French Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
4 cups half-and-half
2 cups granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean split lengthwise
6 egg yolks
Directions
Set a fine strainer over a medium bowl.
Put about 2 inches of ice in a larger bowl, add enough water to cover the cubes, set bowl with the strainer into the ice bath.
Combine the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the sugar and the vanilla bean in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
Whisk the egg yolks together with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale yellow.
Gradually whisk about 1 1/2 cups of the hot half-and-half mixture
into the beaten yolks.
Transfer the yolk mixture back into the saucepan and continue to cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Take care not to overheat the mixture or it will curdle.
Immediately strain the custard through the prepared sieve into a bowl (sitting in the ice bath).
Immediately refrigerate the custard and stir every few minutes until it is quite cool.
Remove the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds with a spoon, adding the seeds to the custard.
Cover the custard and let it chill in the refrigerator for at
least 4 hours or overnight.
Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Pack the ice cream in plastic containers and freeze for several
hours before serving.
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