← Nouns Cooking · Dessert Parlour

Ingredients

• 300 ml whole milk
• 300 ml double cream
• 1 vanilla pod (or 2 tsp vanilla bean paste), split and seeds scraped
• 4 large egg yolks
• 120 g caster sugar
• 1 pinch Salt

Method

1. Put the milk, cream, vanilla seeds and pod in a pan and heat over medium heat until steaming with small bubbles at the edge. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 min.
2. Whisk the yolks, sugar and salt in a bowl for 1 minute, until pale and thick.
3. Reheat the milk until steaming, then pour it slowly onto the yolks, whisking constantly. Pour it all back into the pan.
4. Cook over low heat, stirring with a spatula, for 5–8 min, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 80°C on a thermometer). Don't let it boil or it will scramble.
5. Strain into a bowl set in a sink of iced water and stir until cool. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
6. Churn in an ice-cream machine for 20–25 min, until thick like soft-serve.
7. Scrape into a freezer container and freeze for 2 hours until firm enough to scoop.

Tips

• The base must be fridge-cold before churning, or it will never firm up properly.
• Rinse and dry the used vanilla pod and push it into a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Once Upon a Chef