Homemade vanilla ice cream is anything but mediocre and forgettable, as they are the vanilla ice creams that we find in the supermarket. A vanilla ice cream made with care, with an English egg cream and a quality vanilla will leave you ojipláticos. Little word.
90% of the ice creams that we buy in the supermarket are quite deficient in terms of flavor and the fats with which they are made. Preparing it at home the result will be magnificent as long as we use a quality vanilla. Below I detail what options exist and which are better.
The classic base of an ice cream was originally an english cream, a curdled cream with egg, milk and/or cream, sugar and a flavoring, similar to a clear custard, wow. In professional artisan ice cream parlors, in many cases, the egg, which acts as an emulsifier and thickener, has been replaced by other ingredients that play the same role, such as polysaccharides of various kinds. This is neither good nor bad, beware, there are professionals who prefer to do without the egg, which provides some flavor and color, to use a more tasteless ice cream base that allows the added aroma/flavoring to stand out more, and also for ease of use. management in productions of greater volume than a homemade ice cream.
What is buttering an ice cream?
These flavored custards or base cream must be buttered to obtain the ice cream. Buttering means beating the ice cream base while cold is applied to freeze it; it involves, on the one hand, introducing tiny air bubbles and, on the other hand, breaking the ice crystals as they form. The aim is that the ice crystals do not exceed the size that our palate is capable of perceiving so that the ice cream is smooth and pleasant.
Making a good ice cream at home is now within the reach of many, but I am not going to deceive you: in my humble opinion there is no method of making shortbread at home comparable to that achieved with an ice cream machine or ice cream maker (or a robot’s freezing tray, which does not require a machine with a compressor). Neither the traditional method of putting the cream in the freezer and taking it out to crush it every hour or freezing the cream in cubes and then crushing it in a powerful blender. Another thing is that we have to use what we have at hand.
What is the best vanilla to flavor an ice cream?
About vanilla to flavorof which there are several formats on the market:
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- vanilla pods: they are the best option; To use them, they are opened with a knife in half lengthwise and the interior seeds are scraped, which are added to the cream. They are the characteristic black dots of a vanilla-flavored sweet. But, be careful, the pod must be fresh and flexible, not stiffer than the mojama like those found in many general stores. To get good vanilla it is advisable to go to stores specializing in confectionery material and it must be kept in the fridge in an airtight container.
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- Vanilla extract: It is usually an infusion of vanilla beans in some alcohol. It has the advantage that it keeps very well and is more easily dosed than the pods. Again, be careful, because there are very different qualities, from very good in specialized stores, to very mediocre aromas (not extracts) that have authentic vanilla what I have as a nun. I usually use a very good quality extract that I buy in a specialized store; It is expensive, but little is used. It is the method that I have used and it is seen in the photos.
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- vanilla paste: syrup with vanilla seeds, which is usually liquid glucose or similar. It has the same advantages as the extract, with the exception that it sweetens something, but since the amount needed is usually small, nothing happens.
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- crushed vanilla in powder: this format is usually found today in many supermarkets, but it is not worth it. It is very mediocre.
Regarding the hardness or not hardness of homemade ice cream, an ice cream with the type of formulation of our recipe becomes quite hard at the same time. temperature of domestic freezers, -18 ºC, because it is indicated for a higher service temperature, that of the display cabinets of ice cream parlors. In order for this not to happen, it is necessary, among other things, to use technological sweeteners such as those found in commercial ice creams (see the ingredients) such as dextrose or the option that we indicate in the ingredients of inverted sugar, which gives good results. If we do not use these types of ingredients, nothing happens:
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- We should let the ice cream soften for a few minutes in the fridge before serving it or
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- even pass it a few seconds (with great caution, of course) by the microwave.
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- And ready to taste our wonderful homemade vanilla ice cream.
recipe information
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- Preparation time: 24 hours
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- Cooking time: 30 minutes
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- total time: 24 hours and 30 minutes
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- rations:6
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- Category: dessert
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- type of cuisine: international
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- calories: 410 kcal per 100 g
Ingredients for homemade vanilla ice cream for 6 people
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- 550 g cream/milk cream (minimum 35% fat)
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- 190 g of whole milk
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- 45 g skimmed milk powder
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- 140 g sugar (or 100 g sugar and 45 g invert sugar)
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- 80 g of egg yolks (about 4 units)
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- 2 tsp. vanilla extract (or the seeds of 1 fresh vanilla pod)
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- 1 pinch of salt
How to make vanilla ice cream
Weigh all the ingredients on a scale before starting and leave all the utensils that we will use at hand, which is called making a mise en place. If using vanilla pods, cut the pod in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds from the inside and add them to the milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the saucepan and allow to cool. If vanilla extract or paste is used, it is added after preparing the cream.
With the milk at room temperature, add the other ingredients: cream, powdered milk, sugar, egg yolks and salt. Stir well to mix and heat over a very low heat (if you want to be very careful, you can heat the mixture in a bain-marie) without stopping stirring with a whisk or wooden spoon. If you have a probe thermometer, keep checking the temperature of the mixture.
From around 75 ºC the cream should begin to thicken, be careful not to overheat, as it can cut. When it thickens (a slight thickening is noted), add the vanilla extract, if using instead of the vanilla beans.
Immediately place the saucepan in a bowl with water and ice to lower the temperature quickly (cover with plastic to the skin). It is convenient to lower the temperature quickly for food safety (although the heating time of the cream pasteurizes the yolks). You can also pour the mixture into a zip bag instead of keeping it in the saucepan.
Once the base cream is cold, put it in the fridge and let it rest until the next day or a minimum of 6 hours. This maturation time helps, among other things, to make the ice cream creamier.
Once the base cream has matured, beat it with a hand mixer to homogenize perfectly. Start the ice cream machine and pour the cream. Butter for about 15 minutes, until the ice cream acquires some firmness.
Transfer the soft ice cream to an airtight container and put in the freezer to finish freezing, for at least 6 hours. Better to use a container that can be filled to the top with ice cream, to avoid condensation. If you do not have an ice cream machine, put the ice cream mixture in an airtight container in the freezer and take it out every hour to beat with a hand mixer, as many times as necessary until the ice cream acquires firmness. The total time depends on the power of each freezer.
As we have indicated in the introduction, this ice cream will be relatively hard when removed from the domestic freezer. When you want to serve it, leave the container for a few minutes in the fridge or at room temperature, until the balls can be removed with an ice cream scoop.
Easy preparation summary
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- Mix 550 g of cream (minimum 35% mg), 190 g of whole milk, 45 g of skimmed milk powder, 140 g of sugar, 80 g of egg yolks and a pinch of salt
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- Heat over very low heat until slightly thickened (from about 75ºC). Add the vanilla extract
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- Place the mixture in a container with water and ice to lower the temperature. Then transfer it to the fridge and keep it overnight or a minimum of 6 hours.
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- Beat the settled ice cream base with a mixer
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- Pass the base to an ice cream machine or freezer bucket of a robot. Bake for about 15 minutes, until it takes on a smooth consistency
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- Transfer the soft ice cream to an airtight container and continue freezing in the home freezer, for at least 6 hours.
