Vanilla Ice Cream, Custard Version

Vanilla Ice Cream, Custard Version
2 Tb. cornstarch

2-1/4 cups sugar

½ tsp. salt

3 cups milk

1-1/2 Tb. vanilla extract

4 eggs, well beaten

3 cups half and half

4 cups whipping cream

Mix the cornstarch, sugar, salt, milk, and extract in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Stir in about 1 cup of the warm milk into the beaten eggs. Add the eggs and milk back to the milk in the pan and cook. Stir constantly until thickened, about 2-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in half and half.

If you are in doubt about the smoothness of the custard, strain the mixture into another container before cooling it. Cool completely. Mix with remaining cream and freeze in an ice cream freezer. The amounts here fill a 6-quart freezer. You may have to decrease the milk by a cup if you are adding in a lot of candy, crushed cookies, or other treats.

Instead of using vanilla extract, you can scrape the seeds out of a vanilla bean pod and add them to the milk before you start to cook it. You could also substitute vanilla bean sugar for some of the regular sugar instead of using vanilla extract.

Notes from Eliza: After you make the ice cream, pack it in another container and put it in the freezer. Unlike most homemade ice creams, this recipe will not turn into a chunk of ice. The ice cream will freeze hard, but still be soft enough to scoop out of the container; this is like the expensive ice cream you buy at a store or get at an ice cream shop. Many fancy ice cream recipes use alcohol to get the right consistency; this version gets that great consistency without adding objectionable ingredients.