Vanilla Ice Cream

Name: Vanilla Ice Cream
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 6 h
Yield: 4 c.
Ingredients: 2/3 c. sugar; 6 egg yolks; 1 1/2 c. heavy cream; 1 1/2 c. whole milk; 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp. salt

By Lena AbrahamUpdated: Jul 10, 2024

Approved by the Delish Test Kitchen

1 Rating

preview for PSA: You Can Make Amazing Vanilla Ice Cream At Home

Yields:

4 c.

Prep Time:

25 mins

Total Time:

6 hrs

Jump to recipe

Making ice cream at home takes a bit of effort, but the payoff is TOTALLY worth it. With only 6 (staple) ingredients and a bit of patience, you’ll have homemade vanilla ice cream ready for all of your favorite toppings. Whether you’re looking to cool off on a summer’s day or need a homemade birthday dessert, keep reading on for all of my tips and tricks to making the perfect scoop below:

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Ingredients

2/3 cup
sugar
6
egg yolks
1 1/2 cups
heavy cream
1 1/2 cups
whole milk
2 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp.
salt

Directions

1. Step 1The night before you plan on making your ice cream, place ice cream maker bowl in freezer to chill. Since your ice cream base will need to chill as well, we suggest making it the night before too.
2. Step 2Make your ice cream base: In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until lightened in color and slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in heavy cream and whole milk until no traces of yolk remain.
3. Step 3Pour mixture into medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly heat through for 15 to 20 minutes until mixture thickens slightly. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon, making sure the mixture never comes up to a simmer. To check if the mixture is done, coat the back of your wooden spoon with the mixture and swipe your finger through the mixture. If your finger leaves a clean line, your mixture is good to go — this will be at around 170° if you're using a candy thermometer.
4. Step 4When the custard is adequately thickened, stir in vanilla and salt. Strain into a large bowl, cover and chill 3 hours, up to overnight.
5. Step 5When your custard is chilled and your ice cream maker bowl is frozen, churn ice cream according to manufacturer's instructions. When ice cream is soft serve consistency, transfer to another container and freeze until hardened, 2 to 3 hours, up to overnight.

PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

How To Make Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

Sugar: The sugar amount here creates the perfect amount of sweetness without overpowering the ice cream.
Egg Yolks: You’ll need 6 egg yolks to create this homemade ice cream.
Heavy Cream & Whole Milk: A mixture of heavy cream and whole milk makes this ice cream rich, creamy, and perfectly decadent. I don’t recommend replacing either of these—the high fat content will ensure your ice cream is creamy, not overly ice.
Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is our primary flavor here, so it’s worth it to use pure vanilla extract. I highly recommend using the “good vanilla” over artificial for the best possible flavor, but you can use artificial in a pinch.
Salt: Here at Delish, if we’re talking salt, we’re talking kosher salt. If you use another salt, you’ll risk your ice cream being way too salty or not enough. This will bring out all of our other flavors.

Step-By-Step Instructions

First, we'll create our ice cream base. In a large bowl, whisk together your sugar and egg yolks until you've created a mixture that is a light yellow color, and that has thickened slightly. This should take 3-4 minutes, but whisk until you notice the two key signs.

PHOTO: CHARLIE GILLETTE

Next, we'll add the heavy cream and whole milk. Either by hand with a whisk or with a stand-mixer, mix everything together until no traces of yolk remain in the mixture.

PHOTO: CHARLIE GILLETTE

Now we're going to cook our mixture on medium-low heat. Since the custard base contains eggs, you're gonna want to be very careful not to cook them, or else you'll be left with some very creamy scrambled eggs. Keep a close eye on your custard and stir it frequently with a wooden spoon, making sure the mixture never comes up to a simmer. To test if the mixture is cooked, coat the back of your spoon with ice cream base and then swipe your finger through the center. If the streak you wiped away fills in with custard mixture, it needs more time. If theres a clear streak, then it means your custard is thick enough and you're good to go! If you want to take the guess-work out of this step, you can use a candy thermometer to read the temperature of your custard. When it hits 170° to 175° F, you're good to go!

PHOTO: CHARLIE GILLETTE

Once your custard is perfectly thick, remove it from the heat, and add in the vanilla and salt. Strain your custard into a large bowl or container, cover and chill it in the fridge. i recommend chilling for at least 3 hours, but you can go up to overnight. Give yourself plenty of time for this—you don't want to rush your ice cream and end up with a melty mess.

PHOTO: CHARLIE GILLETTE

Once your custard is frozen and your ice cream maker bowl is frozen (more on that below), add your custard to the ice cream maker and churn according to the instructions.

PHOTO: CHARLIE GILLETTE

When the ice cream appears to look like soft serve, transfer it to another container and freeze until fully hardened. Again, this can take 2-3 hours, but if you want to give yourself plenty of time, overnight is ideal.

PHOTO: JULIA GARTLAND; FOOD STYLING: BARRETT WASHBURNE

Recipe Tips

Start the day before. Since both your ice cream maker's base and your custard need to chill completely, I suggest starting the whole shebang the night before you plan on serving your ice cream. The base will need to be frozen completely, while your custard just needs to be chilled.
No ice cream maker? If you don't have an ice cream maker, checkout our ice cream in a bag or mason jar ice cream.

Homemade Ice Cream Variations

This ice cream is the perfect base for pretty much any flavor. The easiest way to integrate mix-ins (I'm talking crushed cookies, strawberry jam, chopped Reese's, etc.) is to fold them into the churned soft-serve style ice cream that comes out of your ice cream maker, before it goes into the loaf pan. (BTW, if you prefer soft serve, you can eat it right out of the ice cream maker!) If you're looking to flavor the base of the ice cream (like in our favorite chocolate ice cream recipe) you'll need to add those flavorings to the custard before you cook it.