Never made homemade ice cream before? It’s ridiculously easy, and sooo much better than store-bought (if you need a little encouragement, read this post).
Start by using this basic recipe to make a great homemade vanilla. Then branch out and use the recipe to make mint ice cream, Chai Tea Ice Cream (pictured), basil ice cream, cinnamon, lavender, you name it. (See below for how to make a few of the near-endless possible variations.)
Don’t have an ice cream maker? See the note at the end of the recipe.
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 2/3 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, or other flavor infusion (see below)
- 8 large egg yolks
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, or more to taste
In a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk and cream and heat until the mixture is just beginning to bubble at the edges. Remove from heat, add the vanilla or other flavor infusion, cover, and let steep for 30 minutes.
In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar until smooth. Whisk a small amount of the warm milk mixture into the egg mixture, then pour the whole egg mixture into the milk mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring and scraping the sides and bottom of the saucepan constantly, until the ice cream base coats the back of a spoon, about 170°F. (How long this takes will depend on how hot your milk got in the previous step, how much it cooled while steeping, and the size of your saucepan.) Immediately strain the mixture through a medium mesh strainer into a large bowl. Stir in the salt and thoroughly chill.
When the custard is completely cool, taste and add more salt if you like. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's manufacturer's instructions.
Note: If you don’t have an ice cream maker, pour the custard into a shallow baking pan and freeze, stirring and breaking the mixture up with a fork every hour for 3 to 4 hours. Once solid, set the mixture aside at room temperature for about 10 minutes, then break it up and add it to a food processor. Pulse until smooth, then transfer to a container and refreeze.
FLAVOR INFUSION IDEAS
1/2 to 3/4 cup herb leaves, pureed in a food processor with about 2 tablespoons of sugar—basil, mint, rosemary, lemon verbena, etc
6 to 8 bags of your favorite tea—I used 8 tags of decaf chai here
Spices—2 to 3 sticks cinnamon, 6 to 8 star anise, 4 to 6 inches chopped fresh ginger, 3 to 4 dried chiles
3 to 4 sprigs lavender
Citrus zest
