The Best French Vanilla Ice Cream

This recipe for ice cream is the most basic in my collection and is based on a light custard sauce, known as French Crème Anglaise. Five beautiful ingredients come together to create this smooth and most delicious treat. I love vanilla ice cream for its versatility and probably because it was my dad's favorite. It can be topped with literally anything (fresh fruit, cacao nibs, nuts, chocolate or caramel sauce, etc.) transforming it into something new every time.

Equipment Needed:

2 medium stainless steel bowls
ice bath: 1 large stainless steel bowl with ice and water
medium stainless steel pot
wire whisk
wooden spoon
rubber spatula
strainer
ice
2-quart ice cream maker like this one
completely frozen freezer bowl (from ice cream maker)
empty 1.5-2qt. bowl with lid, chilling in the freezer

Ingredients:

5		large egg yolks
5 oz.		sugar
250 ml.		cream
250 ml.		whole milk
1/2		fresh vanilla bean

Directions:
1. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and the 2 halves of the pod into a medium-sized pot along with the cream and milk. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar to lighten.

Ice Cream: Whisk Together Egg Yolks and Sugar

3. As soon as the cream and milk comes to a boil, gradually add it to the egg yolk mixture, while whisking continuously. If you add the cream and milk too quickly, you can potentially cook the eggs and wind up with a curdled mess. Slowly bring them together to equalize the temperatures. This process is called tempering.

Making Ice Cream: Tempering Yolks and Sugar with Cream Mixture

4. Once everything is combined, pour the mixture back into the pot and return to the stovetop. Over medium-high heat, carefully cook the mixture while stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. At first there will be a lot of bubbles on the surface but as it cooks and starts to thicken, these will dissipate.

Beginning to Cook Crème Anglaise to 180ºF (82ºC)

DO NOT BOIL. You need to bring this mixture up to 180ºF (82ºC) but no higher or the egg yolks may coagulate. By cooking the mixture to 180ºF, any bacteria present in the raw yolks will be killed. Bear in mind that the pot holds a lot of heat. You may have to take the pot off the heat periodically so you don't go over 180ºF enabling you to reach that temperature gradually. Aside from using a thermometer, a common way to test if the mixture is cooked enough is to run your finger along the backside of the wooden spoon. If the tracks remain in place, you are finished cooking.

Uncooked	Cooked

5. Strain the mixture into a clean bowl and immediately place it over the ice bath. Stir frequently until the crème anglaise cools to at least 40ºF (4ºC).

Preparing Ice Bath to Cool Ice Cream Base

It is very important to bring the temperature down as fast as possible to ensure food safety.

6. Churning. Cold ice cream bases freeze faster in the machine and result in a very smooth and creamy texture. Trying to churn a semi-cold mixture will produce a grainy and icy-like texture. Ideally, after pre-chilling, cover and let the mixture mature in the fridge overnight before churning. This allows the proteins to absorb more water and prevent ice crystals from forming. It can also help to intensify the flavor.

7. When ready to churn, set up the machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. With the machine on, pour the anglaise into the turning freezer bowl and churn (usually 20-25 minutes). The amount of air incorporated into ice cream is called overrun. Over churning will result in a poor product with too much overrun, which melts faster and weakens the flavor and texture. Under churning will result in a very dense product. During the last few minutes of churning, you can add chopped up bits of chocolate or nuts, if desired.

8. Scoop the mixture quickly and gently out of the machine's freezer bowl and place it immediately into your pre-frozen, empty container. Place the ice cream straight into the freezer to harden. This sets the texture and holds in the air that was just incorporated.

9. When ready to serve, move the ice cream to the refrigerator to soften slightly. Hard and extremely cold ice cream has little flavor. By allowing it to soften a bit, it will be easier to serve and taste much better.

Yield: Approximately 1 quart.

Some Ice Cream Info:

Premium ice creams are made with expensive ingredients (cream, yolks, and natural flavorings).
Less expensive ice creams contain a lot of overrun (up to 100%). While this makes ice cream very fluffy, 50% of the mass is air and the texture is not as smooth.
Lower-quality ice creams are made with stabilizers, additives, powdered milk, and artificial flavorings - blah!
Too much sugar in an ice cream recipe will lower the freezing point and make it syrupy.
Fat absorbs odors in the freezer, therefore, cover the entire surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap and allow the plastic wrap to drape up and over the sides of the container. Cover with lid to seal in freshness.
If you don't want to churn the base into ice cream, use it as a dessert sauce (afterall, this is French Crème Anglaise). Store in the fridge and use within three days.
Never refreeze thawed ice cream. Aside from destroying its texture, this is a very unsafe food practice as melting temperatures are within the Danger Zone.