Go Back Email Link
–+ servings
A bowl contains three scoops of French vanilla ice cream with a spoon, with a plate of waffle cones nearby on a light surface.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (Incredibly Creamy!)

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chill and Churn: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Making homemade ice cream is one of my family's favorite summertime treats; it is so much better than store-bought! This vanilla ice cream is super creamy with lots of vanilla flavor thanks to a generous amount of vanilla.

Ingredients

Instructions 

  • Heat the milk in a small pot over medium-high heat until it's steaming hot, but not boiling. Remove the pot from the heat and lower the heat to medium-low.
    1 ½ cup whole milk
    A stainless steel saucepan filled with milk sits on a light-colored countertop, ready to become the base for homemade vanilla ice cream.
  • In a heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Slowly pour the milk into the eggs, whisking as you pour. This is called tempering the eggs and will prevent them from scrambling.
    4 large egg yolks, ¾ cup sugar
    A glass bowl filled with a yellow vanilla mixture and a metal whisk, placed on a gray surface—perfect for making homemade vanilla ice cream.
  • Pour the milk and eggs back into the pot and put the pot on the heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens, about 4-5 minutes.
    A metal saucepan containing whisked eggs with a stainless steel whisk, viewed from above on a light gray surface—perfect for preparing a creamy vanilla ice cream base.
  • Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cream, vanilla, and salt. Let it cool, uncovered, to room temperature and then place the pot in the fridge for at least 1 hour, until the custard is cold.
    1 ½ cups heavy cream, 1-2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt
    A saucepan containing a smooth, light yellow vanilla custard is being stirred with a metal whisk on a gray surface—ready to be churned into vanilla ice cream.
  • Process the custard in your ice cream maker. If you don't have one, you can make no churn ice cream.
    A top-down view of an ice cream maker churning creamy vanilla ice cream on a gray surface.
  • You can either eat the ice cream as soft-serve or pour the ice cream into a freezer-proof container and freeze until solid, about 2-4 hours.
    A metal ice cream scoop rests in a rectangular tin filled with creamy vanilla ice cream on a light-colored surface.

Notes

Vanilla: I use Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla bean paste for this ice cream as I love the intense flavor and specks of vanilla seeds. Pure vanilla extract also works well. I use two tablespoons because I love a lot of vanilla flavor. If you think this might be too much, start with 1 tablespoon and add more to taste. 
Help! The custard curdled while I was cooking it. What do I do now? If the custard is cooked too long, the proteins in the egg can clump, making it grainy. If you notice this, remove the pot from the heat immediately. Pour the custard into a blender and blend it well. The froth will subside by the time you are ready to churn the ice cream. 
What type of ice cream maker do you use? I have had this Cuisinart ice cream maker for over 10 years, and it's still going strong.