Pantry Basics: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Johnny Iuzzini's vanilla ice cream recipe

Johnny Iuzzini's vanilla ice cream recipe

I’ve tried a host of vanilla ice cream recipes, but love this one—based on Johnny Iuzzini’s in Dessert Fourplay—best for making the vanilla ice cream that I have in our freezer at all times. It’s the first ice cream my son, T ever tasted. His little eyes lit up and he grinned in excitement when he registered its flavour, texture and temperature all at once for the very first time. That moment was truly priceless.

This vanilla ice cream remains scoop-able (thanks to the addition of invert sugar) without rapidly turning into a puddle and has the luscious, velvety mouthfeel that I adore in crème anglaise-based ice creams. Taking the time to let the vanilla infuse overnight (my tweak) and giving the finished ice-cream base yet another night in the fridge to let the flavours come together (Iuzzini’s generous sharing of a detail most pastry chefs practice) really makes for an ice cream that packs a powerful vanilla punch. The rather drawn out method also happens to work well with my current schedule as it means that I only need to spend a couple of minutes working on the ice cream each day as and when I can steal a little time to do so.

This is unquestionably my vanilla ice cream of choice when I’m serving ice cream sodas or floats, affogatos, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, tarts or cakes; occasions when I want vanilla to be an equal, a flavour at the forefront rather than the backdrop of a dish. Because of that, I also prefer not to add mix-ins to it. In my book, this is the cashmere of vanilla ice creams. You have to try it!

Johnny Iuzzini's vanilla ice cream recipe

About Su-Lyn Tan

Su-Lyn is Aun's better half and for many years, the secret Editor behind this blog known to readers simply as S. Su-Lyn is an obsessive cook and critical eater whose two favourite pastimes are spending time with her three kids and spending time in the kitchen. She looks forward to combining the two in the years to come.

Facebooktwittergoogle_plusredditlinkedinmail