Best Italian Vanilla Ice Cream Recipes

VANILLA GELATO

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until light and thick.
• Heat the milk, cream, vanilla pod, and salt in a heavy saucepan and heat over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges.
• Remove from the heat, and take 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture, and slowly whisk it into the beaten eggs.
• Next whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan, and cook over low heat stirring continuosly until the mixture thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a metal bowl and refrigerate until cold.
• Once the custard mixture is cold, transfer it into an ice cream maker and churn following the manufacturers instructions.
• Serve immediately, or freeze in an airtight container until you are ready to use.

VANILLA ITALIAN CREAM SODA

Steps:

• Place ice cubes into a glass; pour club soda over. Pour vanilla syrup on top, followed by half-and-half. Stir and serve.

ITALIAN CREMA ICE CREAM (GELATO ALLA CREMA)

Steps:

• Pour milk into a saucepan. Add 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar and egg yolks. Whisk thoroughly. Cook over medium heat, stirring gently with a spatula, until custard is steaming-hot and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Stir in heavy cream and salt and remove from heat.
• Pour custard through a fine mesh strainer and refrigerate until completely chilled, 8 hours to overnight.
• Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions, about 20 minutes. Seal top with plastic wrap, cover with a lid, and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

BEST EVER VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• In a large heavy saucepan, combine cream, milk, sugar and salt. Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. With a sharp knife, scrape seeds into pan; add bean. Heat cream mixture over medium heat until bubbles form around sides of pan, stirring to dissolve sugar. , In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot mixture into the egg yolks; return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook over low heat until mixture is just thick enough to coat a metal spoon and temperature reaches 180°, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Immediately transfer to a bowl. , Place bowl in a pan of ice water. Stir gently and occasionally for 2 minutes; discard vanilla bean. Press waxed paper onto surface of mixture. Refrigerate several hours or overnight., Fill cylinder of ice cream maker two-thirds full; freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. (Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) Transfer ice cream to a freezer container; freeze until firm, 4-6 hours. Repeat with remaining mixture.

CLASSIC VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Place a container in the freezer. Split the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape the seeds out with the point of the knife and tip into a pan with the milk, cream and pod. Bring to the boil, then remove heat and leave to infuse for at least 20 mins. For the best flavour, this can be done a few hours beforehand and left to go cold.
• In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together for a few mins until they turn pale and fluffy. Put the vanilla cream back on the heat until it's just about to boil, then carefully sieve the liquid onto the yolks, beating with the whisk until completely mixed.
• At this point, get a large bowl of iced water and sit a smaller bowl in it. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook on the lowest heat, stirring slowly and continuously, making sure the spoon touches the bottom of the pan, for about 10 mins until thickened. Strain the custard into the bowl sitting in the iced water and leave to cool, then churn until scoopable. Transfer to the container and freeze.

ULTIMATE VANILLA ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Put the canister from the machine into the freezer a day before you want to make the ice cream. Next day, pour the cream and milk into a medium heavy-based pan, then tip in half the sugar. Slit the vanilla pod down its length with a small sharp knife and scoop out as many of the tiny black seeds as you can into the cream mixture. Cut the pod into three and drop it into the pan.
• Heat the cream and milk over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until it almost boils - you'll see a few bubbles at the edge. Take off the heat and set aside for 30 minutes so the vanilla can infuse.
• Put the egg yolks into a bowl with the rest of the sugar and beat with an electric hand beater for about 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened, is paler in colour and falls in thick ribbons when you lift the beaters. Using a measuring jug, scoop out about 125ml/4fl oz of the cream mixture and beat into the egg yolks to slacken them. Reheat the cream until it just comes to the boil, take off the heat and stir in the egg yolk mixture.
• Return the pan to a low heat and cook, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon, for 8-10 minutes, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Watch that it doesn't boil - as soon as you see any bubbles about to burst to the surface, it should be thick enough, so take the pan off the heat so the mixture doesn't curdle.
• Pour the custard into a heatproof bowl, then sit it in a bigger bowl one third full of iced water to cool (this takes about 20 minutes). Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming. Put the bowl of custard in the fridge for 3-4 hours, preferably overnight, so it gets really cold.
• Get the ice cream machine running, scoop out the vanilla pod pieces, then slowly pour in the cold custard. Leave it to churn for 10-30 minutes (depending on your machine). When it stops, it is probably too soft to eat, so spoon into a plastic container, cover with cling film, then a lid, and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours. (It will keep in the freezer for 3 months but don't take it out, then refreeze.) Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before serving.
• To make it by hand: in step 1, heat the milk, vanilla, and half the sugar without the cream (the custard will be slightly thicker). At the start of step 6, whip the cream so it's light and floppy, not too stiff, and fold it into the cold custard. Freeze for 3-4 hours, stirring once an hour until almost frozen, then freeze as above.