Vanilla Ice Cream

02Method

1. Heat the milk and half the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until steaming, with the sugar stirred in. Keep the rest of the cream cold in the fridge.
2. Whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl, then slowly pour in a third of the hot milk, whisking constantly, before whisking in the rest.
3. Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 8-10 minutes until the custard coats the back of a spoon.
4. Strain into a bowl set over ice, stir in the cold cream, vanilla and salt, then cover the surface and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
5. Churn in an ice cream machine according to its instructions, then freeze for 2 hours to firm up.
6. No machine? Pour into a shallow container and freeze, beating it hard with a fork or whisk every 45 minutes, 3 or 4 times, until smooth and firm.

03Notes & substitutions

• Use a split vanilla bean in the milk for specks and a deeper flavour.
• Stir through crushed chocolate, honey-roasted nuts or swirls of berry compote at the end of churning.
• Replace the vanilla with 1 tablespoon of instant coffee powder, or 100g of melted dark chocolate whisked into the hot custard.

04Common mistakes

• Churning a warm base — a warm custard melts and will not freeze properly; chill it completely first.
• Scrambling the eggs — adding the milk too fast or heating on high turns the yolks into lumps; add it slowly and use low heat.

05Storage & leftovers