Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

Serves 8-10

Michael Pollan’s famous quote, “Eat anything you want ~ just cook it yourself” is music to my ears. I love that simple statement, because we need to get back into our kitchens and cook from scratch.

We have such easy access to all foods, from gourmet ice cream to ready to cook pizza to premade anything. You go to the grocery store, pick up what you want and bingo, bango you are eating pizza and ice cream. It’s all very easy, maybe too easy for our health.

There are many excellent points behind eat anything you want just cook it from scratch. My favourite reason to cook from scratch is that we’d be eating less highly processed and/or packaged foods and eating more back to basic foods. The less processed a food is, the better for our long term health.

When it comes to treats, if you had to make pies, cakes and cookies from scratch every time you wanted them  you’d probably make them less often. When a food isn’t readily accessible it becomes a special food that you look forward to and savour when you do eat it.  In the case of ice cream, it would be fabulous a treat you ate occasionally, instead of a treat you can just open your freezer and grab.

I love homemade ice cream. I love that I can control the ingredients and the sweetness. I only make it in the summer and always in July, which is National Ice Cream month. As a ice cream lover, I’ve posted ice cream recipes before, here’s the link to some of my favourites. 

With the rising numbers of people living with allergies, homemade ice cream gives you a recipe that can be nut free and gluten free, although there are many ice creams that are GF, homemade for me, is still the way to go.

This Honey Vanilla Ice cream is easy to make, but it takes time. You have to make the crème anglaise (the basis of the ice cream) chill it, and then churn it in an ice cream maker.  It’s a two day endeavour, but worth every single minute.

The recipe doesn’t make a ton, because ice cream makers only hold enough of the creme anglaise to make a quart aka a litre, sort of. Make this and indulge your taste buds.

 

3 large eggs, I use omega-3 eggs

1 ½ cups whipping cream 35% MF

1 ½ cups 3.2% MF

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

½ cup liquid honey or honey of your choice

 

1. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and set aside.
2. Pour the cream and the milk into a medium saucepan. Gently heat over medium low heat, whisking gently.
3. When the cream/milk is steaming, remove 1 ½ cups and slowly pour into the eggs, whisking constantly.
4. Transfer the mixture into the remaining warm cream/milk whisking constantly. This is called tempering the eggs, if you don’t do this the eggs will curdle or become scrambled…completely awful.
5. Return to heat and cook, gently whisking until the custard thickens and registers 175°F.
6. Remove from heat and add honey and vanilla, whisking in gently.
7. Pour through a mesh strainer over a large bowl. Discard any solids. Pour the strained  crème anglaise into a heat proof jar and refrigerate overnight or at least 12 hours, the colder the better, I like to make the crème anglaise 24 hours in advance.
8. The next day, transfer chilled crème anglaise into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacture’s instructions. Either it right away, or remove from the ice cream maker to firm up.

No nutrient breakdown here, it’s an indulgent treat and a little goes along way. Have about a 1/2 cup serving and enjoy.

I’ll be making this recipe on my Facebook Live Wednesday, July 17 at 8 pm EDT find my on Facebook at mairlyn.smith