Homemade Ice-cream

Ava and I decided to spend some time in the kitchen this morning.  We made the usual loaves of bread, but felt we needed something more decadent.  I have been spending some time looking through this book lately and have been keen to try out some of the recipes.  It's a really beautiful book and covers many topics including dairy, breads, preserving, vegetables herbs and salad, meat and foraging among many others.  The recipes are based on 'real' ingredients and are simple and easy to follow.

So we chose the 'Ballymalloe Vanilla Ice-cream' to make today.  It was quite simple to make.

All we needed was 4 egg yolks, 5 cups of softly whipped cream, half a cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and a vanilla bean with its seeds scraped out.

Whisk the cream until softly whipped

Then whisk the egg yolks until light and fluffy

Stir to dissolve the sugar in a cup of water over low heat.  Then bring to the boil (I did this bit by myself as I'm wary of boiling sugar with little one's around!) and simmer away until it reaches syrupy consistency - about 230 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whilst whisking, add the syrup, (very carefully so you don't touch the sides of the bowl with the syrup as it will solidify) in a thin stream.  Add the vanilla extract and seeds from the vanilla pod and beat until it reaches a creamy white, mousse-like consistency.

 Then fold in the whipped cream

A put into a bowl or container that will fit in the freezer.  Cover and freeze until set.  
There's no need to whisk during the setting period, so it's really quite easy and less fiddly thank other ice cream recipes I have come across.  The recipe does suggest that you remove it from the freezer 10 minutes prior to serving time to allow it to soften slightly.
We will have to see how it tastes for dessert tonight!
Bon Appetito!