Vanilla Ice Cream

Vanilla Ice Cream

When you tell people you've churned a batch of homemade ice cream there is usually a look of genuine surprise (and envy) on their face. Once you've mastered the basic vanilla recipe below (and trust me, it doesn't take much mastering), the only limit to the flavours and textures you can add is your imagination.

Ingredients:
300ml full-fat milk
300ml single cream
1 vanilla pod
6 egg yolks
150g caster sugar

Method:
1. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Slice a vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape the sticky black vanilla seeds into the pan with the point of a knife. Drop the scraped pod in, too, then bring the mixture almost to the boil. Turn off the heat just before it boils. Leave for 30 minutes or so, for the vanilla to flavour the milk.
2. Beat 6 egg yolks and 150g caster sugar until light and fluffy. Remove the vanilla pod, then pour the liquid through a sieve into the egg yolks and sugar, stirring until you get a thin custard. Pour it into a clean saucepan.
3. Put the custard over a moderate heat and, stirring almost continuously with a wooden spoon, bring it slowly towards the boil. Once the custard is thick enough to thinly coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove it from the heat, pour it into a cold basin and leave it to cool. Once it is cool, refrigerate it for a good half hour before pouring into an ice cream machine and churning until almost frozen.