Ice Cream Base

Details: Parent Category: Recipes; Category: Recipes - Desserts

Prep 5 m
Cook 10 m
Ready In: 10 h 45 m
Recipe By:Autumn Pumpkin
"A custard-style ice cream base -- from my favorite chef -- that any number of flavors can be added to. We have used chocolate, banana, strawberry, cookie dough, and blueberries, and all were wonderful!"

Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream
3 cups half-and-half cream
8 egg yolks
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Pour the heavy cream and half-and-half cream into a heavy saucepan, place over medium-low heat, and heat until barely simmering, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down to low.

Whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.

Slowly pour about 1/2 cup of hot cream mixture into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Repeat three times more, whisking thoroughly before adding each additional 1/2 cup of hot cream to the egg yolk mixture. Pour the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream, and whisk constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens and will coat the back of a spoon, 5 to 8 minutes. Do not let mixture boil.

Pour the ice cream base into a bowl and allow to cool for about 20 minutes; place in refrigerator and chill overnight. The next day, pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Remove the ice cream, pack into a covered container, and freeze for 2 hours or overnight before serving.

Footnotes

Cook's Note:

Additions: 1/2 cup cocoa powder (add to egg yolks, sugar, and salt in Step 2); or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; or 1 cup pureed fruit (such as strawberries, bananas, peaches, etc.)