Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream

Photo: flickr user ralph and jenny

Ingredients

1 Mexican vanilla bean, split

1 cup half and half

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup sugar

6 lrg egg yolks

1 tablespoon Pure Mexican Vanilla Extract

1 teaspoon freshly ground canela (Ceylon cinnamon) (optional)

Preparation

Scrape the seeds from the split vanilla bean. Place the vanilla bean and seeds, half and half, heavy cream, and 1/2 cup sugar in a saucepan and gently warm over a low flame until the sugar has dissolved.

Place the egg yolks and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl and beat

(electric mixer or by hand with a whisk) until the mixture thickens and turns pale yellow.

Add about 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture to the egg yolk mixture and beat until blended. Gradually add the rest of the warm cream mixture to the egg yolks, beating as you do so.

Return the custard to the saucepan and gently cook until it thickens to the coats-the-spoon stage. Don't hurry this step. Stir constantly over a low flame, taking care not to curdle the custard.

Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Remove the vanilla bean, scrape out the pods and add to the strained custard and stir until well blended. Add additional extract to taste.

Continue the final process of making the ice cream according to the directions of your ice cream maker.

Makes 1 quart.