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Vanilla Bourbon Ice Cream

Bring something special to the table with this well-loved recipe.

Course: Dessert

Ingredients

  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • kosher salt
  • 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons bourbon
  • 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a medium saucepan, mix 1 cup of the cream with the milk, sugar, and a pinch of salt.
  2. Warm the cream mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and tiny bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes.
  3. Add vanilla paste.
  4. Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with several inches of ice water.
  5. Set a smaller metal bowl (one that holds at least 1-1/2 quarts) in the ice water.
  6. Pour the remaining cup of cream into the inner bowl (this helps the custard cool quicker when you pour it in later).
  7. Set a fine strainer on top.
  8. Whisk the egg yolks in a medium bowl.
  9. Take the warm cream mixture and in a steady stream, pour half of the warm cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling.
  10. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heatproof rubber spatula until the custard thickens slightly (it should be thick enough to coat the spatula and hold a line drawn through it with a finger), 4 to 8 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read 175° to 180°F at this point. Don’t let the sauce overheat or boil, or it will curdle.
  11. Immediately strain the custard into the cold cream in the ice bath.
  12. Cool the custard to below 70°F by stirring it over the ice bath.
  13. Stir the bourbon and vanilla extract into the cooled custard.
  14. Refrigerate the custard until completely chilled, at least 4 hours.
  15. Then freeze the custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  16. It will have the consistency of very soft serve. Do not panic this is ok. It's because of the alcohol.
  17. Transfer the just-churned ice cream to an air-tight container, and freeze overnight or up to 2 weeks.