Ingredients Serves 1 quart
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 vanilla beans
- 5 egg yolks
- Mix the cream, milk, and sugar together in a heavy saucepan.
- Slit vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape the tiny seeds into the cream mixture. Add the pods as well.
- Place the saucepan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes. Pluck out the vanilla pods and discard.
- Reheat the mixture over a medium flame.
- Whisk the egg yolks together in a spacious, heat-tolerant bowl. Temper the yolks by slowly adding one cup of the hot cream mixture while whisking vigorously.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and whisk the tempered yolks into the saucepan, creating custard. Stir constantly until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Immediately strain it into a clean bowl.
- Allow the custard to cool to room temperature (approximately one hour) and then refrigerate it for 4–6 hours, or overnight.
- Place the cold custard in the canister of your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Transfer the ice cream to a container, cover, and freeze for at least 4-6 hours to firm up.
