French vanilla ice cream like you've never had it before - so much vanilla that it's almost a new flavor. Cream and half and half mean that this is rich, dense, and decadent - better than your favorite premium ice cream.
Heat the sugar, salt, vanilla beans, bourbon, and half and half in a heavy saucepan until it is very hot and small bubbles form around the edge. Do not let it boil.
Remove from heat, cover, and allow to cool to room temperature.
Transfer mixture to an airtight container and let it chill in the refrigerator. Longer is better. Overnight will yield the most vanilla flavor.
Remove the vanilla bean pod.
Scrape the vanilla seeds and pulp back into the cream mixture then discard the shell or use it to make vanilla sugar.
Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form.
Add vanilla extract and French vanilla flavoring to the whipped cream.
Fold into half and half mixture carefully.
Freeze in your ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s directions.
Notes
Storage:Pack tightly in an airtight container and keep frozen for up to 3 months.Tips:
The bourbon in this ice cream helps it freeze to a creamier consistency. It doesn't add much alcohol at all. You can leave it out if you wish but to protect the creaminess please add a tablespoon of white corn syrup.
Add fruit, nuts, and other items at the end of the freezing time. This will keep the ingredients spread out randomly rather than having them all float to the top or sink to the bottom.
For best results all homemade ice cream should be made the day before you want to serve it. It "ripens" in the freezer overnight and the texture changes, the flavor mellows, and it won't melt so quickly in the bowl.
For best flavor use real vanilla extract.
Use fresh vanilla beans. If they are dried out or leathery use them to flavor sugar but don't use them in this.
The vanilla bean seeds should be wet and have a paste consistency. They leave pretty, little black flecks in the ice cream and it lets everyone know you used real vanilla.
Vanilla beans can be left out but add another teaspoon of vanilla.