Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

My baby, who isn’t a baby anymore but a rambunctious toddler, turns 3 today.

When did this even happen? My son has gone from a clueless drooling baby to a curious and active toddler. Sometimes I catch myself wondering where the time has gone, but then I remember that it’s been spent trying to pottytrain, scrubbing stray crayon marks off of the walls, vacuuming up abandoned Cheerios, cuddling, talking and obsessing over fire trucks, taking trips to the park, going for evening walks, and so much more. And I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂

Last weekend we celebrated Zuni’s birthday by inviting a few friends over. We ordered the main meal from a local restaurant, and I was responsible for dessert.   I wanted to make a spread that was representative of my son’s favorite foods, so I decided to make cupcakes (as opposed to a traditional cake) and an ice cream bar. The cupcakes (recipe coming soon!) were vanilla based, with half of them frosted with chocolate buttercream and the other half frosted with whipped vanilla buttercream. The ice cream bar consisted of vanilla bean ice cream (recipe courtesy of my new favorite cookbook, The Perfect Scoop), milk chocolate ice cream (recipe coming soon!), magic shell (recipe coming soon!), vanilla bean caramel sauce (recipe coming soon!), and all sorts of toppings. The cupcakes and ice cream bar were a huge hit, and I can’t wait to recreate it!

 

 

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Yield: 1 Quart

Ingredients:

• 6 egg yolks
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Set aside a large ice bath and strainer for later use.

Lightly whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl and set aside.

Pour 1 cup of the heavy whipping cream in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine remaining 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, whole milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is warm and steaming. Scrape the seeds of the vanilla bean into the milk mixture, and add the bean as well. Cover, remove from heat, and allow to steep for 30 minutes.

Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks (tempering), while whisking constantly. Add warmed yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spatula (check for doneness by running your finger across the coated spatula. If your finger leaves a trail that doesn’t flow back together, the custard is done). Pour the custard through the strainer into the large bowl of cream. Add vanilla and put the vanilla bean into the custard, stir, and set the bowl over the ice bath and cool completely.

Once the custard has cooled, transfer to the refrigerator and chill for several hours. Remove vanilla bean and freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions.