Page loading ... Please wait.
Baking & Dessert Recipes & Pictures

breakfast & brunch bars & squares biscotti recipes shortbread recipes comfort foods healthy baking
about us
thanksgiving baking
substitutions
ingredients
glossary
conversions
christmas baking
christmas cookies
christmas candy
english tea party
quick breads
chocolate recipes
pumpkin recipes
apple recipes
cranberry recipes
blueberry recipes
lemon recipes
strawberry recipes
trifle recipes
ice cream recipes
pudding recipes
easter baking
valentine's baking
halloween baking
baking history
bibliography

Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Printer Friendly Page

Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

The United States is the world's largest consumer of ice cream. Of all the flavors, vanilla ice cream is still the most popular. This vanilla ice cream recipe is made from a custard base which gives it a rich flavor and smooth and creamy texture. 

The four main ingredients in a custard are cream, sugar, eggs, and flavoring. It is important to get the right mix of these ingredients so the ice cream will have that smooth texture and rich flavor we so desire. The amount of cream used and its butterfat content gives ice cream its rich and creamy taste. 

However, too much fat can cause a heavy product and smalls lumps of "butter" can form which produces that grainy texture which is often found in homemade ice creams. Sugar gives the ice cream its smoothness but too much sugar will prevent the ice cream from freezing. Eggs are  necessary for smoothness and also gives the ice cream its nice color. Making the custard the night before so it has time to chill sufficiently allows the ice cream to freeze before the churn gets too warm and gives the ice cream its smooth texture. 

The custard should only fill your ice cream machine about half to two thirds full. This is so the custard has enough room to expand while it freezes so you end up with an ice cream with a light texture and no graininess. As the ice cream is still quite soft once it has been churned in the machine, transfer it to a storage container and place it in the freezer for a few hours before serving. This also allows the flavors to mellow. Although I prefer to eat homemade ice cream the day it is made, it can be stored for a few weeks in the freezer. It will become quite hard after being frozen for any length of time so transfer it to the refrigerator to soften for about 30 minutes before serving.

As this recipe only uses egg yolks, there is always the question of what to do with the leftover egg whites. Meringues (Meringue Cookies, Meringue Hearts, Meringue Mushrooms, Pavlova) are always a good way to use egg whites as is the Chocolate Angel Food Cake.

 
Vanilla Ice Cream: In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half and the vanilla bean (if using) to the scalding point (the milk begins to foam up). Remove from heat, take out the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds from the bean with the back of a knife, and mix the seeds back into the half-and-half.

Meanwhile in a stainless steel bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy (about two minutes). You can do this with a wire whisk or I like to use a hand mixer. Gradually pour the scalding half-and-half into the whipped egg yolk mixture, making sure you keep whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. If any lumps do form, strain the mixture first before heating.

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the custard thickens enough that it coats the back of a spoon (170 degrees F) (77 degrees C). The term 'coat a spoon' is a technique used mainly as a way to test when an egg-based custard or sauce is done. A spoon, usually wooden, is placed in the custard and, when the spoon is raised, the film of custard on the back of the spoon will stay in place even when you draw a line with your finger through the middle of the custard. 

Immediately remove the custard from the heat and continue to stir the custard for a few minutes so it does not overcook. At this point stir in the vanilla extract, if using. Cover and let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate the custard until it is completely cold (several hours but preferably overnight). 

Transfer the cold custard to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer the ice cream to a chilled container and store in the freezer. If the ice cream becomes too hard place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving so it can soften.

Makes about 3 cups.

Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe:

2 cups (480 ml) half-and-half

5 large egg yolks

2/3 cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Note:  Half and Half cream is a mixture of cream and whole milk and contains 10 - 12% butterfat.

 

 

 

Sources

Andrews, Tamra, Nectar and Ambrosia: An Encyclopedia of Food in World Mythology. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2000.

Dickson, Paul. The Great American Ice Cream Book. New York: Galahad Books, 1972.

Friberg, Bo.  The Professional Pastry Chef (Third Edition). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996.

Liddell, Caroline and Weir, Robin. Frozen Desserts. New York: St. Martin's Griffin: 1995.

Visser, Margaret. Much Depends on Dinner. New York: Grove Press, 1986.

 

 
   

Join Our New & Featured Recipes Email List

New Recipes

 

   
 

 

 

Top 40 Recipes of the Last Year*

*Top 40 Recipes based on actual site traffic from October 1, 2008  to September 30, 2009.

 

Contact Us   Privacy Policy Follow Joyofbaking On Twitter

Arabic Mandarin Dutch French German Hindi Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Portuguese Russian Spanish Greek Swedish Finnish

Use of materials on Joyofbaking.com is entirely at the risk of the user and Joyofbaking.com, Stephanie Jaworski or Rick Jaworski will not be responsible for any damages directly or indirectly resulting from the use.

This website and the contents are not endorsed or sponsored by the owner of the "Joy of Cooking" series of books or its publisher Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Content in any form may not be copied or used without written permission of Stephanie Jaworski, Joyofbaking.com.  Students and non profit educators may use content without permission with proper credit. 

A baking resource on the Internet since 1997

Copyright  1997 to 2009 Stephanie & Rick Jaworski