Vanilla Ice Cream

                  My top 6 fav ice creams are Coffee & Chocolate ice cream, Chocolate ice cream, Caribbean Banana Rum & Raisin, Strawberry ice cream, Vanilla & Triffle and these are only a few, with the exception of Triffle, of the ice creams that I had the good fortune to learn from a truly, passionate & exceptional Chef.  Somehow the exquisite taste of the Coffee, Caribbean Banana Rum & Raisin, Strawberry & Chocolate ice creams still linger strongly on my mind that I can almost "taste" the exquisite flavours even though I have learnt them more than 7 years ago & didnt practise much because of one failed attempt many years ago with a Strawberry ice cream, when a friend taught me to use 1 kg Strawberries, but alas it didnt turn out well & then the crave to do the ice creams which I learnt & as I am very much a Coffee person, I kicked off doing the Coffee & Chocolate Ice Cream & you find the receipe in my Blog and I think this is the best year of my life as I have had more time to practise things that I learnt so many, many years ago, things like the various breads & ice creams but even though I didnt do some of them, I "kept in touch" with those recipes by reading them constantly until one day I "wake up" with the craved feeling of making them & thank goodness I took good notes to guide me along & some of them in shorthand too as at times during class the Chefs spoke ever so fast that my fingers automatically wrote them down in shorthand and would be flying in my pursuit to get it all!!!

                  Sorry I have this penchant of diverting from the subject matter :)  Ok so let's get the ball rolling. I will start with Vanilla Ice Cream as you need to make a Cream Anglaise or in simple terms, a custard.  Cream Anglaise is made of egg yolks, sugar & hot milk & is the base for ice creams & from this Cream Anglaise it is just a skip & a jump to do other flavours and after typing the Vanilla Ice Cream, I will be moving on to a Strawberry Ice Cream which I made a few evenings ago and I need to make the Cream Anglaise before I can do the Strawberry ice cream.


                                                Vanilla Ice Cream

               Ingredients for Cream Anglaise

               250 ml                    UHT Milk
               1/2                          a Vanilla pod, split lengthwise OR 1 teasp Vanilla extract
                  5                          Egg YOLKS
                70 gm                    Castor Sugar
               250 ml                    *Dairy Whipping Cream [see notes below]

               Method

1. Bring the UHT Milk & Vanilla pod to "Almost boil" on low medium fire, stirring.  Remove from fire & using a knife scrape out the seeds from the Vanilla pod into the hot milk & let it infuse in the hot milk for 10 minutes. Discard the vanilla pod.
2. Whisk the egg yolks with the castor sugar in a bowl till thick & pale.
3. On low medium fire reheat the milk till hot.
4. Gradually pour the hot milk into the egg yolk mixture while stirring with a whisk.  STRAIN this mixture into another bowl & place bowl over a pan of simmering water on low medium fire while stirring all the while for about 3 - 5 minute. Dip a metal spoon into the custard & draw a line at the back of the spoon.  If you can get an "unbroken" line, your custard is ready. [Make sure you dont over cook this mixture]. 
5. Remove from fire & immediately place bowl over a basin of ice cold water for a few minutes to stop cooking process.
6. Cover the surface directly with cling film [this prevents skin formation] & allow the custard to cool completely then refrigerate it till cold.
7. Once custard is cold, mix in the 250 ml whipping cream & stir short while in order for them to incorporate.
8. Then churn in an ice cream maker following the manufacture's instructions.
9. Scoop out the ice cream with a wooden spoon into a tupperware & freeze.

                Notes:-

                   a) See my Coffee & Chocolate Ice Cream recipe for more info;
                   b) Dairy Whipping Cream can be used for baking, cooking & decorating & there are so many wonderful brands out there; brands like "Anchor", "Emborg", "Shani" etc.

                     New visitors please note that I am not a Chef by profession; just a passionate home baker. Till my next post, xoxo, Ophelia