Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe
A homemade old-fashioned vanilla ice cream recipe to rule them all: real cream, real sugar, and yes, real churning. Don’t shy away from making this recipe: it’s easier than you think and worth the effort.
The process is not as hard as you might think, but it does take some time and patience. Once you’ve tried it once it’s quite simple. A few dollars of ingredients will save you from paying a fortune for tiny pints AND it will taste so much better.
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
Use the best quality ingredients you can find. The ingredients for this recipe are simple, so the freshness of your cream and the quality of your vanilla is essential. A thermometer is helpful, but not essential. Just make sure the vanilla custard thickens but don’t let it boil.
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- 1½ cups whole milk
- 1½ cups heavy cream: Choose high-quality cream with at least 36% butterfat for the richest results
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 vanilla beans: Look for plump, moist beans that feel oily to the touch for maximum flavor (find them in bulk on Amazon, here or use ½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 egg yolks: Fresh eggs at room temperature will incorporate better
- Pinch salt
Equipment
- An ice cream maker. The model I use requires you to freeze the canister ahead of time, but it’s affordable and does a great job.
- Strainer
- Medium mixing bowl
- Hand mixer or whisk
- Medium saucepan
How to Make Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream
Heat the milk and cream
Heat the milk, cream, ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until warm and steaming, or about 170 degrees.
Beat the eggs and remaining sugar
Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and remaining ¼ cup of sugar until light yellow in color and well combined. They will noticeably change color when mixed enough. (A hand mixer on low will work well.)
Temper the eggs
Temper the eggs by adding half of the warm milk mixture, a half cup at a time. Then add the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and cream.
Heat the custard
Heat the saucepan, which now contains all of the milk, cream, sugar, and eggs, over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 185 degrees. The custard is ready when it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil.
Strain and add vanilla and salt
Hold cheesecloth or a strainer over a bowl to strain the custard. Scrape the vanilla beans and add them with the vanilla extract and salt and stir to combine. Immediately place the custard into the refrigerator to chill. Chill for 4-24 hours, until very cold.
Churn.
Remove custard from fridge and set up ice cream maker, according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
Make sure everything is cold before you churn. The custard will take hours to cool in the fridge, or you can cool it quickly by transferring it into a bowl that has been set over an ice bath and stir it frequently until the temperature drops.
Freeze
Freeze the chilled custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When it has reached the consistency of soft serve ice cream, place it into a loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm. Keep it covered in the freezer for up to a week.
Serving and Storing Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream
Make It Your Own
This vanilla ice cream is the base of every type we make. Here are some of our favorites:
- Chocolate Ice Cream is our second favorite!
- Peppermint Candy Ice Cream
- Vanilla Caramel Fudge Swirl
- Fresh Peach Ice Cream
- Caramel and Candied Pecan Ice Cream
- Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
Questions and Troubleshooting
Yes! But it’s sort of a pain. Place the custard in the freezer and stir for 30 seconds once per hour. It will take a while to set up, but the results will be very similar.
No, the flavor of this ice cream is highly dependent on having real vanilla.
Yes, it is cooked before you churn it and it’s perfectly safe.
Printable Recipe
Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream
Equipment
- saucepan
- Hand mixer
- Whisk
- Mixing bowl
- Cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole milk
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 egg yolks
- pinch salt
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Instructions
- Heat the milk and cream. Heat the milk, cream, ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, until warm and steaming, or about 170℉.
- Beat the eggs and remaining sugar. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks and remaining ¼ cup of sugar until light yellow in color and well combined. They will noticeably change color when mixed enough. (A hand mixer on low will work well.)
- Temper the eggs by adding half of the warm milk mixture, a half cup at a time. Then add the egg mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk and cream.
- Heat the custard. Heat the saucepan, which now contains all of the milk, cream, sugar, and eggs, over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 185℉. The custard is ready when it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not boil.
- Strain the custard and add the vanilla and salt. Hold a cheesecloth or a strainer over a bowl to strain the custard. Scrape the vanilla beans and add them and the vanilla extract along with the salt and stir to combine. Immediately place the custard into the refrigerator to chill. Chill in bowl for 4-24 hours, until very cold.
- Churn. Remove custard from fridge and set up ice cream maker, according to manufacturer's instructions. Churn until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Make sure everything is cold before you churn. The custard will take hours to cool in the fridge, or you can cool it quickly by transferring it into a bowl that has been set over an ice bath and stir it frequently until the temperature drops.
- Freeze. Freeze the chilled custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. When it has reached the consistency of soft serve ice cream, place it into a loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze until firm. Keep it covered in the freezer for up to a week.
Notes
Nutrition
By Katie Shaw
Katie shares simple, reliable recipes from her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens.
So delicious and an easy to follow recipe. Loved your step by step photos… This will be my ‘go to’ vanilla ice cream recipe this summer ! : )
This was a really good ice-cream recipe! I replaced the vanilla extract with mint and added chocolate chips to make mint chocolate chip.
hooray! i will DEFINTELY be trying that!