Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Frozen Vanilla Custard – Western NY for French Vanilla Ice Cream

If you’re thinking that I’ve already posted a video recipe for vanilla ice cream, I have, but for what I consider a “real” vanilla ice cream, which means no eggs. That’s called an American-style ice cream, and features a cleaner, more pronounced vanilla flavor.

The French weren’t into that. They froze their famously delicious custard, and the rest is history. While I prefer the later, I have to admit they won, since it is the style that dominates the freezer case.

I like to use pure vanilla extract over the whole bean, mostly because it’s easier, cheaper, and always consistent. Having said that, it’s hard to argue against the whole bean, so feel free to go full foodie. Speaking of which, if you don’t have an ice cream maker, there are plenty of “hacks” online that work fairly well.

I would have called this French vanilla ice cream, but where I grew up, this is called frozen custard. It’s traditionally served soft, in cones, but I prefer to freeze it firm. That way, I get French vanilla ice cream, and as it melts, I also get soft-serve frozen custard. Now that’s a win-win. Anyway, stay tuned for homemade cones, and in the meantime, I really hope you give this a try. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 1 quart of Frozen Vanilla Custard aka French Vanilla Ice Cream
5 large egg yolks
pinch of salt
2/3 cup white sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (or one split/scraped whole vanilla bean)

18 comments:

Brenda said...

I dont have a posh ice cream maker, could this be frozen straight away in the polybox! Looks amazing.

Bethany said...

Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to learning how to make cones next.

Unknown said...

John - I've made ice cream before without an ice cream maker by putting a large plastic bag with the ice cream mixer inside of a second large bag with ice and salt and shaking hell - it worked great - better if you enlist a bunch of drunk friends to do the work. I also hear you can use two coffee cans. Just incase your viewers don't have the machine.

Unknown said...

John - I've done this before without the machine. You put the ingredients in one large zip up bag, and place that bag inside another large bag with salt and ice. Then you enlist some drunk friends to shake like hell.

Miles said...

Recipe looks yummy.

If I were to use full beans, how much would you put in.

I'm not sure about the equivalence of full bean and extract.

Unknown said...

John, which model ice cream maker did you use?

Unknown said...

@Brenda. You can't just freeze it straight since it will just be a solid block of ice. Ice cream / frozen custard is technically a mix of small frozen pieces and liquid. The reason why ice cream makers turn is to make sure the ice cream that is frozen on the outside is scraped of so the ice crystals stay small. If you just let the mixture sit, it will just freeze. Do you have a mixer? If you do, I think you can buy dry ice and put in small chunks of dry ice into the mixture as you mix the mixture using the mixer.

Chris K. said...

It's all about the Tom Wahl's.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Chef John!
I love your videos!! Usually, cooking videos are more focus on the amount of ingredients and I love how you teach us the criteria to make the recipes, which are really the heart of the recipy! All the with humor, I just love you! My husband and I watch you from Brasil and we do a lot of the recipes (he especially!).
Anyway, I do have a question and not just a bunch of compliments! What is your view on the practice of removing the membrane around the yolk, so the egg does not taste, well, so "eggy". Do you think that is necessary, does it make a real difference?
Thanks! =D

Murray said...

Hi Chef! Fist off, Thanks. I'm a long time lurker (some might say stalker).

Second, it looks like you use Cuisinart ICE-20 ice cream maker. It has really great reviews on Amazon too. Do you know why it would cost $50 more than the Cuisinart ICE-21 ice cream maker? Other than looking a little cuter with scalloped designs, I don't see what the difference is. Thoughts?

Tim Covington said...

A friend of my wife brought us 2 dozen farm fresh eggs. I used this recipe for some of them. I also made a frittata. Now, what to do with the last 5? Decisions, decisions.

Greg G said...

@Dale Moser, I'm 99% sure that's the Cuisinart ICE-20. I think it's now been superseded by the ICE-21. No, really. $41 on Amazon.

Jim said...

Brenda - the main purpose of the dasher (aside from scraping down the sides of the bowl) is to incorporate air into the ice cream, which both adds volume to the final product and keeps it at least somewhat scoopable. If you just freeze it in your polybox you'll end up with a very sweet brick. You could instead try pouring the mix into a large ziplock, sticking it into the fridge, and periodically take it out and shake/mix/break it apart. You could also pour it into an open container that you cover with plastic wrap and then periodically go in and scrape the sides and bottom with a spoon to make something with a texture like gelato.

prowriter1987 said...

I have the electric ice cream maker and the ole fashioned hand churning ice cream maker, and both worked well. The latter maker works well with children for the reason they take ownership of the ice cream creation. Enjoyed!

Unknown said...

Chef John,
I am no cook but i followed your instructions religiously and the ice cream turned out to be AWESOME! The whole family just LOVED IT!!
I did use the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker but i took off the mixture in 14 minutes. The mixture was kept in the refrigerator over night and the base was kept in the freezer overnight. My challenge was in separating the yolk from the eggs but i wasted only one egg. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.

BTW i tried other recipes too and they all came out great. THANK YOU!

Unknown said...

Vanilla ice cream looks so yummy and delicious and each one can try this at home without any professional ice cream maker and it is easy to make and it is easy for those who doesn't knows to cook and they can also easily make this ice-cream.

Unknown said...

Chef John, I need a simple recipe for half hour pickles. Everything I've seen on the internet seems so complicated. My Aunt Nellie made them in a crock in her basement with no hassle or complications. What's the real deal?

Bill & Lyn's Adventure 1.0 said...

My husband loves chocolate custard, what do I incorporate to turn your vanilla custard into chocolate custard?