Vanilla Ice Cream

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Churn Baby Churn, 2

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (88)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(88)

Cook Time:
10 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
1 1/2 quarts

Times:

Prep: 8 min
Inactive Prep: 8 hr 0 min
Cook: 10 min
Total:: 8 hr 18 min

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Ingredients

3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Vanilla Ice Cream
Effie Camp Verde, AZ 08-24-2009
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Awesome but cut back the eggs
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I have made this three times. 5 eggs is about right for me and I doubled the recipe to make 3 quarts. My ice cream maker can... make 4 qts. This is very good and I have tried other custard base and non custard base. This one ranks up there withe one of the best. 8 eggs is to much for my family even when doubling. I use 5 eggs for the 3 quarts and if I stuck to the exact recipe I would use probably 3. Alton is one of the informative cooks and I love his show. Read more
recipe Vanilla Ice Cream
Crystal Visalia, CA 08-23-2009
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Smooth, creamy, rich...PERFECT!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I prefer the rich creamy homemade ice cream to the very thin watery ice milk that I typically see. This receipe is wonderful... and very adaptable. So far I've made French Vanilla, Chocolate Brownie, Coffee Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Butter Pecan. All were made using the same base recipe and they were all excellent! This one's a keeper!Read more
recipe Vanilla Ice Cream
Steve Seattle, WA 07-31-2009
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Very good, but a little TOO eggy
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

The end result was quite good, but compared to other 'frozen custards' (commercial ones included), this recipe seems to have... a little too much egg yolk. The next time I try it, I think I'll cut back to 6 yolks and see if I like it better.Read more
recipe Vanilla Ice Cream
Tracee Oglesby, IL 07-26-2009
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Tastes great and it's easy!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

It's actually really, really good. I made a couple of very small changes based on previous comments. It calls for 9 oz. of... vanilla suger. I used 1 1/4 cups of regular sugar. (Don't have the patience to make vanilla sugar nor do I want to purchase vanilla sugar.) Because I didn't use vanilla sugar I used 3 teaspoons of vanilla instead of two. The only other thing I did differently was I did not put the heavy cream in the ice cream until the cream, egg, and sugar mixture was cooled the next morning. Then I whipped the heavy cream before mixing it with the rest. I find with homemade ice creams, that they are harder when frozen then store bought ice creams. I don't want to have to wait till the ice cream is soft enough to scoop it. By incorporating some air into the mixture, its a little softer than the usual homemade ice cream once it's frozen. This is called overrun. Some overrun in ice cream is a good thing. Too much is not. Still I mostly stayed true to Alton's recipe and it really is a good vanilla ice cream.Read more
recipe Vanilla Ice Cream
Megan Fullerton, CA 06-28-2009
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It's...just wow...
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Absolutely delicious...super creamy, rich, vanilla-y. But if you're looking for something a little more homemade-y, this may... not be the recipe for you (my Grandma's recipe is amazing, and tastes like HOMEMADE, it's lighter and more like a vanilla ice milk than ice cream), this recipe tastes just like the best store-bought brand out there (this is more dense and creamy and rich than "traditional" homemade versions I've made). My batch didn't really double in size though, like some people said it would. it expanded a little, but not much to notice. Fine with me, the taste is amazing. I was worried it was be too "eggy" in flavor, but no way, it came out perfectly creamy vanilla. I may cut back on the egg yolks next time though...maybe instead of 8 I'll try 6. Read more
recipe Vanilla Ice Cream
Karen Rochester HIlls, MI 06-08-2009
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Custardy-rich ice cream!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this ice cream BEFORE