Homemade Hand-Cranked Vanilla Bean Ice Cream | Suite101.com

Homemade Hand-Cranked Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - Diana Lundin/iStockphoto.com

Savor the very best homemade vanilla bean ice cream you can make yourself with a few basic ingredients and a home ice-cream freezer.

With ice cream available in as many chunky, fudge-swirled and fruit-flavored varieties as there are days of summer, we sometimes forget about the simple, sublime pleasure of a perfect scoop of vanilla ice cream. And, as busy as we are, few of us think about making homemade ice cream. But there really is no better way to control the quality of the ingredients and ensure that you're serving the best ice cream you can make yourself. Once you taste this homemade hand-cranked vanilla bean ice cream, you'll forget about those fancy commercial varieties, at least for a short time.

To freeze the ice cream mixture, you can use any of the mechanical ice-cream freezers available; you don't need to buy an expensive electric model to make homemade vanilla ice cream. While the hand-cranked manual freezers require a little more effort, the result will be just as creamy and delicious. For the best, most flavorful results, use a vanilla bean that is soft and flexible. Cut the bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds from the inside of the vanilla bean with a sharp knife. You'll use both the beans and the scrapings in this recipe. Once finished, store the ice cream in the freezer, in a plastic-lined metal baking pan, such as a loaf pan. The plastic, wrapped over the top of the ice cream, will keep it as fresh as possible.

RECIPE

HOMEMADE HAND-CRANKED VANILLA BEAN ICE CREAM

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat milk, vanilla beans and scrapings. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Cover and remove from heat. Let milk steep for 30 minutes.
2. Prepare an ice-water bath. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine egg yolks and sugar. Beat at medium-high speed until the yolks are very thick and pale yellow, about 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, return the milk to a simmer over medium-low heat.
3. Remove the vanilla bean and scrapings from the milk. With the mixer running on low speed, add half the milk to the egg-yolk mixture and beat until the milk is well incorporated into the egg yolks. Stir beaten egg yolks into the remaining milk in the saucepan. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until the milk mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Remove the milk mixture from the heat and immediately add the heavy cream. Pass the mixture through a sieve into a medium mixing bowl set over the ice-water bath. Add vanilla extract to milk mixture and stir until the mixture is chilled. Transfer mixture to an ice-cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

SOURCES

Donvier ice-cream maker

$42.95 (#0495)

Sur La Table

1765 Sixth Avenue South

Seattle, WA 98134

Copyright Michael Vyskocil. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

Source: http://michael-vyskocil.suite101.com/homemade-hand-cranked-vanilla-bean-ice-cream-a387385

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