HOW TO MAKE ICE CREAM
Knowing how to make a basic vanilla ice cream will
serve you well in life. This is what makes a slice of
birthday cake, a wedge of Thanksgiving pie, or even a
simple banana split on a hot summer night feel extra
special and extra memorable. Plus, once you master
this recipe, you’re well on your way to inventing your
own flavors and making the ice cream of your
dreams.
Vanilla ice cream with an egg custard base isn’t
particularly hard, but it can feel that way the first
time you make it. Here’s a straightforward guide
through all the tricky steps so you know exactly what
to do and what to expect along the way.
Making Ice Cream with an Egg Custard Base
This ice cream is a classic, if not the classic. It uses
egg yolks to both thicken the milky ice cream base
and give the finished ice cream a richer taste and
creamier mouthfeel.
The more egg yolks you use, the richer and creamier
your ice cream — use fewer yolks and your ice cream
will taste lighter and more milky, but will also be a
bit less smooth. Personally, I like a ratio of four yolks
to three cups of dairy. I think this makes a solidly
decadent ice cream without making it taste overly
eggy.
Watch Out for Curdled Eggs
Using eggs to make ice cream, while delicious, does
requires some caution. When heating the eggs along
with the milk and sugar to make the base, it’s easy
for your attention to wander, resulting in little
curdles of cooked egg in your ice cream.
But never fear! There are a few built-in safeties to
prevent this from happening:
Temper the eggs: After warming the milk on its
own, whisk just a small scoop of the hot milk into
the eggs and sugar. This warms the eggs just a bit,
making them less likely to curdle when you stir
them into the pot with the rest of the milk and then
start cooking everything over direct heat.
Heat the base slow and low: Once you start cooking
the ice cream base — the mix of milk, eggs, and
sugar — on the stove, keep the heat low and heat
everything slowly. Keep stirring, scraping the
bottom and sides of the pot, so the mixture cooks
evenly and the bottom doesn’t scorch. It’s tempting
to turn up the heat to make this step go faster, but
try to resist! Keep slowly cooking the base until it’s
thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon.
Strain the finished custard: As a final fail-safe, just
in case your eggs did start to curdle a little, strain
the base before churning the ice cream. Any
accidental bits of curdled egg will get caught in the
strainer — not in your ice cream.
This is all to say, don’t let the fear of curdled eggs
keep you from making this ice cream. Keep your wits
about you and an eye on the pot, and you’ll be fine.
Churn, Then Freeze
The finished ice cream is a two part process: First you
churn the ice cream base in an ice cream maker until
it’s roughly the consistency of soft-serve, then you
freeze it until hard. Of course, if you want soft serve,
then you can eat it right away! But most of the time,
you’ll want to transfer the just-churned ice cream to
a freezer container and freeze it at least four hours or
overnight (which is even better) before serving.
Why Churn the Ice Cream at All?
Churning begins the freezing process, breaking up
ice crystals as they form and incorporating some air
into the thickening ice cream. If you freeze the ice
cream without churning, it will freeze into a solid, icy
brick — not very conducive to scooping out perfect
ice cream balls for your sundae.
Don’t Forget to Freeze the Ice Cream Bowl
If your ice cream maker has a bowl that needs to be
frozen before churning, be sure to stash it in the
freezer at least 24 hours before you plan to make
your ice cream. If that bowl is less than ice cold, the
ice cream won’t churn properly and will harden into a
solid brick in the freezer instead of a scoopable
frozen treat.
Making Other Ice Cream Flavors
Once you have this basic method down, it’s easy to
branch out into other flavors. The best place to start
is by infusing the milk with things like fresh herbs
(mint!), spices (cinnamon!), coffee beans, and cacao
nibs. Add any of these along with the vanilla, and by
the time you strain the base before churning, the ice
cream will be infused with their flavor.
You can also add mix-ins — like chocolate chips,
chopped fruit, or toffee bits — in the last few minutes
of churning, or layer them into the ice cream when
you transfer it to the freezer container.
Have you made any ice cream lately?
To make vanilla ice cream, you’ll need: 4 large egg
yolks, 2/3 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1 vanilla
bean (split and scraped of seeds), or 1 teaspoon
vanilla extract, and 1 1/2 cups heavy cream — If your
ice cream machine has a bowl that needs to be
frozen before churning, put it in the freezer the night
before you plan to make ice cream. (If you forget, you
can make the base and refrigerate it overnight while
the bowl is freezing, and churn the ice cream the
next day.)