I have been married to a wonderful Christian man since 1976. The Lord has blessed us with two daughters and two sons. I consider each day the Lord gives me on the earth yet another chance to serve Him.

Friday, June 10, 2011

French Vanilla Ice Cream

Often homemade ice cream gets a little icy and not this one.  It's so creamy and so good.  French Vanilla ice cream is a little more complicated and more expensive than Vanilla, but it also tastes so much better.



FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM
(makes 1 1/2 quarts)

Ingredients:
*8 large egg yolks
*1/4 cup white sugar
*2 1/2 cups heavy cream
*1 cup whole milk
*1/4 cup white sugar
*2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise
*3/4 cup white sugar
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/2 cup whole milk

Directions:
~In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks & 1/4 cup sugar together, until sooth & creamy.
~ Put cream, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar & salt into a medium sauce pan, cooking over medium heat.
~Scape vanilla seeds from beans with a tip of a small knife into milk mixture.
~Heat milk mixture until just before it starts to simmer.
~Remove from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.
~Prepared an ice water bath in a bowl large enough to set another bowl easily inside of it.
~Whisk in 1 cup of the cream mixture in a slow stream into the yolk mixture (this tempers it).
~Add another cup of the cream mixture, and continue to whisk.
~Transfer the egg yolk mixture back to the saucepan.
~Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until it's thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon (you can run your finger in through the mixture over the back of the coated spoon and if the mixture stays in place and does run, it should be thick enough, about 160 degrees).
~Remove from heat and mix in remaining 1/2 cup milk to stop from over cooking.
~Pour mixture through mesh sieve into a stainless steel bowl set in the ice-water bath.
~Once cooled down some, cover mixture with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator (about 2-3 hours)
~Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (Do not over churn)
~Freeze for a least 4-8 hours (depending on hard you want your ice cream) in an airtight plastic container.

Variation:
`substitute vanilla beans for 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, added after you remove from heat.

Helpful Hint:
`Place plastic wrap directly over ice cream before covering and placing in freezer.  This will help to prevent freezer burn.

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