Easy Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream - Hands-down the best ice cream recipe for thick, creamy homemade French vanilla ice cream that's perfect for loading with your favorite sweet toppings.
Set a medium-sized sauce pot over medium heat. Clip a cooking thermometer to the side of the pot.
Add the heavy cream, milk, and sugar. Stir and warm until all the sugar has dissolved into the cream mixture.
Whisk in the egg yolks, one at a time, to make sure it is fully incorporated before adding the next one. Once all the egg yolks are well combined, stir and watch the temperature. Once it reaches 165-170 degrees F, remove from heat. Then stir in the vanilla extract and salt.
Set a fine mesh strainer (sieve) over a 2 quart storage container. Pour and strain the ice cream mixture into the container, to remove any cooked egg particles. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is COLD. (The colder the mixture is when you add it to the ice cream maker, the better the texture will be. Sometimes I make the mixture the night before I need it.)
Pour the cold ice cream mix into a 1.5-2 quart ice cream maker. Churn the ice cream for 25 minutes, or according to the settings on your machine.
Move the ice cream back to a clean storage container. Cover and freeze until ready to serve.
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Notes
This recipe makes approximately 1 quart of ice cream.
No-Churn Method: You can make this ice cream recipe without a machine! Follow the instructions, omitting the heavy cream from the ice cream mix. (To be added later.) Cook and chill the mixture as instructed. Once it is cold, Pour the heavy cream into a mixer with a whip attachment, and whip on high speed until firm. Gently fold the whipped cream and cold ice cream mix together, until well combined. Then move to a storage container and freeze.