Vanilla-Honey Ice Cream

Sweetened with real honey, this recipe is a twist on a classic that you’ll love. People who like “regular” ice cream will still love this, because it has a ton of vanilla flavor with a little something different.

You can make ice cream by hand, but it will be a little more work. Just pop the liquid custard in a medium bowl in the freezer and stir it well every 30 minutes or so. This might sound easy, but it’s actually a huge pain! I find that any ice cream maker is well worth it.

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

Don’t add additional honey; it will make the ice cream too soft. If you can’t find vanilla beans, use 4-6 teaspoons of vanilla extract (2 teaspoons per bean) or use 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste per bean. If you need this to be dairy-free, you can use coconut milk and cream.

As written, this makes about 1 quart of ice cream, enough for 8 ½ cup servings. It doesn’t keep as long as store-bought ice cream, so I don’t usually double it.
But if you’d like to, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Be sure to check your ice cream machine’s capacity, older electric ones often won’t hold much more than a quart.

Equipment

• ice cream maker
• strainer
• Medium saucepan

Ingredients

• 1½ cups whole milk
• 1½ cups heavy cream divided
• ½ cup honey clover or wildflower
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 vanilla beans
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt

How to Make Honey Ice Cream

Don’t skip the straining step. You’ll often have small bits of egg in the custard, and you definitely want those out! For a softer ice cream, serve it right out of the churn. For a firmer consistency, let it freeze for a few hours.

Step One: Heat The Milk And Honey

Heat up your milk, most of the cream (save about 1/4 cup), and all that honey in a saucepan. You want it warm and steamy – around 170℉ if you’re checking, but honestly, when it starts steaming you’re good.

Step Two: Beat The Eggs

While that’s heating, beat your egg yolks with that little bit of leftover cream. Use a hand mixer on low if you have one. Beat them until they turn that pale yellow color – you’ll know when you see it.

Step Three: Temper The Eggs

Now here’s the tricky part – you have to temper the eggs so they don’t scramble. Take about half of your warm milk mixture and add it to the eggs, but do it slowly. Like, half a cup at a time. Then pour the whole egg mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk.

Step Four: Make The Custard

Back on the heat it goes. Stir constantly (and I mean CONSTANTLY) until it hits 185℉. If you don’t have a thermometer, it’s ready when it coats the back of a spoon. Don’t let it boil or you’ll have scrambled eggs in cream, which is not what we’re going for.

Step Five: Strain And Add Vanilla

Pour the whole thing through a strainer or cheesecloth into a bowl. This gets rid of any lumps. Stir in your vanilla beans, vanilla extract, and salt. Stick it in the fridge right away and let it chill for at least 4 hours, but overnight is better.

Step Six: Churn And Freeze

Once it’s REALLY cold, churn it in your ice cream maker, however long the instructions say. When it looks like soft serve, scrape it into a loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Storage & Serving

Place the ice cream in an airtight container or in a loaf pan with plastic wrap pressed right up against it to prevent freezer burn. It will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 1 month, but it’s best in the first two weeks.

Let it sit out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften before serving.

You don’t need me to tell you what goes good with ice cream. But here are some suggestions just in case.

• Fresh fruit, whipped cream, and additional honey or agave syrup
• Scoop on top of homemade baked goods like a triple berry cobbler or a creamy lemon pie.

Answering Your Questions

More Ice Cream Recipes To Make

The process is pretty much always the same. We are just adding different things to the custard. Nothing wrong with that.

• Everyone loves chocolate ice cream. And if they don’t, they’ll love this version.
• Fresh strawberry ice cream with in-season strawberries is the best (but you can use frozen berries too).
• Add some caramel and fudge at the end to make vanilla caramel fudge ice cream.
• One taste of this old-fashioned caramel pecan ice cream will take you back to your childhood summers at an ice cream shop.

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