Recipe: Simple Homemade Ice Cream
After finishing a recipe testing project this week, I had lots of extra cream and milk plus a few random ingredients. I thought it would be a fantastic idea to make ice cream. The only problem was we had only six eggs in our fridge. My classic ice cream recipe (which is on page 173 in The Newlywed Table) calls for six egg yolks per quart of ice cream. The yolks are important because they give the ice cream a super smooth and creamy texture. But I had enough cream and milk to make much more than one quart of ice cream, and rather than just go to the grocery store to buy more eggs, like a normal person would probably do, I decided to try making ice cream with less egg yolks. To my surprise, it turned out really well! I might like this version even better than the original. Here’s to experimenting more often in the kitchen.
Simple Homemade Ice Cream
To flavor the ice creams, I used up a few random ingredients that I had left over from recipe testing. For one ice cream, I mixed in two or three big spoonfuls of matcha green tea powder. For another, I added the rest of an horchata spice mix (basically ground cinnamon, vanilla powder, and brown sugar, I think). For the third batch, I stirred in vanilla extract and strawberry-raspberry purée.
Makes about 1 quart
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt
2 large egg yolks
Flavor mix-ins (see headnote for ideas)
In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar, and salt. Warm the mixture over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is steaming hot but not yet boiling.
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks to break them up. While whisking, slowly stream in about ¼ cup of the hot cream mixture and whisk until incorporated. Pour the tempered egg yolk mixture into the pot with the hot cream and cook over low heat, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until the cream thickens slightly (it’s subtle with only 2 egg yolks) and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 5 minutes.
Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Stir in any flavor mix-ins. Cover with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 3 days.
Pour the chilled custard into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Serve right away, or pack the ice cream into a freezer-safe container, place a piece of parchment paper directly on the surface of the ice cream (to ward off ice crystals), cover tightly with the lid, and store in the back of the freezer (where it’s coldest) until ready to serve.
