Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

When I was a kid, we visited my mom's parents quite frequently, especially during the summer. They lived in central Texas which gets mighty toasty come summertime, but we still spent most evenings outside, walking around their ranch, sitting by the pond, or swinging on porch swings. Sometimes, we'd pull out the ice cream maker and whip up a batch and eating it immediately after the machine stopped, even though it was a bit slushy. Homemade vanilla ice cream eaten outside on a hot summer night; it's cliched, but it's my childhood. Years later, once we stopped visiting so much, we bought my dad an ice cream maker, but we never used it as much...

Until now. Since moving in with Dad, I've remembered the machine on and off. You know how you always remember something when you can't do anything about it, only to soon forget? That was me. Finally, I spotted the thing in the garage and asked my dad to bring it inside. Can't forget when it's right in front of you, right? Right. That very evening, I made up a batch of Nigella Lawson's egg-custard ice cream.


It was glorious. Rich, creamy texture, sweet and light vanilla taste. Definitely a keeper of a recipe. Plus, this ice cream will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first time I used a vanilla bean. Score! Look at those lovely vanilla bean flecks!


Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
(Nigella Lawson, Forever Summer, egg-custard ice cream, pg 224)

• 2 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6 egg yolks
• 7 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp heavy cream

Pour the milk into a sauce. Cut the vanilla bean all down it's length and, using the tip of the knife, scrape out the seeds into the milk in the pan. Add the rest of the bean and bring the milk almost to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and leave it to steep for 20 minutes.

Whisk the yolks and sugar together. Remove the bean from the milk and pour the milk into the egg mixture, whisking as you. Wash out the milk pan and pour the custard mixture back into the pan.

Fill your sink half full with cold water. This is in case the custard looks like it might split. If so, plunge the your pan into the water and whisk like the devil until it's gone back to normal.

Over medium heat and stirring constantly, cook the custard for approximately 10 minutes, until it thickens. It should be smooth and velvety, thus the constant stirring. If at any time it appears to split (it might start to look grainy), do what I mentioned above. You'll be fine. (It happened to me.) Once the custard has thickened, transfer it to a bowl and let it sit in the cold water in the sink to cool. Stir every so often. Chill in the refrigerator.

Right before you're ready to freeze the ice cream in the ice cream machine, whip the cream until it is thick (but not stiff) and fold it into the custard. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Now, Nigella states that the recipe serves 6-8. BAH to that I say. I'd estimate we got 12 scoops of ice cream from this, so next time I will definitely double the recipe.

I've got a few ice cream ideas formulating, so keep an eye out for those.