Saturday, April 02, 2005

We all scream for ice cream

Ah yes, vanilla bean ice cream. Simple. Classic.
This is the very same recipe from class this week. The trick to this recipe is to use the best quality cream you can find. Yes, price is indicative of quality in this case!
This is outrageously creamy, certainly wonderful if you like that sort of thing. Top with your favorite chocolate sauce and whipped cream if you're looking to take it even further over the top.


Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
2 vanilla beans, split
3 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
In a heavy saucepan, combine vanilla, cream and milk. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes.
Whisk together sugar and egg yolks in a medium bowl. Temper the egg yolks with a little bit of hot cream. Gradually whisk all the cream into the eggs. Return all to saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. You will just start to see steam coming off the custard.
Strain custard into a bowl. Scrape vanilla beans into the custard and stir to combine. Cool mixture over an ice bath or in the fridge until completely cool.
Freeze as directed by your ice cream maker.

And eat something healthy for dinner when you're having this for dessert.