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Old-Fashioned Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Old-fashioned homemade vanilla ice cream made with a classic vanilla custard base and a smooth, churned texture. Dense, creamy scoops with visible vanilla bean specks come from steeping the vanilla bean in hot cream and cooking the custard to 175°F.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 390
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Vanilla ice cream base
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract) Use either a split vanilla bean or pure vanilla extract.
  • 0.25 tsp salt

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 fine mesh sieve
  • 1 ice cream maker

Method
 

Infuse the cream
  1. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds; add the pod and seeds to the heavy cream and milk in a saucepan.
  2. Heat the cream mixture over medium heat until steaming and just beginning to simmer; remove from heat and let steep 15 minutes, then remove the pod.
Make the vanilla custard
  1. Whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar together until pale and thick.
  2. Slowly pour the warm cream into the yolks while whisking constantly.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens to coat the back of a spoon (175F).
  4. Strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve, stir in the salt, and cool over an ice bath.
Chill, churn, and freeze
  1. Refrigerate the custard at least 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Churn the chilled custard in an ice cream maker, then freeze until firm.

Notes

Pro tip: when heating and cooking the custard, keep the heat gentle so the yolks thicken without curdling—look for a clear coating on the back of a spoon at 175°F. Store in the refrigerator up to 1 week in a sealed container; for best texture, keep covered and minimize air exposure. Freezing is required after churning; it will hold in the freezer about 2 months. For a dairy-light swap, replace whole milk with evaporated skim milk, and reduce heavy cream to 1 1/2 cups for a slightly lighter custard.