Make the Ultimate Summer Treat—Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (2024)

• Ice Creams
• Summer

Do you ever make homemade ice cream? We used an old-style ice cream maker when I was a kid, the kind that uses a lot of crushed ice and salt. These days making ice cream at home is so much easier with an electric ice cream maker, anyone can do it!

I admit that given a choice between chocolate and vanilla, I will almost always raise my hand for chocolate. That said, nothing goes better with a slice of hot apple pie than a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream, right? And if you are going to make vanilla ice cream, you may as well go all in and make French vanilla ice cream.

What Is French Vanilla Ice Cream?

"French" vanilla actually has nothing to do with the variety of vanilla bean, but instead refers to the classic French method of making a custard. French vanilla ice cream is made with a custard base that includes egg yolks.

Using egg yolks results in an ice cream with a creamier texture and a more yellow color, in contrast to what's often referred to as Philadelphia-style vanilla ice cream, which does not require a custard base. French vanilla ice cream also often has speckles of real vanilla bean throughout.

How To Make Vanilla Ice Cream

French vanilla is a little bit more complicated to make than regular vanilla ice cream, as you need to prepare a custard mix by cooking the eggs and cream first.

To make it, follow these steps:

1. First infuse sweetened milk and cream with the seeds and pods from real vanilla beans.
2. Then, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until velvety smooth, and "temper" the egg yolks with some of the hot cream mixture.
3. Add the tempered eggs yolks into the hot cream mixture and gently cook, stirring, until the custard base starts to thicken.

Once the custard base thickens, you remove it from the stove and pour it through a sieve into chilled cream in an ice bath to stop the eggs from cooking further.

Chill the whole mixture and then process it in an ice cream maker.

Why Temper the Eggs?

If you just add egg yolks directly to the hot cream mixture, they'll cook and curdle almost instantaneously. So to prepare a smooth custard base, one needs to "temper" the egg yolks by adding a little hot liquid to them first while you whisk them vigorously. Once the egg mixture has been tempered, it can be added back to the hot cream mixture.

Can I Make Ice Cream Without an Ice Cream Maker?

Yes! It just takes a bit more attention and time. Our friend and ice cream expert David Lebovitz has some excellent tips about how to make ice cream without a machine.

Basically, once you chill the custard base, put it into a durable container in the freezer. Every 45 minutes or so, open the freezer door to check it. When it starts to freeze near the edges, remove it from the freezer and beat it vigorously with a whisk or with a hand held mixer or stick blender. Keep checking and stirring until the ice cream is frozen in a couple hours.