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Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Berry Sauce
- 1 vanilla bean
- 4 cups half-and-half
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 8 egg yolks
- 2 cups sugar (next time I’m going to try 1.5 cups instead)
- Berry sauce (recipe below)
- Most importantly, make sure you have an ice cream maker. That said, if you have the type with the ice cream mixing container that needs to be frozen ahead of time, make sure that’s set too. You have those two things and we can go to step 2.
- Add 3 cups of the half-and-half with the sugar in a saucepan over low heat. After you get that started, take a sharp knife and gently slice the vanilla bean down the middle lengthwise. Use the knife tip to *carefully* scrape the vanilla bean insides out and add them to your sugar/half-and-half mixture. Vanilla bean insides = the black dots in vanilla bean ice cream that taste so good. Get all those insides out and into the pot! Once that’s done, drop that empty vanilla bean shell into the pot for extra flavor (we’ll take it out later). Turn off the heat when the mixture is hot (but not boiling) and the sugar has dissolved.
- While the half-and-half mixture heats, beat the egg yolks in a separate bowl until they are thick and fluffy. I recommend using a stand mixer, if you have one. Let it go for a good 5 or so minutes. If you don’t have one, beat with a hand mixer or a whisk until your yolks are thick and fluffy.
- Now we have to add the yolks to the hot half-and-half mixture but wait! We must temper first. Tempering prevents the yolks from cooking. To temper the yolks, slowly dribble about 1.5 cups of the hot half-and-half mixture into your yolk mixture while whisking or beating the yolks. Again, this is where the old stand mixer comes in handy – you can let the mixer beat while you dribble. Life is easier when all you have to do is dribble.
- Once the egg mixture is tempered, you can add it into the remaining hot half-and-half mixture that’s still in your pot (still whisk while you add but you shouldn’t have to worry about the egg yolks cooking).
- Over medium-low heat and stirring constantly, cook the egg/half-and-half mixture until it gets thick and coats your spoon. This should take a good 10-15 minutes. Don’t let the mixture boil too high or burn.
- Once the mixture has cooked and is thick, find that vanilla bean and pull it out – it’s purpose has been served. Add the remaining 1 cup half-and-half and the 2 cups cream to the hot custard and stir to combine.
- Cool the mixture completely. I usually make this a day ahead and then chill it overnight. If you’re in a pinch, set the bowl in a bigger bowl of ice water and stir stir stir until the mixture cools down (kind of a pain).
- Next, set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pour the batter into the maker and let it do its thing. You’ll end up with soft serve ice cream. To get a firm ice cream, pour the soft ice cream into a bowl or pan and let it freeze for a couple hours.
- 1 cup berries, any type you like (I used frozen blackberries)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey or sugar
- Sprinkle of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon cornstarch
DIRECTIONS:
In a small saucepan, heat everything except for the cornstarch. Simmer it for a few minutes and kind of smash the berries down. The berry sauce will be watery, but that’s where your cornstarch will come in.
In a small bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon of the cornstarch. Ladle a little of the berry sauce liquid into the bowl, whisking to combine it with the cornstarch. Then add this mixture back into the simmering berry sauce. Let it simmer for a few minutes and see if the sauce thickens enough. If you don’t feel it’s thick enough, repeat the above steps using another 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch. Keep doing this until the sauce is as thick as you want it.
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