The Best Vanilla Ice Cream You Will Ever Make!

The Best Vanilla Ice Cream You Will Ever Make!

Hey everyone! Hope your summer has been going well! Today I’m bringing you our homemade sweet treat, Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s creamy, smooth and easy to scoop. This recipe doesn’t use eggs so it ends up being a soft serve ice cream. The greatest thing about this recipe is how purely vanilla it is. Making it a complete blank slate for whatever you want to add to it or top it with to put your individual spin on it!

Vanilla Ice cream is a classic summer eat that just goes hand in hand with every memory I have of being a kid. We had it to cool off on hot days, we topped off warm pies & brownies and we mixed in our own favorite toppings so our bowl was uniquely ours. Summer just isn’t summer without making this family favorite!

The Churn

I don’t have a fancy ice cream machine, I just bought the Walmart special on clearance for $15 at the end of summer once. It’s been a good one for the last few years. They currently have them for about $20 so if you love ice cream this is a good investment. I like making my own ice cream so I know exactly what is in it.

Another important note is whatever machine you use, go by that machines guidelines. Mine doesn’t recommend churning for longer than 30 minutes so I don’t. Any ice cream I make is done by then and just needed to set up in the freezer anyways. Just be aware of your machines limitations. This includes putting more base material past the fill line. Don’t do it. It will just be a huge mess and a waste of ingredients.

Swaps & Specs for Vanilla Ice Cream:

• Swap from honey to Agave for a low glycemic option.

• Use a high or whole fat heavy cream. Minimum 36% milk fat. This is needed because this recipe leaves out the eggs and needs the milk fat to thicken.

• Make the mixture the day or night before, churn in the morning and let freeze all day for the best results. Lasts 2 weeks in a good freezer tight container.

• Use this as a base to mix in whatever you want. Fruits, bits of cakes & cookies, nuts, chocolate, caramel and peanut butter.

• Add your favorite candies and candy bars too!

• Use a good quality vanilla bean paste if you can. It is better than using extract because it is a stronger flavor but doesn’t mess with the viscosity of the ice cream.

Thanks for giving one of our favorite summer treats a try! If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to reach out on any of my social media platforms for the fastest response!

Vanilla Ice Cream

Homemade soft serve vanilla ice cream, made old school in a churn but this classic recipe doesn't use eggs!

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Total Time 9 hours hrs

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 238 kcal

Equipment

• 1 ice cream churn

Ingredients

  

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 1/2 tbsps vanilla bean paste or use pure extract
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup honey or agave

Instructions

 

• In a saucepan, mix all ingredients except for honey together over medium-high heat. Warm until mixture begins to steam and a light skin develops but DO NOT BOIL!
• Then pour into heat safe container and let cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Add the honey just before adding mixture to ice cream machine. Proceed to churn, following your machines guidelines, for about 30 minutes. Freeze for about 4 hours or until firm.
  

Notes

• Use a high fat heavy cream because this recipe omits eggs. It is needed to help the Ice cream thicken.
• Using a vanilla paste gives a stronger vanilla flavor but use what you have. you may need to add more depending on the brand of extract to get a strong flavor. Beware, adding too much can stop the mixture from freezing properly.
• Use this as a base to add in whatever mixins you love. Fruit, nuts, cake & cookie pieces, chocolate, caramel or peanut butter! 
• Don’t forget about the candy! Use this base to add your favorite candy in!

Keyword homemade, ice cream, vanilla