French-Style Vanilla Custard Ice Cream
A rich custard of cream, milk and egg yolks, gently cooked, chilled overnight and churned into smooth, scoopable vanilla ice cream.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Warm the dairy. Put the cream, milk, half the sugar, the salt and the vanilla in the saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until steaming and the sugar has dissolved, about 5 min.
- 2
Whisk the yolks. In the heatproof bowl whisk the yolks with the remaining sugar until pale and slightly thickened.
- 3
Temper. Whisking all the time, pour a ladle of the hot cream into the yolks, then a second ladle. Pour the warmed yolks back into the pan. Adding heat gradually stops the yolks from scrambling.
- 4
Cook the custard. Stir constantly over low heat, scraping the base and corners with the spatula, for 5-8 min until the custard coats the spatula and a line drawn through it holds. It should read 77-80 °C. Never let it boil.
- 5
Chill. Strain the custard into a clean bowl and set it in the iced water, stirring until cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 h, ideally overnight; a really cold base churns smoother.
- 6
Churn. Churn in the ice-cream maker for 20-30 min until it is thick and holds its shape like soft serve.
- 7
Freeze. Scrape into the container, press baking paper onto the surface and freeze for at least 4 h until firm enough to scoop. Let it soften for 5-10 min before serving.
Storage
Keep frozen in a covered container for up to 2 weeks; after that it slowly picks up ice crystals.
Equipment
- ice-cream maker
- medium heavy saucepan
- heatproof bowl
- whisk
- silicone spatula
- probe thermometer
- fine sieve
- large bowl of iced water
- freezer container with lid
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 334 kcal |
| Protein | 4.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 20.7 g |
| of which sugars | 20.4 g |
| of which free sugars | 17 g |
| Fat | 26.2 g |
| of which saturates | 15.7 g |
| Fibre | 0 g |
| Salt | 0.18 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.4 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
