French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Low Sugar
Berry season is upon us. Farmer stands are popping up everywhere in the Skagit Valley. Soon raspberries and blueberries will follow. If lucky, all three will be available for the Fourth of July. I do like fruit, but berries do my soul good. The first “real” strawberries (local are the only “real” strawberries) are deep red, succulent, and sweet. Washed and popped into my mouth, the strawberry flavor pops, but soon I am longing for a companion ingredient to accentuate that magnificent taste. Something creamy like yogurt for breakfast works. But for a celebration ice cream beckons. Not just any ice cream, French vanilla bean ice cream!
ONWARD:
Ice cream is frozen cream, right? Not exactly. Some ice creams are made with various types of dairy like heavy cream, half and half, milk, or yogurt. French vanilla ice cream is prepared with the additional step of forming a custard with egg yolks to thicken. A vanilla bean split in half, seeds scraped and steeped in the cream and milk. The flavored custard must be chilled and refrigerated for several hours or best overnight to allow the vanilla bean to permeate the cream thoroughly. Then the custard can be frozen. Oh, so rich and flavorful! If the ice cream is not eaten immediately after freezing, this creamy concoction will freeze into a solid block. Best to add some anti-freeze in the way of vodka to the custard before freezing. Sugar helps prevent this hardness, but this recipe uses a sugar substitute. Granular Swerve sweetener or Monk Fruit sweetener can be used in place of Swerve confectioners sweetener if blended into a powder in a food blender, as the granular does not dissolve well. No one will know that it is low sugar and so much better for the body!
1 quart
INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons Swerve confectioners sweetener or granular Monk Fruit sweetener
4 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups heavy cream, preferably grass-fed, organic
1 cup goat milk or other full-fat milk
¼ cup vodka (optional)
DIRECTION:
If using a granular sweetener like Monk Fruit sweetener, place it in and blender and blitz until powdered. Whip the eggs and three tablespoons sweetener together in a mixing bowl until pale in color, about three minutes. Set aside.
Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrap the seeds out of the vanilla beans and place both in a heavy saucepan with the remaining three tablespoons of sweetener, salt, cream, and milk. Heat over medium heat until scalded when bubbles begin to gather on the sides of the pan. Be careful not to overheat. Remove from the heat and slowly whip into the egg mixture. Discard the scraped vanilla beans. Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, continually stirring until the custard reaches 175°F. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into another bowl. Discard the scraped vanilla beans. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, or at least four hours before freezing.
Stir in the vodka if using and churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Store in the freezer before serving.
Love those local fresh strawberries!
French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 6 tablespoons Swerve confectioners sweetener or granular Monk Fruit sweetener
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 vanilla bean
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups heavy cream, preferably grass-fed, organic
- 1 cup goat milk or other full-fat milk
- ¼ cup vodka (optional)
Instructions:
- If using a granular sweetener like Monk Fruit sweetener, place it in and blender and blitz until powdered. Whip the eggs and three tablespoons sweetener together in a mixing bowl until pale in color, about three minutes. Set aside.
- Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrap the seeds out of the vanilla beans and place both in a heavy saucepan with the remaining three tablespoons of sweetener, salt, cream, and milk. Heat over medium heat until scalded when bubbles begin to gather on the sides of the pan. Be careful not to overheat. Remove from the heat and slowly whip into the egg mixture. Discard the scraped vanilla beans. Return to the saucepan and cook over low heat, continually stirring until the custard reaches 175°F. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into another bowl. Discard the scraped vanilla beans. Chill in the refrigerator overnight, or at least four hours before freezing.
- Stir in the vodka if using and churn in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s directions. Store in the freezer before serving.
Notes:
Calories
267.01Fat (grams)
24.99Sat. Fat (grams)
15.33Carbs (grams)
3.30Fiber (grams)
0.00Net carbs
3.30Sugar (grams)
3.15Protein (grams)
4.12Sodium (milligrams)
67.19Cholesterol (grams)
162.81