French Vanilla Ice Cream

If you like your ice cream extra creamy, with a double dose of vanilla, then this French Vanilla Ice Cream is for you!  It’s a custard base ice cream that’s churned in a machine, so the hard work is done for you!  And the results are an ice cream lover’s dream.

Prep time:   30 mins      Cook time: 10 mins       Chill time: 14 hours

I love a deliciously rich vanilla ice cream, so this ice cream recipe is just what I need.  The custard base is made with egg yolks, which leaves you with plenty of egg whites to make my Giant Meringue Cookies  The mixture is left overnight, giving it plenty of time to absorb that gorgeous vanilla flavour, then churned in your ice cream machine the next day.  Eat it straight away as a soft-serve, or pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours for the creamiest, most divine French Vanilla Ice Cream.

Custard based ice cream

Custard based ice creams are French style ice creams, made with egg yolks.  This makes my French Vanilla Ice Cream extra smooth and rich.  You make the custard in a saucepan by heating the cream and milk and then tempering the egg yolks with the hot mixture.  The whole thing is then cooked until thickened, then strained into a bowl.  The mixture needs to be quickly brought back to room temperature by placing the bowl into an ice bath.  It is then refrigerated overnight, to really infuse the vanilla flavour and then churned in an ice cream machine.

8 Simple steps to making French Vanilla Ice Cream

It may seem like it’s a lot more effort, but making your own custard based ice cream is so easy (and sooo rewarding!).  Let’s break it down into these 8 simple steps:

1. Heat milk, cream and vanilla bean in saucepan
2. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy
3. Temper the eggs by slowly adding the hot milk mixture
4. Heat the custard until thickened
5. Strain mixture into a bowl and add vanilla extract
6. Stop the mixture from cooking by placing the bowl into an ice bath and whisking until cooled
7. Refrigerate overnight
8. Churn in your ice cream machine

My tips on making perfect ice cream

• Make sure you freeze your ice cream canister for 24 hours before use
• Use both vanilla bean and vanilla extract for a deeper vanilla flavour
• Have your ice bath ready before you start – half fill a large bowl or sink with ice, then add a little bit of water just before placing the bowl containing your ice cream mixture into it
• Keep it sealed in an airtight container.  I love these specialty ice cream containers and have a few ready to go.
• Unlike commercial ice creams, homemade ice cream has less air whipped into it and sets harder than store-bought ice cream.  For this reason, bring it out of the freezer 10-15 minutes before scooping.

How long will homemade ice cream last?

If stored correctly in an airtight container, homemade ice cream should last for a couple of months.  I’ve had great success storing my homemade chocolate covered ice creams for several months (we obviously forgot they were there!)

I just know you’re going to love this French Vanilla Ice Cream.  Enjoy it on it’s own, smother it with my homemade Salted Caramel or scoop it onto hot Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding.  And don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram or by leaving a comment or rating on the recipe below.

French Vanilla Ice Cream

If you like your ice cream extra creamy, with a double dose of vanilla, then this French Vanilla Ice Cream is for you! 

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Chilling 14 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Australian, French

Servings 1 litre

Equipment

• 1 Ice cream machine -I use either my Cuisinart or an attachment for my KitchenAid mixer

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 1½ cups Full fat milk
• 1½ cups Cream
• 5 Egg yolks save the egg whites to make meringues
• 150 g Sugar
• 1 Vanilla bean split and scraped
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Prepare your ice cream machine the day before, by freezing your bowl/canister for 24 hours
• Prepare a large bowl (or sink) with ice. We will use this to stop the custard from cooking, by quickly reducing the temperature of the ice cream mixture.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk, cream and vanilla bean. Stir occasionally, until it just comes to a boil, then remove from heat
• Meanwhile, use a balloon whisk to whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy
• Tempering the eggs: continue whisking the egg and sugar, while slowly adding ⅓ of the hot milk mixture. Whisk until fully combined, then slowly add another ⅓
• Pour the mixture back into the saucepan containing the last ⅓ of milk mixture (wipe out the bowl to use later)
• With the saucepan over low heat, use a spatula to stir the mixture constantly until thickened. It should be thick enough to coat the back of your spatula
• Place a fine mesh sieve over your cleaned bowl, then pour the mixture into the sieve, scraping the mixture through. Discard the vanilla bean
• Stir through the vanilla extract
• Place the bowl into your ice bath, being careful not to let any ice into the mixture. You can add a little water to the ice bath if needed
• Whisk the ice cream until the mixture has cooled to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, churn the ice cream in your machine, according to manufacturer's instructions. Mine takes about 20 minutes to thicken
• Eat as a soft serve straight away, or freeze for 2 hours

Notes

• ice cream canister must be frozen 24 hours before making ice cream
• prepare your ice bath before starting your custard
• make sure you store your ice cream in a sealed container 
• homemade ice cream will last 2-3 months in the freezer
• take your ice cream out of the freezer 10-15 minutes before serving

Keyword custard base ice cream, French ice cream, homemade icecream, vanilla ice cream

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