Vanilla Ice Cream
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Treat yourself to the classic, creamy goodness of homemade vanilla ice cream—so simple to make, you'll be churning it up again and again!
Who doesn’t love a scoop of creamy, dreamy vanilla ice cream—whether on its own, with hot fudge sauce or caramel sauce, or served à la mode with a warm slice of apple pie? This version is adapted from Jeni Britton-Bauer, the “Jeni” behind Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Known for her Philadelphia-style ice cream, which is egg-free unlike custard-based ice creams and gelatos, Jeni’s method for making homemade vanilla ice cream is simpler than you might think.
It starts with a base of whole milk, heavy cream, and sugar steeped with vanilla. Cornstarch helps thicken the mixture, while cream cheese adds a delightful tang, density, and smoothness. A quick churn in the ice cream machine and you’ve got a luscious treat that’s perfect on its own or as a complement to your favorite desserts. You can enjoy it soft-serve style straight out of the machine, but for that perfectly scoopable consistency, let the ice cream chill in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
What You’ll Need To Make Vanilla Ice Cream
- Whole Milk: Provides a rich and creamy base for the ice cream.
- Cornstarch: Gets mixed with the milk and acts as a thickening agent to give the ice cream a smooth texture.
- Cream Cheese: Adds a slight tang and extra creaminess to the ice cream.
- Heavy Cream: Contributes to the rich and creamy texture and flavor.
- Sugar: Provides the sweetness for the ice cream and helps with texture.
- Light Corn Syrup: Enhances sweetness and helps prevent ice crystals from forming.
- Vanilla Bean (or Vanilla Bean Paste/Extract): Adds a deep, aromatic vanilla flavor. While a vanilla bean will impart the richest and most authentic flavor, vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste will also yield excellent results.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.
In a large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth. Set aside.
In a large saucepan, combine the remaining 1-2/3 cups milk, the heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla bean and seeds (if using vanilla bean paste or extract, don’t add it yet).
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the vanilla bean flavors the mixture, about 4 minutes. Gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a gentle boil and cook over medium heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. If using vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, stir it in now.
To prepare an ice bath, fill a very large bowl with ice cubes and add cold water until the ice is slightly submerged. Nestle the bowl with your hot ice cream mixture into the ice bath, ensuring it makes good contact with the ice and is stable. Whisk the mixture occasionally while it cools, about 30 minutes, or until thoroughly chilled.
If you’ve used a vanilla pod, remove it. Freeze the ice cream in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Transfer the ice cream into a container and seal with an airtight lid.
Freeze until the ice cream is firm, about 4 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! The flavor of your vanilla ice cream will be delicious regardless of whether you use vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or a vanilla bean. Each form of vanilla will bring its own unique qualities to your ice cream, but all will result in a rich and flavorful treat.
Unfortunately not—to achieve the wonderful creamy texture, an ice cream machine is required. If you don’t have one yet, it’s worth considering, as homemade ice creams, yogurts, and sorbets are fun to make. That said, if you’re not ready to buy an ice cream machine, you can still enjoy homemade no-churn ice creams, including key lime pie ice cream, Vietnamese coffee ice cream, and Oreo cheesecake ice cream.
Yes, the ice cream will keep, tightly covered, for up to 1 week. Before serving, let it sit out on the countertop for a bit to soften enough to scoop.
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Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cups plus 2 tablespoons whole milk, divided
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 oz (4 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- Scant 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped (or 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or extract)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch.
- In a large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, combine the remaining 1⅔ cups milk, the heavy cream, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla bean and seeds (if using vanilla bean paste or extract, don’t add it yet). Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the vanilla bean flavors the mixture, about 4 minutes. Gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a gentle boil and cook over medium heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. If using vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, stir it in now.
- To prepare an ice bath, fill a very large bowl with ice cubes and add cold water until the ice is slightly submerged. Nestle the bowl with your hot ice cream mixture into the ice bath, ensuring it makes good contact with the ice and is stable. Whisk the mixture occasionally while it cools, about 30 minutes, or until thoroughly chilled.
- If you’ve used a vanilla pod, remove it. Freeze the ice cream in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer the ice cream into a container and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze until the ice cream is firm, about 4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
Comments
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Jenn, what a nice thing you’ve gone and done! Some years ago, I tried a Jenni ice cream recipe and for me, it was fraught with too many “exact” things I had to do. My resulting ice cream was “meh” at best. Somehow you’ve turned the recipe into an easy way to get the job done, and am I ever glad I decided to try it yesterday. It was just delicious last night as a hot fudge sundae, and don’t tell anyone, but my lunch time treat today was this ice cream with a dousing of olive oil and Maldon salt crystals. YUM! Oh, I’ve just purchased the Jenni cookbook too 🙂
💕
Hello, I love your recipes and will probably try this one too. I wondered though if you had any suggestions on proportions for a mint chocolate chip ice cream? My new ice cream maker had a picture of it on the box but no recipe in their list 🙂
Loved the tart frozen yogurt last week! It was the first thing I made with the ice cream maker.
Thanks for your nice words about the recipes — so glad you like them! As of now, I don’t have a mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe, but I will add it to my list of ones to potentially develop. Thanks for the suggestion!
Looks amazing! If I don’t have an ice cream maker, is there another way to freeze it?
Hi Liz, Unfortunately not— this one requires an ice cream machine. If you don’t have one yet, it’s worth considering. That said, if you’re not ready to buy an ice cream machine, I have several no-churn ice creams on the blog — including key lime pie, Vietnamese coffee, and Oreo cheesecake.
You inspired me to buy the ice cream machine, and I’m so glad I did! Absolutely delicious.
Yay! 🙂