Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Ok, I’m gonna be honest, this recipe may be getting a little advanced for those of you with just a humble apartment kitchen. You’ll have to commit to the purchase of a new appliance…an ice cream maker. $40. And years of deliciousness to come.

Now that we’re done with that, on to the good stuff. This VBIC has the smoothest, richest flavor of any ice cream I've had, making it almost more of a perfectly frozen custard than an ice cream. But it is an ice cream. And a great one at that. I wasn’t going to make this last night, but then a friend made me realize that it was a waste to bake a perfectly good apple pie if you weren’t going to serve it a la mode. And who am I to pair my grandmother’s Country Apple Pie with store bought cream of ice? Here’s what you’ll need:

1 ½ Cups Whole Milk
1 ½ Cups Heavy Cream
1 Whole Vanilla Bean (about 6 inches long, found in the spice aisle of grocery store)
2 Large Eggs
3 Large Egg Yolks
¾ Cups Sugar

PUT THE BOWL OF YOUR ICE CREAM MAKER IN THE FREEZER AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE YOU PLAN ON MAKING ICE CREAM!!! The directions on it say this, but sometimes I choose not to read directions. What can I say? I take after my dad. BUT DO IT! Because if you don’t, all you’ll get is slush, and slush is not as good as ice cream, unless of course you intended to make a slushie in the first place, but that’s a different recipe altogether. Anyway…

1. Combine the milk and cream in a medium saucepan. Use a sharp knife to split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Use the blunt edge to scrape out the seeds (more like the gooey innards) of the bean and stir the seeds and bean pod into the milk mixture. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so a film doesn’t solidify on top.

2. Combine the eggs, egg yolks and sugar in a medium bowl. Using a mixer (if you have one) or powerful whisking skills, mix on medium speed until thick, smooth and pale yellow in color, about 2 minutes.

3. Remove the vanilla bean pod from the milk mixture. Pour out one cup of the hot liquid. With the mixer on low speed, add the cup of hot liquid to the egg mixture in a slow and steady stream. When thoroughly combined, pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

4. Transfer the hot custard to a bowl and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap pressed directly onto the custard. Make sure there aren’t any air bubbles under the plastic wrap! Place in fridge and allow custard to chill completely.

5. Assemble ice cream maker and turn on. Pour the chilled custard into the freezer bowl and allow to mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Eat it now, or transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for some late night snackin’!

This Recipe can also be easily halved. Just cut everything in half. Except for the Vanilla Bean. Why lose all that good flavor??