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Old-Fashioned Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Old-fashioned homemade vanilla ice cream made with a classic vanilla custard base, steeped with a split vanilla bean and cooked to 175°F for a thick, coat-the-spoon texture. Expect pale golden, dense, creamy scoops with visible vanilla bean specks in every bite.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
chilling + freezing 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 463
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cream base
  • 2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1 vanilla bean Split and scrape seeds (or use 2 tsp pure vanilla extract).
  • 0.25 tsp salt

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Infuse the cream
  1. Split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds, and add both the pod and seeds to the heavy cream and whole milk in a saucepan.
  2. Heat over medium heat until steaming and just beginning to simmer, then remove from heat and steep for 15 minutes; the liquid should look lightly infused, not bubbling.
  3. Remove the vanilla bean pod after steeping.
Make the custard
  1. Whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until pale and thick, with the mixture looking slightly lighter in color.
  2. Slowly pour the warm cream into the yolks while whisking constantly, keeping the custard smooth with no scrambling.
  3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon (175°F), with a clear custard gloss.
  4. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, stir in the salt, and cool the custard over an ice bath until noticeably cooler.
Chill, churn, and freeze
  1. Refrigerate the custard at least 4 hours or overnight, until fully chilled through.
  2. Churn in an ice cream maker, then freeze until firm, until the texture is scoopable and holds shape.

Notes

Pro tip: keep stirring during custard cooking and pull it at 175°F to avoid grainy texture; if you see it thickening too fast, lower the heat. Refrigerate churned ice cream in a sealed container for 1–2 weeks. Freezing is yes: for best texture, freeze 1–2 months. Dietary swap: for a no-egg option, use a cooked eggless custard base (not interchangeable with this recipe’s yolk thickening).