French Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe

Scrape vanilla

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise with a sharp knife. Scrape the seeds from the inside of the pod using the back of the knife. Reserve seeds and the pod.

Warm dairy

In a medium saucepan, combine the whole milk, heavy cream, and half of the granulated sugar (1.5 tablespoons). Add the scraped vanilla seeds and the empty pod. Warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is hot and steamy and small bubbles form at the edges (about 170°F / 77°C). Do not boil.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar

While the milk warms, whisk the 6 egg yolks with the remaining 1.5 tablespoons granulated sugar in a heatproof bowl until the mixture is smooth, pale, and slightly thickened.

Temper yolks

Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the yolks in a slow, steady stream while whisking constantly to temper. Repeat once more if needed until yolks are warmed and incorporated.

Cook custard

Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon (170–175°F / 77–79°C). Do not let it boil or curdle.

Finish and strain

Remove the saucepan from heat. Stir in a pinch of fine sea salt and, if using instead of a vanilla bean, the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl to remove the vanilla pod and any cooked bits. If using optional alcohol, stir it in now.

Cool quickly

Place the bowl of strained custard in an ice bath (bowl of ice water) and stir occasionally until it cools to room temperature, about 15–20 minutes.

Refrigerate

Cover the custard surface with plastic wrap (touching the surface to prevent skin) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight until thoroughly chilled.

Churn

Set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Pour the chilled custard into the churn and process until it reaches soft-serve consistency (usually 20–30 minutes depending on machine).

Harden

Transfer the churned ice cream into a shallow, airtight container, press a piece of parchment or plastic wrap on the surface to minimize ice crystals, cover with a lid, and freeze for at least 4 hours to firm up.

Serve

Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 3–5 minutes to soften slightly before scooping. Scoop and serve in bowls or cones.