Making ice cream at home is certainly a treat, right? There are many ways to make it at home, but after testing several methods, I've finally landed on this recipe for Homemade Vanilla Custard Ice Cream and have claimed it as our "house ice cream". Read on for a little childhood flashback, why I like a custard base, reasons to make ice cream at home, and a look at my ice cream maker. And of course, the recipe is at the end.
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Why vanilla custard?
Flavor and texture are the reasons, plain and simple. I love the richness of flavor that a custard gives and the texture is very similar to a store bought ice cream once it spends a little time in the freezer.
Do you know what a custard ice cream is? I'm just sitting here assuming that you do! A custard ice cream starts as a cooked pudding of sorts, is left to cool, then is frozen.
Reasons to make homemade vanilla custard ice cream:
Ice cream is one of the most convenient foods to buy so there aren't so many people who make it at home. But it really is worth the effort for the following reasons:
- simple ingredients - literally 5 ingredients!
- no preservatives - they aren't needed!
- make your favorite flavors - you can add chocolate, fruits, herbs ... endless possibilities!
- It tastes AMAZING!
The method is to dissolve the sugar in the whole milk and cream, then heat it gently. Use the heated milk mixture to temper the eggs (that means to just warm them up a little before fully incorporating them). Then you let it thicken a bit before chilling it completely in the fridge.
I like to make the custard the day before I freeze the ice cream because I want to be sure that it is very cold.
What kind of ice cream maker to use
Of course, you can use the old fashioned crank kind with lots of extra ice and rock salt! But most of us prefer an electric version these days, I think. I have the ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. I keep the ice cream bowl in the freezer so it's always ready when I want to make ice cream. If you don't have room in your freezer to do that, be sure to pop it in when you put the custard in to chill the day before. I think the bowls need at least 15-20 hours to chill well.
Serve with fruit, cookies, chocolate, cake, pie ... Or just scoop it up straight!
Other recipes you might like:
Recipe
Homemade Vanilla Custard Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- ¾ cup sugar
- pinch salt
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare an ice bath by putting ice and cold water in a bowl large enough to hold another bowl inside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks.
- Combine the milk, cream, sugar, and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar and heat over medium heat. Do not boil.
- Pour a little of the warmed milk mixture into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return the egg yolks to the saucepan.
- Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If you're unsure about when it is ready, you can check the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It should read about 170°F.
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the custard into a bowl and put the bowl immediately into the ice bath. Stir the custard until it cools.
- Refrigerate thoroughly, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker following the manufacturer's instructions.
- When finished, cover and freeze until firm.
Susan
I guess I need to go see what other types of attachments come with a KitchenAid Mixer! I never knew you could get an ice cream attachment! I now have it on Amazon "wishlist" 🙂
Tammy Circeo
It's so very convenient! I also have the meat grinder, peeler/corer/spiralizer, and the pasta attachment.