So I decided I would share my particular ice cream recipe with you.There are a lot of basic ice cream recipes out there but most are pretty much the same. Many of them use sweetened condensed milk and other things that I am currently trying to avoid. Others use a combination of milk and heavy cream which is pretty much my recipe...sort of. Actually I prefer my ice cream to be thick and rich so mine is basically a variation on my creme brulee recipe which can be found here ( viewtopic.php?f=57&t=63525 )
Ingredients are
1 Qt heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
12 egg yolks
1 Tsp (or more to taste) vanilla extract.
1 vanilla bean (optional) I seldom use the vanilla bean myself but when I have one I will.
Note: If you want something lighter you can substitute up to a pint of milk for the heavy cream and use as little as 8 egg yolks.
I begin by scalding the cream by heating it to boiling in a pan. When you do this you need to be one with the cream, pay attention to only the cream and watch for it to begin to boil because you have about half a second between the cream starting to boil and it climbing out of the pan and all over the stove top. If you are using the vanilla bean you cut it in half, scrape the seeds out and put them and the pod in the cream before boiling. As soon as the cram begins to boil take it off the heat, cover it and let it rest for 15 minutes.
While waiting for the cream to rest separate 12 eggs. This doesn't mean placing them in different parts of the room
It means getting the whites and yolks in separate containers. You will only be using the yolks for the ice cream, I like to make meringue cookies with the whites, but that's another recipe but it's very simple, healthy and yummy Once you have the yolks separated place them in a mixer with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. When the cream has rested 15 minutes, if you used a vanilla bean strain the cream, if you didn't use the vanilla bean there is no need to strain. Start the mixer at a medium setting and begin slowly dribbling in the cream. You have to go slow or it will make scramble eggs. Once about half the cream has been incorporated you can speed up adding the rest. Unlike with the creme brulee you don't have to worry about the foaming while mixing.
at the end of the mixing add the vanilla extract.
Now place the mixture in a double boiler and heat it up, stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches 170f and can coat the back of a spoon.
Cool mixture for a couple hours or longer then it is ready to go in an ice cream maker. Follow the directions on the ice cream maker to freeze it.
When the ice cream is frozen but still soft I like to mix things into it. My favorite is home made soft blackberry jelly that's more like thick syrup and Cashews. This is sort of a knockoff of Baskin Robins' Baseball Nut. I also like adding various nuts and fruit and chocolate. You can alter the recipe by adding pretty much any flavors you want, like chocolate and it works well. I even reduced the amount of vanilla and added chopped up bacon for some awesome bacon and egg ice cream, add some toffee or praline for a bit of crunch or candy the bacon and you really have something special
