Sugar Savvy

I know we’ve had our share of ice cream discussions at Sugar Savvy this summer, but I figured we were well overdue to actually make some. And even though summer will be fading into a distant memory before we can say Halloween, I’m still craving lots of frozen treats.

What better place to start the ice cream making experiments than with Vanilla Ice Cream? I’ve been drooling over, I mean adoring, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book, by Bruce Weinstein for quite a while now. The book has four different types of vanilla ice cream recipes, each with at least three variations, such as Butterscotch Cream Pie Ice Cream, Vanilla Marmalade Swirl Ice Cream and Vanilla Cracker Jack Ice Cream. I wanted to keep it simple and delicious so I went with Vanilla Ice Cream #3, which is a lower fat version containing sweetened condensed milk. With this recipe I decided to shoot it straight, no experimenting or variations the first go-round, and I wasn’t a bit disappointed.

The recipe was quite simple. The most challenging part is the cooking step, just stir constantly and watch your heat so that the eggs don’t scramble. Besides that the hardest part is the waiting, but it’s well worth it. I can see this ice cream being the perfect building block for lots of other great ice cream adventures. But I have to admit it’s pretty darn good all by itself.

Vanilla Ice Cream #3

2 cups milk (2% or skim)
2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 tsp vanilla extract

Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan. Slowly beat the hot milk into the eggs in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture bowl or the eggs will scramble. Remove from heat and pour the hot custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl. Allow the custard to cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

Stir the chilled custard, then freeze in 1 or 2 batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.