The vanilla ice cream recipe
for your table
Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a small knife. Put the seeds and the scraped pod in a pan with the milk, heat until just below boiling, remove from the heat and leave the pod to infuse for half an hour.
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar and salt until they become lighter in color. Remove the skin from the milk, heat the milk again and pour it in a thin stream into the yolks while continuing to whisk, so the egg does not get shocked by the heat.
Pour everything back into the pan and heat over low heat to 82 to 84 degrees, until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, allowing you to draw a line through it. Above 85 degrees, the egg sets and the cream curdles, so remove it from the heat in time and strain it immediately.
Stir the cold heavy cream into the strained cream mixture and leave it covered in the refrigerator overnight. Then churn it in the ice cream maker, or freeze it and scrape it loose four times every half hour. Let the ice cream firm up for at least three hours before scooping.
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The story
Real vanilla ice cream is recognizable by the black specks: they are the seeds from the pod, and they only indicate anything if they are added properly. Vanilla's aromatic compounds dissolve in fat and hardly at all in water, so warm milk with cream is the best way to extract them. If you stir the seeds into the cold mixture only at the end, some of the flavor remains in the granules. Do not discard the pod either: it contains more aroma than the seeds themselves. Let it infuse, then remove it only once the milk has cooled.
The right glass
Vanilla ice cream is rarely the end goal. Chocolate sauce goes over it in a dame blanche, hot espresso in an affogato, and that places a demand on the glass: it must be able to hold something warm without the cold disappearing immediately. The first choice is the classic salon size. According to the description, a stemmed coupe keeps your hand away from the bowl so the scoops do not melt faster, the stem elevates the dessert so whipped cream and sauce rise above the rim, and 25 cl is the size for two scoops with garnish. The second is slightly smaller and taller: according to the description, sized for two scoops with garnish, made for a dame blanche for one or an affogato where the espresso flows over the ice cream, and the tempered glass withstands that temperature contrast. View the other sizes in the ice cream coupes collection.
Royal Leerdam Desserts Ice Cream Coupe 25 cl (6 pieces)
Bormioli Rocco Primavera Ice Glass 24 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 78,90.
The right tools
For vanilla ice cream, in addition to the glass, use a fine strainer to strain the cream immediately after it thickens, as this removes the peel and any curdled bits all at once, and a bar spoon with a long handle to stir the warm milk into the yolks without having to reach into a tall bowl. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you can find everything in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 2 bar tools together € 58,85.
What will you pour with it?
Vanilla and oak share a sweet, woody note, which makes a brown spirit with vanilla ice cream less strange than it sounds. Pour whisky and bourbon over a scoop by the spoonful; amaretto and sambuca are the classics at the table. On each drink page, you can read the percentage, what it tastes like, which cocktails it works well in, and which glass you need.
Variations & twists
With the same base, you can make three different ice creams. Leave out the yolks and you get milk ice cream: fresher, whiter, and quicker to prepare, the American style you can make without a pan. Double the yolks instead and you move toward the French style, with a deep yellow color and an almost custard-like flavor. And if you use a spoonful of vanilla paste instead of a vanilla pod, you keep the specks but lose the infusion in the milk. If you still want to add something: stir roasted almond slivers or a ribbon of caramel into the churning ice cream just before the end. Need more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Servingtip
This is the base for a dame blanche, an affogato and the classic ice cream sundae, so serve generous portions and keep the garnish simple. Pour anything warm over it only at the table; otherwise, the contrast between hot and cold will already be gone before the sundae reaches the table. A cold glass helps with that more than a cold spoon.
Good to know
Why does the vanilla have to go into the warm milk?
Because vanilla's aromatic compounds dissolve in fat and hardly at all in water. Warm milk with cream therefore draws them out, while a cold mixture does so much less. Split the pod lengthwise, scrape out the pulp, and let the pulp and pod infuse together in the warm milk for half an hour. It already smells good after five minutes, but the difference lies in that half hour.
Pod, extract, paste or vanilla sugar?
A pod gives the most aroma and the visible black specks, but it is the most expensive. Vanilla paste is concentrated extract with pulp in it: you retain the specks and the flavor, but not the infusion in the milk. Extract is an alcoholic infusion without specks, ideal for a cold mixture, and you stir it in right at the end because alcohol and aroma evaporate when heated. Vanilla sugar is sugar with a single aromatic compound, the narrowest flavor of the four, but also the cheapest.
What exactly are those black specks?
Those are the seeds from the vanilla pod, the pulp you scrape out. They show that a pod or paste was used, although the number of specks says nothing about the flavor: you can also buy them separately and stir them into an otherwise tasteless mixture. The flavor comes from what has infused into the milk; the specks are what you see.
Why 82 to 84 degrees?
That's where the yolks bind the mixture without curdling. Below that temperature, the custard remains thin and runs off the spoon; above it, the protein in the yolk sets and you get grains: the custard splits. If you don't have a thermometer, use the spoon test: remove the custard from the heat as soon as a line drawn through the coating on the convex side of your spoon remains visible. If it still splits, a fine sieve will usually save whatever can be saved.
French with egg or American without?
The French style uses a cooked custard of egg yolks, milk and sugar. It thickens the mixture, gives it a rich, yellow flavor, and requires a pan and a thermometer. The American style leaves out the yolks and mixes cream, milk and sugar cold; it tastes fresher and whiter and is ready in ten minutes. For vanilla, the French style usually wins, precisely because the yolk fat carries the aroma.
What do you use vanilla ice cream for?
It is the basis of a Dame Blanche with warm chocolate sauce, an affogato where you pour espresso over the scoop, and the classic ice cream sundae with whipped cream and fruit. In all three, the ice cream is the understated element, so the better the vanilla comes through, the less else you need.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the vanilla pod need to steep in the warm milk?
Because vanilla's aromatic compounds dissolve in fat and hardly at all in water. In warm milk with cream, they are released, while in a cold mixture they largely remain in the granules. Split the pod open, scrape out the seeds and let the scraped-out pod steep as well, because it still contains a lot of aroma.
Can I use vanilla extract instead of a vanilla pod?
You can, but stir it in at the very end, because alcohol and aroma evaporate when heated. You will miss the black specks, though. Vanilla paste is somewhere in between: it retains the specks and much of the flavor.
What should I do if my custard curdles?
Remove the pan from the heat immediately and pour the mixture through a fine sieve into a cold bowl. If it remains grainy, the egg has gone above 85 degrees. An immersion blender often makes the mixture smooth again, but the texture will never be completely the same as before.
What is the difference between French and American vanilla ice cream?
French vanilla ice cream is made with a cooked custard of egg yolks, which makes it richer and more yellow. American vanilla ice cream leaves out the yolks and consists of cream, milk and sugar, giving it a fresher, whiter taste and making it quicker to prepare.
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