that the custard holds a line when you draw a finger across the back of the spatula. You can also tell it's ready if the base has thickened in the pot, and your spatula brings up a clump of coagulated egg from the custard layer on the bottom.

4. Quickly pour base through strainer into a clean bowl. Chill bowl over an ice bath, whisking occasionally until cool. (Store in refrigerator overnight for optimal results.)

5. Freeze in ice cream maker according to the directions of your model. Ice cream custard will keep in freezer but is best eaten in one week.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're nervous you might burn it, you can prepare the custard in a bowl above a double boiler; this way you won't scorch the custard. If you cook the custard too long, and it's chunky after being strained, you can use a blender to homogenize it. If you decide to improvise with flavor, heat the dairy and let the flavorings steep for half an hour or so before proceeding to Step 2.

• Don't substitute skim for whole milk in this recipe; the custard's texture relies upon the fat content of the dairy. Never spin a hot or warm ice cream base.

References

• Epicurious - ice cream base