Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 cups heavy cream, divided
- Pinch of salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
- 10 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks, broken up
- 5 large egg yolks
Preparation
Step 1
Warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup of the cream, and salt in a medium saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the warm milk and add the bean into the warm milk as well. Add in the broken-up cinnamon sticks. Cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
Over medium low heat, rewarm the milk mixture. With a slotted spoon, remove the cinnamon stick pieces and discard. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer on top.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm mixture into the egg yolks (you can also use a large ladle here to reduce the mess of pouring), whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Put the vanilla bean into the custard and stir until cool over an ice bath.
Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (overnight is best). When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use (if desired), and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.