The Only Ice Cream Recipe You’ll Ever Need (2024)

I always add a touch of vodka to my homemade ice cream which slows the freezing process (I think) and prevents the ice cream from getting icy.

Stevia, to my palate, is a sure way to RUIN anything.

I subbed the same measure of coconut milk for milk and coconut cream for the heavy cream. Delicious and lactose-free!!! Definitely a keeper. Thank you!

I used 3 yolks instead of 6, 1/2 cup of sugar instead of 2/3 cups of sugar and one vanilla bean instead of two.
Ice cream turned out very creamy and sweet, but not too sweet.

Overchurning in your ice cream maker or frozen KitchenAid attachment can cause the heavy cream to turn into butter. It will coat the spoon and taste a bit grainy and leave a greasy texture on your tongue.

If you use half and half in place of the milk and cream, it becomes rich but no longer overpoweringly rich.

You don't ever have to throw away egg whites. They freeze well in plastic containers and are ready to use (after defrosting at room temp) for any recipe calling for them.

Six egg yolks seemed awfully dense. I used four plus one whole egg. It was luscious, velevety, delicious. I find a half cup sugar sufficient, but that's my personal taste.

Your end result will be a less creamy ice cream. Part of what makes a good ice cream super creamy is the small ice crystals in it. By allowing it to cool completely in the refrigerator prior to churning you are making sure that it freezes quickly, giving it little time to form large ice crystals.

News flash: there's lots of research now that fat doesn't make you fat nor does it give you heart disease. It's the carbs that will do that to you.

I used a half cup of local honey instead of the sugar and when I churned it, i mixed in chopped up chunks of frozen baklava with a healthy dose of ground cinnamon.

This does make a very rich, tasty base, but it's far too custard-like for my taste. There's a ton of egg yolk in it and you can really taste that in the finished product, especially with lighter flavorings. It's a good recipe if that's what you're going after but this is not a serviceable "all-around" base, in my opinion.

Terrific recipe. Today, coffee ice cream, which turned out just right.
2 Tb freshly ground coffee in with the milk, cream sugar. Strain through cheesecloth-lined strainer before proceeding with adding the eggs, though I guess I could have left a few flecks in and dispensed with the cheesecloth. Beautiful color, great flavor.

This is the perfect ice cream base. I have used it for vanilla chocolate chip and coconut ice cream flavors and both came out with rich flavors and exactly what I was looking for in ice cream. I do sometimes change the weight of cream and milk to 1 1/2 C and 1 1/2 C, the flavor is still spot on but it is a little lighter and slightly less rich.

This recipe is that good

Omg besttt recipe ever I used one teaspoon of vanilla extract and it’s beautiful

A bit much. Overkill with 6 egg yolks, better still is no eggs, lighter, creamier, and tastier.

5 egg yolks

Dear Melissa,This ice cream recipe looks wonderful! But some of us can't digest dairy products, even with the lactose reduced, or are vegan. Would you be interested in taking on the challenge of creating a similar "this is the only vegan vanilla ice cream recipe you'll ever need"? Maybe based on oat milk and silken tofu? Many thanks from one of your millions of fans,Elizabeth

For those who cannot access the linked flavor chart because they only have a Cooking subscription, the guide “How to Make Ice Cream” has a flavoring chart about halfway down, and can be accessed by Cooking-only subscribers.

I use 1 pt. half and half, 1 pt. heavy cream (organic and grass fed)8 egg yolks ( I experimented with 4, then 6 and settled on 8)2/3 c. sugarvanillaI chill in the fridge and then use the ice cream makerDelicious every time

Having delved into the science of making ice cream, this recipe suffers from too much fat and table sugar and too little non-fat milk solids. In all likelihood its doing this to try to achieve scoop-ability without adding single-molecule sugars (fructose and glucose) that bind water molecules far better than sucrose so they don't freeze into ice. The result, however, will be an ice cream that is scoopable but has less "chew" and is greasy on the palette while also being way too sweet.

The caramel version of this is spectacularly good.

Great recipe! I use this as a reference almost every time I make ice cream. However for me, 4 eggs yolks gives the perfect ice cream texture and also makes it scoopable.

The only recipe I ever use is 750ml of whipping cream, 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, proper bourbon vanilla extract and falvouring of choice (which for me is a gracious helping of freshly ground nutmeg!). The cream gets whipped first before you carefully add the condensed milk using a manual whisk.

2 cups heavy cream1 cup condensed milk (less water, fewer ice crystals).5 large egg yolks (fewer calories). 1 Tbsp real vanilla extract (for the alcohol) Or use imitation vanilla, with 2-3 tsp of Vodka (lowers the freezing point reduces ice crystals).1/4 tsp kosher salt (who has sea salt really)

Is there a way to do this without the ice cream machine, or is it absolutely necessary?

been cooking professionaslly for 40 years and use creme anglaise as my ice cream base .. so whenever i make the sauce for a dessert i double the recipe and put half in and ice cream maker. two for one!

2 Cups heavy cream, 1 80z can of condensed milk, a few drops of vanilla extract. Whip the cream to soft peaks. Fold in milk and a few drops of vanilla extract. Freeze. Boom...best vanilla ice cream ever.