Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Vanilla Bean ice cream is a basic, yet fancy-ish ice cream and everyone should have a recipe for it.  I've shared one or two recipes for this in the past, but I much prefer this one for how simple it is, plus the rich and creamy flavor.  This is another perfect recipe from David Lebovitz.  

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

adapted from David Lebovitz

1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, divided
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
6 egg yolks
¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the heavy cream and the salt in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk mixture and add the bean to the mixture as well.  Cover, remove from the heat and let steep at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Pour the remaining 1 cup heavy cream into a large bowl and place a fine-mesh sieve on top. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl (I use my KitchenAid).  Slowly pour the warmed milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly.  Scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.

3. Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir constantly with a rubber spatula, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spatula, a few minutes.  The mixture should register 170 to 175 degrees F on an instant-read digital thermometer.

4. Pour the custard through the fine-mesh sieve and stir it into the cream.  Place the vanilla bean into the custard, stir in the vanilla extract, and place the bowl over an ice bath.  (I skip the ice bath.) Stir occasionally, until the mixture is cool. Cover and transfer the custard to the refrigerator until completely chilled, at least 8 hours or overnight.

5. When ready to churn the ice cream, remove the vanilla bean from the custard and freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer.

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