Extra Special Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

What makes this Extra Special? Lots of cream, lots of eggs and a vanilla bean!! We have been making our own ice cream for a very long time. Childhood memories of Dad making it for birthdays and parties. Until a few years ago we were ice cream maker-less, the old one finally quit. But now we are back in business!

Who doesn't like a bowl of ice cream!?! I tell you, there is nothing like the taste of ice cream right out of the maker! It has a goodness all its own. Mind you this is not a dessert for someone watching there fat intake, you can feel the milk fat on your spoon! But it is so good!! Good thing is takes special ingredients to make, or we would be having it everyday.

We have tried many different recipes and you know, there really hasn't been a recipe we didn't like. But we do have our favorites. I think the Extra Special Vanilla is going to one. The recipe is based on two of our other favorites. I decided I didn't want to use more then a quart of cream and worked around that thought. What really happened- I started dumping things in and realized I needed to decide which recipe I was making.

Extra Special Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

2 1/2 cups whole milk

1 vanilla bean

1 cup sugar

1 quart (4 c.) cream

6 eggs yolks

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 I also remembered one little vanilla bean I had and wasn't sure what to do with. So I decided to try something new and use it in the ice cream. I put the milk into a sauce pan, then split the vanilla bean in half length-wise and scraped out the seeds. This is what gives the ice cream the lovely brown flecks. As I had not split a vanilla bean before, I thought this was a fun step! Next, cook the milk on the stove until the edges start to bubble (a simmer really). Remove from heat and cover, letting steep 20-30 minutes.

 Next, get out the old beater and beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and lemon colored.

 Fish out your vanilla beans from the milk. (It helps if you count them before putting in, you will know how many need to come out!) Stir the egg/sugar mixture into the saucepan of vanilla milk. Then, return the saucepan to the stove and heat again until simmering. The mixture will thicken a bit. If you run your finger over the back of the spoon and the mixture does not go back together, it is done!

Opps! Forgot a pod!! Good thing I found it now.

 You can let the milk/egg/sugar mixture cool a bit or not, depending how much of a hurry you are in! I think I let it cool five minutes. Then stir in the cream and vanilla extract. I was worried my little bean wasn't going to be strong enough, so added extra vanilla.

Once thoroughly blended, pour into ice cream maker canister.

Paddle fitted in and ready to go!

Our ice cream maker is a White Mountain 4 quart maker with triple action dasher(?). Once the canister is in place and the motor is locked down you are ready for ice and salt.

We usually fill the it half way up with ice, add 2 cups salt, fill the remaining way with ice and sprinkle more salt on top.

 All ready to go! Now we just wait until it is done......

 ......even Kerri knows it is time to wait.

......and wait.

 Perfect!!

 Now you can either eat is right away or pack it into a container and freeze it....if it lasts that long!!