I know it is kind of weird to dislike ANY ice cream, but I kind of hate French vanilla. I don’t mind generic “vanilla” that looks white, I just don’t like the flavor of the more yellow French vanilla. I do usually like vanilla bean though. So when I needed some ice cream to go with a cherry pie I sorta made (the filling was from a jar — a magical, yummy jar), I thought I’d make some vanilla bean ice cream to go with it.

I figured the difference between French vanilla and vanilla bean mainly had to do with the type of vanilla used, and I didn’t consider the fact that it might be possible to make French vanilla with a vanilla bean. Because I am an idiot. So what I ended up with was what I was trying to avoid.

Turns out, the reason French vanilla is yellowish is that it contains egg yolks. And this recipe has whole eggs in it — so really, it tastes like high-quality French vanilla, albeit with real vanilla bean (and the flecks to prove it) instead of vanilla extract. So if you share my distaste for F.V., don’t make this.

This takes more time and effort to make than the previous ice creams I’ve tried, and the vanilla beans are expensive. So if you love vanilla, go for it. Otherwise, wait a few days. I am going to try another flavor soon — and I may even try it without an ice cream maker.

A few notes if you are going to make this: 1. Start early. You have to cook the base and then cool it before putting it in the ice cream maker. I did it the night before, which works quite well. 2. If you aren’t obsessed with the vanilla bean flakes, you can strain the cooled mixture to get some of it out. The recipe suggested that, but I figured it wouldn’t be too challenging to remove huge bean pods from a bowl of liquid (it wasn’t) without straining, and I didn’t want to have to wash my strainer.

I probably would have liked this better if I had some better toppings in the house. There used to be a sundae at Disney World called the Snow White that involved vanilla ice cream, marshmallows and whipped cream. Love it! But it worked fine for a pie topping, and as a vehicle for chocolate syrup.

Vanilla bean ice cream (from The Gourmet Cookbook)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 vanilla beans
2 large eggs

Pour cream, milk and sugar into a medium heavy saucepan. Halve the vanilla beans lengthwise, then use the tip of the knife to scrape the seeds out of the beans into the cream mixture. Drop in pods. Bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a large (metal or heatproof) bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream*, whisking constantly, then pour mixture into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until custard registers between 170 and 175 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Do not let boil.

Pour custard into the cleaned bowl (you can put it through the strainer at this point if you want) and discard the pods. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then cover and refrigerate at least three hours.

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

*Be careful when you are pouring the hot cream mixture into the eggs: you don’t want to create scrambled eggs. Go as slowly as possible and don’t stop whisking!

**You can use 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract instead of the beans, if you wish.