World’s Best Ice Cream!
Ok, I haven’t tasted all of the ice cream in the world. But I have tasted enough to know that this ice cream isn’t just good, it’s amazing. And best of all, the base is easily customizable into a plethora of flavors, based on what you like and what you have on hand.
Believe it or not, this tiny contraption my son is using makes an amazing end product, but not much of it.
I absolutely recommend instead getting an electric, old-fashioned style ice cream maker. These are easy to use and have significantly more cooling capacity than most frozen bowl style ice cream churns. 
Combining salt with the ice and water that surrounds the ice cream bucket makes a huge difference. Whereas an ice bath made without salt will always be 32° F, adding 2 cups of salt to the mix lowers it to 22° F, helping your ice cream base to freeze more quickly (leading to smaller ice crystals and a more pleasant mouth feel).
Best of all, machines of this type are quite affordable, particularly when you can find them used. Just be sure that all of the pieces are in good condition (e.g. show no signs of rust or corrosion and the motor works well).
The real key to fantastic ice cream, though, is the base that you use to create it. Using a high amount of fat, liquid sugars, and egg yolks all help to create a smooth emulsification and a luxurious result. I’m not going to say that this is an easy recipe to make, but I will say that it is straightforward. With attention to details like heat level and custard temperature, you can make amazing ice cream at home very easily. Here’s the basic ice cream base, and also a few variations that I can vouch for.
Basic Ice Cream Base
Ingredients for 1/2-gallon yield:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup liquid sugar (see note below)
- 6 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup (additional) liquid sugar
- 1 Tbl vanilla extract
- Combine cream, milk, salt, and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan.
- Whisk egg yolks and 1/4 cup sugar in a stainless steel bowl for about 2 minutes, until the yolks take on a lemony color.
- Heat milk and cream mix over medium heat, stirring with something other than your yolk-y whisk, until it reaches 175° F. Reduce heat to low.
- Temper the hot dairy mix into the egg yolks by whisking 1-1.5 cups of the hot mix into the bowl of egg yolks; then whisking the hot egg mix back into the saucepan.
- Continue to whisk (without stopping!) over gentle heat until the mixture reaches 175° F and starts to thicken. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Remove from heat into a shallow glass container (such as a pyrex baking dish). Cover with plastic wrap or parchment to keep the custard from developing a surface film, and refrigerate for several hours until cold (38° F - 41° F).
- Set up your ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions and leave space for the ice cream to expand as it is churned. The air added to the mix is called “overrun” and is essential to the soft, creamy texture we desire in a craft ice cream. You can see in the pictures below how much the ice cream rises during the mixing process.
- The ice cream will still be fairly soft when it is done churning. Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for 3-4 hours or until hard. Depending on how cold your freezer is, you may need to let it sit out on the counter for 10-20 minutes before scooping.
- Maple-Peach Ice Cream: Chop 2 cups of peaches and combine with 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Let sit for an hour. Strain juice from peaches and combine with 1/2 cup maple syrup for dairy mixture. Mash peaches and refrigerate. Fold into ice cream base when you remove it from the mixer.
- Chocolate Ice Cream: when heating your dairy, stir 6-8 ounces of good, dark chocolate (in small pieces) into the cream and milk. Follow all other directions. For a treat, stir 2 cups of peanut butter chips in after the ice cream comes out of the mixer.
- Lemon Meringue Ice Cream: Make a 2 yolk/ 1 egg lemon curd and fold this into your ice cream custard when chilling it before churning. Make a 2-3 egg white swiss meringue and fold into the ice cream base immediately before churning. If desired, make graham cracker crumbles and stir in at end. OK, this variation is sort of difficult and probably deserves its own future post.
- Corduroy Creamsicle Ice Cream: Make a mixed citrus curd with equal parts lemon, lime, and orange juices. Make a mint syrup by cooking a large fistful of fresh mint leaves with 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to 225° F. Strain mint leaves from syrup, let syrup cool to 150° F-170° F and use this syrup for the dairy portion of the ice cream base.