Go Back

Old-Fashioned Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Old-fashioned homemade vanilla ice cream made as a silky vanilla custard: steeped vanilla, then cooked to 175°F and strained for a dense, creamy churned texture. Pale golden scoops with visible vanilla bean specks deliver rich, eggy, deeply fragrant flavor in every bite.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 440
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Heavy cream
  • 2 cup heavy cream Use for the custard base.
Whole milk
  • 1 cup whole milk Combined with cream before steeping the vanilla.
Granulated sugar
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar Helps thicken the custard when cooked.
Egg yolks
  • 5 egg yolks Whisk with sugar until pale and thick.
Vanilla bean
  • 1 vanilla bean Split and scrape seeds; substitute with pure vanilla extract if needed.
Pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract Only if skipping the vanilla bean.
Salt
  • 0.25 tsp salt Stir into the cooled custard to balance sweetness.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Infuse the dairy
  1. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds, then add the pod and seeds to a saucepan with the heavy cream and whole milk.
  2. Heat over medium heat until steaming and just beginning to simmer, then remove from the heat and let steep for 15 minutes before removing the vanilla pod.
Make the custard
  1. Whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar together until pale and thick.
  2. Slowly pour the warm cream mixture into the yolks while whisking constantly to temper.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon at 175°F.
Chill and churn
  1. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve, stir in the salt, and cool over an ice bath.
  2. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight), then churn in an ice cream maker and freeze until firm.

Notes

Pro tip: for the smoothest custard, keep the heat at medium-low once the yolks are added and stir continuously until it reaches 175°F. Refrigerate the finished base up to 2 days before churning; churned ice cream is best within 2 weeks (freeze yes, fridge no). Dietary swap: use a dairy-free cream and milk designed for custard (not coffee creamer) and use cornstarch-thickened custard separately, since egg yolks are essential to this eggy custard texture.