Many many moons ago, I was an unemployed attorney living the housewife life (don’t ask lol). With a gift card I purchased my most cherished kitchen item, a KitchenAid mixer. It immediately sent me into a baking frenzy and recipe creation. Then once I picked up the ice cream attachment I was deep into creating the perfect at home frozen custard because the ice cream starters kits are for suckers. I shared this recipe on an old blog that I no longer post on. Since I abandoned it, the recipe has been shared countless times, so it seemed like a good time to revisit and revamp it. Check out my updated Vanilla Bean Frozen Custard recipe belowww!
Recipe Prep
Recreating this recipe posed a few problems. First, I no longer had my KitchenAid freezer bowl! If you check the reviews many buyers complain about the blue gel inside of the bowl leaking after a few uses. Well the same darn thing happened to me! I threw it out years ago so I had to break down and buy a new one (on sale). This time, I picked it up from a fancier retailer and kept my receipt. Best believe I will be marching up there with that bowl if it craps out again.
I also wanted to pick up real vanilla beans and WHO knew that was so complicated now?! HEB, Trader Joes and Target all did not carry them. I had to go to Whole Foods and spend my entire check for a jar with three vanilla beans in it. *Sighs* if you plan ahead better than I did, you can pick them up from Amazon for a better price. Also consider grabbing a good strainer and a heat resistant whisk or spatula for this recipe.
Frozen Custard Recipe
Before I dive into the recipe, I want to note this is a custard recipe and not an ice cream recipe! Custard is creamier because the recipes call for more eggs. Once you switch to frozen custard you can never go back to regular ole ice cream. Alright so when I made this recipe, I made one batch with brown sugar because I’m obsessed with using it over plain ole white sugar. In doing so, I may have accidentally created a caramel frozen custard, but it was good none the less. I still made the plain ole vanilla version too. The recipes are the same, just sub in what sugar you want to use in the directions below.
See those beautiful vanilla specks?
Vanilla Bean Frozen Custard
A homemade vanilla bean frozen custard recipe to be used in any at home ice cream maker.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Milk Whole Milk is Best
- 2/3 Cup Sugar (Brown or White Granulated Sugar)
- 1 Vanilla Bean
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3 Eggs I've added up to 5 eggs to this recipe for creamier results.
Instructions
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Simmer milk in saucepan, slowly adding in sugar. Simmer together.
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Slice Vanilla bean and scoop out the inside. Add to simmering milk and sugar mixture. You can also throw in the entire vanilla bean and remove it during the straining process.
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Crack eggs and separate yolks. Place egg yolks in a medium sized bowl and whisk them for a bit.
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Temper the eggs by adding a spoonful at a time of the heated milk and sugar mixture to the whisked eggs. Continue to add spoonfuls until the eggs are heated.
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Pour tempered eggs into your saucepan and whisk on low heat. Continue until mixture thickens. Watch carefully because the eggs may start to scramble.
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Remove from heat. Strain mixture into large bowl with lid. (Straining removes any scrambled eggs and the Vanilla Bean).
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Add heavy cream and Vanilla extract
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Refrigerate until chilled
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Follow your ice cream maker instructions from here!
Using the KitchenAid Mixer
After your mixture is chilled, it is time to throw the frozen custard into the KitchenAid mixer. Your freezer bowl should have frozen over night (15 hours as instructed) at this point. Once you attach the bowl and spinner, gently pour your chilled frozen custard mixture in and begin spinning on the lower settings. When it is ready it will begin to clump in the middle. Mind you, it will have the consistency of partially frozen ice cream when it’s ready. For the good frozen consistency it will need some time in the freezer. For this, I rely on my Zak! ice cream container to store and freeze. Give it a few hours and you will have good scoopable solid ice cream.
Here is the recipe with brown sugar!
I got a kitchenAid mixer for Christmas and I’ve been baking up a frenzy too, haven’t tried ice cream yet but I might just get the attachment for this frozen custard! Looks yummy!
How many eggs do you use in this custard? Eggs are not listed in the recipe! ?
Awww thanks for catching that! I changed the recipe format recently and one of the most important ingredients was left off! It is updated now 🙂
I have an ice cream maker and I made ice cream like once. Lol. This looks amazing and I for sure am going to bring it out this summer to make this custard. I love how you used real vanilla beans in this recipe, so worth it!
Every time you make ice cream, I’m drooling! You have a great base recipe!
This is the most perfect dessert to make now that the weather is getting hot! Thanks for sharing!
This looks and sounds delicious and I know your ice cream recipes are always the best!
This looks so creamy and delicious! I love vanilla bean and this definitely sounds like the perfect summer sweet treat!
I remember when you shared this on Instagram and I was drooling over the flavour combination. Did I mention that I’m stilling waiting for my share of your ice cream.
Are only the egg yolks used in the recipe? The separated egg whites are never incorporated, correct?
Correct! Just the yolks. You may be able to save the whites for something else later.
Can I elimnate the vanilla extract and put in an extra vanilla bean instead?
For sure. Double or even triple the beans for more flavor. You can also just use vanilla bean paste and skip the whole pod. Adding the pod in and heating it up allows you to steep for more flavor. You can also add the pod to your cream or dairy the night before and soak it for extra flavor. However from a cost and over all standpoint 1 bean + extract is the way to go. I’ve made tons of custard and the vanilla extract (especially if it’s the kind with alcohol) plus 1 bean per 1-2 quarts is my preference. The alcohol from the extract keeps the ice cream softer in the freezer. Plus having those little vanilla seeds people know it’s going to be delicious.
I tried this recipe after the last one I used produced ice cream that was more icy than creamy. I used brown sugar, 4 egg yolks and 1 tbsp Nielsen-Massey vanilla bean paste instead of the bean and extract. We also stirred in chunks of brownies and cookie. All of the kids got to help at some level. We just finished our first bowls of it and, to quote my husband, “All other ice cream is now pointless.” I think we’re going to be making ice cream from this recipe forever. My next try is going to be making this with white sugar, leaving out the vanilla bean, and adding strawberries after my son requested we make strawberry ice cream. I think this is going to be the base for both ice cream and memories for years to come. Thank you!!