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Vanilla-Bean Ice Cream

4.2

(19)

Carl Taplin of Gott's Island, Maine, writes: "Every summer, I look forward to homemade vanilla ice cream. Do you have a favorite recipe for it?"

Cooks' notes:

·To cool custard quickly after straining, set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stir until chilled. ·Custard can be chilled up to 24 hours.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    4 hours

  • Yield

    Makes about 1 1/2 quart

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
2 large eggs

Special Equipment

an instant-read thermometer

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla beans with tip of a knife into cream mixture, then drop in pods. Heat cream mixture just to a boil.

    Step 2

    Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour mixture into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and registers 170°F on thermometer (do not let boil).

    Step 3

    Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean metal bowl, then cool, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

    Step 4

    Freeze custard in an ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer.

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