It’s mid-July already. Can you believe it? Another dripping, sweat-filled, and swimming pool-less summer is flying by.
(For me at least.)
I have, yet again, been holding out on you, tight-fisted with my vanilla ice cream recipe.
Now, I’m not the kind of lady who thinks recipes ought to be kept a secret and a memory on the taste buds should follow one to the grave. Nor do I wing it and share only a method with you, alluding to the goodness that could be yours and assuming if you were worth your salt in the kitchen, you’d be intuitive enough to figure it out.
No, that’s not me. But life has a way of getting in the way and, though I fell a bed and a half short in my weeding today, I hoed down the rows today determined to squander the cool of the evening and sit down and finally share the recipe no matter what.
Why is this ice cream recipe such a big deal?
Well, first of all, it’s ice cream. That, in and of itself, is glorious.
But after countless recipes and trials, this is the vanilla ice cream recipe that checked all my boxes.
» I wanted a raw custard for our farm-fresh eggs & cream. Yes, indeedy, a no-cook custard meant I was able to indulge in ice cream with the justification of it being (nearly) a healthy food and loaded with protein.
» I wanted a recipe that was so easy my kids could make it. Whip it up in the mixer and freeze. Simple as.
» I wanted a recipe that would put the creamy in ice cream. It’s peak controversial, I know, but I’m sorry, icy ice cream tastes watered down and flat. Creamy ice cream all.the.way!!
» I wanted a recipe that would STAY creamy, even after a day or two in the freezer. (As if it would last that long.)
Ice in the ice cream not only changes the texture but (literally) waters down the flavor. Chilling the custard before churning the ice cream means it spends less time freezing in the machine all the while incorporating air where ice will form. Also, don’t focus so much on the time the ice cream is in the machine. The final temperature is more important so be sure to only churn the ice cream until it reaches 21F to minimize the amount of time it takes to finish freezing in the freezer. All these modifications to the method result in smooth & creamy ice cream.
» Last, but certainly not least, it had to taste amazing! Which is admittedly subjective but this ice cream snob is satisfied.
Raw Eggs in Ice Cream?
Now, before I share the recipe I do want to leave you with the caveat that store eggs are not created equal to farm-fresh ones. My eggs were harvested in the last couple of days and were never washed, certainly never doused in a chemical bath to wash off the protective bloom and open the pores to let bacteria in. So I feel confident in serving uncooked eggs to my family but would never try this method with purchased eggs.
If washed eggs are your only source, I suggest whisking in the eggs at the same point in the recipe then heat the mixture over the double boiler until it reaches 160F. (According to eggsafety.org) Starting from a cooler temperature and warming the eggs up with the mixture should help you avoid tempering and potentially cooking bits of egg you have to strain out later. I haven’t tested it with this recipe but it works perfectly for my temper-free homemade chocolate pudding.
Creamy Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
A gloriously creamy protein-packed mixture of raw cream and farm-fresh eggs to make maybe the best darn vanilla ice cream you’ll ever eat!
You’re welcome to download this recipe card to your device to save or print. Enjoy!
Ingredients
4 cups cream, the heavier the better
2 cups whole milk
8 egg yolks, no skimping- eight is the sweet spot
1 ¼ cups sugar, I use evaporated cane sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 ½ Tablespoons vanilla
Instructions
Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt for 5 minutes in a mixer until it’s nice and fluffy.
Add in the cream, milk, & vanilla and whisk for another 3 minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
Chill until the mixture is 40F.
Churn the ice cream in your machine until it reaches 21F (about 30-35 minutes.)
Sample (because you know you will if you haven’t already) and quickly transfer to a container, trying not to leave too many air pockets where ice can form.
Deep freeze until frozen through, at least 3 hours.