Vanilla ice cream recipe

By Alice Hart

Serves 8-10 (makes about 2 litres)
Takes about 1 hour to make, plus 1 hour’s cooling, 2 hours’ chilling and 3 hours’ freezing
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In keeping with tradition, beautiful ice cream should begin with a pure and smooth vanilla custard base. Or just eat it as is.

1. Put the cream and milk in a large, heavy-based saucepan. Add the vanilla pods and heat gently until almost boiling, then remove from the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. Remove the vanilla pods, scrape out the seeds and mix into the cream.
2. Put the yolks, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl and beat for 3 minutes, using an electric hand whisk, until thick and pale – the beaters should leave a ribbon trail in the mixture. Gradually beat in the cream mix, then pour into a clean pan.
3. Cook over a very low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until thickened. The custard should coat the back of the spoon and reach 75°C on a thermometer. Pour into
a bowl and cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming. Cool for 1 hour, then chill for at least 2 hours.
4. Churn the custard in an ice-cream maker, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until thick but still soft enough to be spoonable. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, you can make the ice cream by hand.
5. Transfer to a plastic, lidded, 2-litre container and put in the freezer for at least 3 hours or until firm enough to scoop.