Just in case any of you had a notion that I might be a fun and exciting person, I'm here to dispel that thought. My favorite ice cream is French Vanilla. You can keep your pricy, fancy Ben & Jerry's flavors; I want the plain, boring, solid, reliable French Vanilla. Breyer's was always just fine with me.
But this is even better. Try this; you will simply adore it.
FRENCH VANILLA ICE CREAM
1 cup whole milk
4 egg yolks
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
2" vanilla bean
1/2 cup cold heavy cream
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
In the microwave heat the milk until very warm. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with the cornstarch and sugar until thick and light colored.
Slice the vanilla bean open, and scrape all the black powdery substance out of it. Lay the bark aside. Pour some of the warm milk into the yolk mixture, then scrape all of it into the milk container. Microwave again, stirring with a whisk every 15 seconds, until the mixture puffs up in your container. Whisk the 1/2 cup cold cream into the milk/egg yolk mixture, and place in the freezer about 2 hours, until it just begins to freeze around the edges. See the little black vanilla speckles in here? Yum. 
About 15 minutes before the milk mixture is cold, whip the remaining 1-1/2 cups of cream until it's soft, and place that in the freezer also. After 15 minutes, remove both the milk mixture and the cream, stir together with a whisk, and process according to your ice cream maker's directions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, return them to the freezer, and stir with the whisk to break up ice crystals every 30 minutes or so, until it's "soft serve" consistency.
This ice cream is creamy. It's sinfully delicious. Did I tell you that vanilla is my favorite flavor?
And having seen this suggestion many times, I stuck my vanilla bean bark in a small jar, with 3/4 cup of sugar. It smelled like vanilla after only a few hours. I'm looking forward to trying it in tea, and maybe cooking, too! Any other suggestions?
19 comments:
Vanilla is one of my favorite flavors too... Simple and delicious. Your ice cream looks fantastic.
It really does look sinfully delicious :)
The ice cream looks so good!! The sugar sounds delightful too!
just keep adding more sugar and any of the left over vanilla casings for unlimited vanilla sugar - use it in whipped cream use it in pancake batter sprinkle it over fresh fruit - the list goes on and on - take a bean and slit it open and put it in some rum for delicious vanilla extract (this take s couple of months but its the best extract you will ever have)
Just purchased a vanilla bean Tuesday. Will try your recipe for the French Vanilla. Made the peach ice cream last week, but made too much peach mixture, so have two cups frozen for next winter. This is fun! Enjoy!
Vanilla is my favorite ice cream flavor too. And the vanilla sugar is wonderful, just keep adding more sugar as you use it. It's great sprinkled on the tops of baked goods. And I use it for sugar in any recipe that I want a double dose of vanilla.
You didn't waste any time! It looks DEElicious!
Until I started making ice cream, I never liked vanilla.. It is DH's flavor of choice, however, so my first batch was french vanilla - VERY tasty - maybe I'll try one with a vanilla bean one of these days.
My mouth is watering, I looooove vanilla ice cream. Diane
i'm not sure if it's the little black specks or the actual flavor, but something about vanilla bean ice cream makes me prefer it greatly over french vanilla. lovely batch o' ice cream, marjie!
There is nothing boring about icecream made with real vanilla. It is a wonderful treat.
At the point where you add the vanilla beans you can add the scraped out pod too as you gently heat the mixture - it will add to the vanilla flavour. Just do remember to fish out the pod before you start churning. Give the pod a wee wash, let it dry and you can still add then it to your sugar. A little piece of vanilla pod flavours a lot of sugar.
Happy munching - you certainly have "icecream a necessity" weather just now,
Huggles from me, sound asleep gentle moans from Zebby, Michelle xxx
Mouth-watering reading here. I love little more than vanilla bean ice cream.
I can't believe how much flavor a vanilla bean adds.....great job with that ice cream! I do have to try that with the sugar too!
Vanilla sugar on toast with lots of butter......of course that's why my but gets so wide.
Oh you are so not boring! Vanilla is my favorit flavor too. g
sanne is adicted to vanilla ice cream!!!
Kissslobbers
El'bow & Hauwii
I've never had a real vanilla bean.
Ok seriously now.... can I come stay at your Bed & Breakfast for a week??? Please? =}
You are, without a doubt, the Ice Cream Queen!!!
May I suggest, if you have any vanilla beans left, to scrape and hide them in some "special" sugar. Delightful!!!
Thanks for sharing, Marjie...
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